Screamin Sins Living Nightmares Review
Screamin Sins
Living Nightmares
Self-Released
2025
Canada has always been fertile ground for grave-digging, coffin-rattling Psychobilly that festers in the shadows of Horror. From The Creepshow to The Brains, to the Gutter Demons and even The Matadors when the moon is blood red. The north has spawned some of the finest purveyors of fiendish rock ’n roll. Call it Gothabilly, call it Horrorbilly, labels rot in the ground anyway. What matters is the addiction. Those of us who crave it are junkies for the macabre, ghouls slavering for the next blood-soaked riff.
The latest pack of undead to crawl from the crypt hails from Kingston, Ontario. They call themselves Screamin Sins, a three-headed beast stomping out rhythms that sound like they’ve been exhumed straight from a midnight graveyard. In 2024, the band unleashed their first properly recorded EP “Haven for the Damned”, a haunted barn dance that lived up to its name with every howl. Previously the band had recorded a long-gone EP titled, “Deadly Seven” but the recording is raw/lo-fi and hard to track down. I have friends in dark places, so I was able to track it down for a spin or two.
Earlier this year, the fiends returned with their third curse, “Living Nightmares”, and let me tell you, this one drags you through the swamp, chains you to the altar, and makes you beg for more.
It’s six tracks of Horrorbilly mayhem, each dripping with sinister swagger and ghoulish hooks that burrow into your skull like parasites. The opener, “Hills Have Eyes”, is an older song that got a much-needed face lift, and it wastes no time wrecking! No doubt, an ode to Craven’s desert cannibals delivered as a roadside dirge caked in fuzz, swamp rot, with a chorus that will stalk you long after the track ends. The gang vocals, led with wicked charm by bassist Vanessa Von Voodoo, hit like a chant from the damned - equal parts infectious and terrifying.
From there, the band charges into “Living Dead”, a Punk-fueled, coffin-kicking monster that growls with fuzzed-out guitars and a rhythm section that sounds like it was stitched together with razor wire. Call it Punk, call it Billy, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it rips the flesh clean off your face with a grin.
And then comes the crown jewel: “Love You to Death.” A twisted love letter carved on a tombstone, it swings with upright bass thumps, drum shuffles, and a guitar that howls like a wolf under the full moon. This is the kind of track that makes you fall in love with the genre all over again: crooned vocals, blood-soaked lyrics, and guitar licks sharp enough to cut glass. There’s also a re-recorded version with Jen “Hellcat” Blackwood (of Creepshow fame) up on Bandcamp, and it’s pure necromantic bliss, a match made in the grave. That version isn’t the one here, but it’s a necessary listen and should be mentioned here – you’ll want that version too!
The back half of the EP refuses to let you crawl away. “Nightmare” shrieks with unhinged Horrorbilly energy, soaked in moonlight and madness. “Haunted Dreams” staggers into Spaghetti Western territory, conjuring dust, desert ghosts, and a slow gallows swing that feels like the soundtrack to your last ride. Finally, the closer “Curse on You” drags you into the abyss with blues-drenched menace, squealing tires, spitting blood, and a final cackle that leaves you grinning through cracked and broken teeth.
What makes “Living Nightmares” so compelling isn’t just the gory tales or the crypt-worn aesthetic, it’s the sheer musicianship. Screamin Sins don’t need a major label to sound massive. The production is sharp, and the performances are tighter than a coffin lid, and the vibe is utterly possessed. This is an EP that slashes, seduces, and screams in your ear until you’re begging for the next round.
Screamin Sins are resurrecting Psychobilly, electrifying it, and feeding it raw meat. This is an EP that you must experience, it should be the soundtrack for your next tip-toe through the graveyard!