Wow. Check out this review from www.live4metal.com/reviews-262
Hookers – Casting the Runes: From the Battle of Clontarf to the Gates of Valhalla (Devil Doll Records) Review by Natasha Padilla GOOOO! YEAAH! RAWK! ROOAR! FUCK! It's the Hookers! Hail Satan! A double-CD retrospective swansong from the Hookers is the equivalent of Beavis getting a golden ticket into Willy Wonka's factory and being permanently transformed into his ultra-hyped, alterego Cornholio from all the sugary goodness. It doesn't get any better for a fan and you can't find much better in terms of crazy, unadulterated, don't-give-a-fuck heavy metal. The brainchild of The Rock N' Roll Outlaw (Adam Neal, vox) and Stoney Tombs (Noel Reucroft, guitar), the Hookers formed in Lexington, Kentucky in 1994 to destroy the rock n' roll universe. Essentially an all dick, no pussy Nashville Pussy, the Hookers add the speed element of Motörhead and the raw obnoxiousness of the Sex Pistols to create their own blizzard of chaos. The White Zombie-style lyrics—all horror, Satan, thunder, sex, drugs, destruction and rock n' roll—top it off. What makes this collection so great is that the first disc compiles all of the Hookers 7-inches and compilation material, which comprise the majority of their output. Most, if not all, their vinyl-only releases are out-of-print, so putting them all on CD is a real gift for fans that've been searching high and low. The second disc boasts 15 previously unreleased tracks (only two of which are live) and 14 live tracks (live and studio versions of the anthemic "Let's Get High" are also included on Disc One). While much of the live material is poor in quality, it definitely captures the essence of what a Hookers live show must have been like: crude, pure rock fury — I unfortunately never had the pleasure. The previously unreleased material is a mix of new songs and alternate versions or demos of favorites. Far from a bunch of throwaways, these tracks are some of the fastest, funniest and most memorable songs in the Hookers' arsenal ("We Don't Fuck Around", "Hometown Slut", and "Back Alley Trash"). Aside from a discography and band member history, the lack of liner notes is the package’s only misstep. It is odd to dub familiar tracks “previously unreleased” with no further description of what version of the song you are hearing. Dates and locations for the live recordings also seem like a natural addition for a 2CD that is otherwise so completist. But these are minor indiscretions. Casting the Runes is an unexpected goodbye and brilliant introduction to one of the best and baddest, underground metal bands of all-time. ROCK N' ROLL MOTHERFUCKER!!!!
Thank you Natasha! It's official, we were the greatest band ever!
