The Reanimated (Profile)

People say Punk Rock is dead. Some say it died with Sid Vicious, others say Joey Ramone. But no matter which trailblazer took Punk Rock to his grave, the in-your-face, D.I.Y., fuck-the-world attitude is, indeed, dead.

But it isn’t exactly resting in peace. It’s been clawing its way out of the grave, breaking the pine box and pushing past the 6 feet of dirt to rise again. It smells like death, leather and cheap beer, and it’s ready to return the Cincinnati music scene to the glory days when Short Vine was more than just Bogart’s and tattoo shops.

The corpse corps at the front of the horde is Northern Kentucky-based The Reanimated. Made up of vocalist James Bondage, guitarists Adam Reanimated and Greg Gallows, bassist Eric Stitches and drummer Jason Hell, The Reanimated have been playing together since the winter of 2007. In their three years, the band has played with national acts like Koffin Kats and The Casualties, released two full-length albums and formed a rabid, regional following.

Over the past two releases, The Reanimated crafted razor-sharp Horror Punk in the vein of The Misfits, but they've injected elements of Metal, Thrash and even Doo Wop into their sound. This isn’t your weird uncle’s “London Dungeon.” Now the boys are back at it, hard at work on their next album. They’re making damn sure the third time is a charm.

“We just really wanted to take our time,” Stitches says. “Because, on Fury [58] (The Reanimated’s second album), we had a deadline and it was really rushed and a lot of us weren’t 100 percent happy with the way that album came out.”

Stitches is sitting in The Reanimated practice space, drinking a beer. Practice is over and The Walking Dead isn’t on AMC for another 20 minutes. In other words, there’s no better time to talk about the new album.

“It’s really all a matter of opinion, but it’s our opinion that matters, and if we’re not happy with shit, then we don’t want to put it out,” Stitches says.

The Reanimated are taking full advantage of their open timeline, crafting songs that are more diverse than previous offerings, both musically and lyrically. With three new songs already completed, the band is going to great lengths to make sure what is written is something they’re proud of.

Bondage explains, “You hear good stuff you want to write every day, but writing time only comes around once (in) a great while. Whatever you write in that time is what’s going to be on the record forever.”

During the writing process, The Reanimated’s lyrics originate from Bondage, who has arguably the most freedom when it comes to his contributions, and he uses his platform to talk about everything from aliens to murderous cars.

Explaining his lyrics, Bondage says, “It’s a pasteurization of underground culture for mainstream consumption. Anything I can get my hands on, I throw it in the mind blender and just blend it up and out of my mouth comes regurgitated madness.”

But The Reanimated sound doesn’t start with the lyrics. For the band, the song’s melody and flow often dictate where Bondage takes his lyrics. Most of their songs begin with a riff, which members bring to practice and present it to Adam Reanimated. After several listens, Reanimated massages the sound, takes a hook and turns it into the basis of a complete song.

“Very rarely is a song completed before I touch it,” Reanimated says.

“We write, he builds,” Stitches adds.

The whole process is a group effort, with each member working cohesively within their own roles. Each song goes through multiple revisions, even after it is “done.”

One reason the band has had so little writing time is their rigorous playing schedule. One of the hardest working bands in the scene, The Reanimated has been on bills with bands of all genres and crowds, and that’s just how they like it.

“We’re a Horror Punk band, but we’re accepted by more than just Horror Punk kids,” Reanimated says.

The band spares no one at their live shows, filling the stage with a raw aggression and power that only real Punk Rock can achieve. Their honesty and energy onstage has earned The Reanimated a wide range of admirers, helping the band’s fan base grow with each show they play.

With new material being created at a fever pace and with the time to tinker with their feverish creation, The Reanimated might have the beginnings of a perfect monster. Only time will tell, but when the band finally pulls back the sheet on their latest creation, Cincinnati better be ready, because it’s going to take more than a boomstick to keep this monstrosity down.

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