Artist description Everyone that had the opportunity to see a Ghoulunatics show will tell you the same : the power of the Montreal’s quintet is held in the quality of their energic and dynamic live performances and singer Patrick Mireault’s stunning and outstanding sets. Listening to their fans, who once said that the band wasn’t able to capture the live energy on their albums, the quintet has decided to give them what they wanted : a second studio album that is the core of their live, astonishing sets. The recording of the King of the Undead album occured at the Zeck’nRoll studio of famed producer Pierre Rémillard (guitarist of the now-extinct band Obliveon) which is located in the surroundings of the picturesque village of Saint-Zénon. An extraordinary experience that looked more like actual vacations than a recording session, said bassist Gary Lyons and singer Patrick Mireault. « From the space we were recording in, we had an unimpeded outlook of the lake and the hills that border the recording facilities. That was quite inspiring. ». In order to attain the sound of their live shows, the guitars, bass and drums were recorded at once, without cuts. When each of the 12 songs were immortalised, it was time for the singer to record his lyrics under guidance of producer Pierre Rémillard and support of the other band members. Before being titled as the King of the Undead album, the second release of the Ghoulunatics was to be named Exuviae, which is a song on the album. « An exuviae is the skin that an animal rejects when it sheds. I wanted to call it like that in order to illustrate our evolution from an album to another », says the singer. However, their choice stopped on King of the Undead when the singer showed the other band members the picture that was to be the cover for the album. Without being the main theme of the album, King of the Undead depicts well enough the gloomy ambiance that wraps the lyrics that are generally of surreal matter. Black humour and tragic situations are big inspirations for the singer and lyricist. « My stories bring on the reality of everyday’s life, even if they always show a humorous, fictional and unreal side to their own selves. I do not have a plan to deliver specific messages or being glommy », he says. Even if the process of writing seems simple for Patrick Mireault, he admits that he had some difficulties to find inspiration for the lyrics to the Pernicious Sentence song, one of the most agressive songs ever written by the Ghoulunatics. « I had a hard time writing down any lyrics for it, even ones with a humoristic twist to it, because the song was so agressive. Finally, to get to the point, I imagined a situation that disgusted me : In my lyrics, the main character does his own justice, in order to stop the schemes of a pedophile. It was the first time that I wrote a text about a political or social issue. » Unsatisfied of the first version of the Brother Worm song that is on the Carving Into You album, the Ghoulunatics recorded a new version of it, available on the King of the Undead album. They also do a tribute to their collective idol, Elvis Presley, as they do a rendition of Suspicious Minds on the album. There is also Michael Haaga (ex-singer-guitarist and founder of texan band Deadhorse) as a guest on the song Mobster Fiesta Extravaganza. The Ghoulunatics have only one thing in mind when they write new songs : play the songs that they want to listen to. The songwriting is a collective work that asks for a lot of time and patience before being approved by the 5 band members. In other words, there is no question for them to write 20 songs in order to choose the 12 best ones that will find a place on an album... Tagged for being a « horror groove metal » and a « frankensteinesque metal » outfit for quite a time, the musical style of the Ghoulunatics evolved during the past years. If the band likes the « rotten’roll » monicker that applies to their sound, we could also say that the 12 songs of King of the Undead are a heavy mix of Stoner Rock at times and Hardcore at others. But mainly, all songs on the album have the qualities that made up the unique style of the Ghoulunatics : the melodies are catchy, stirry and really groovy. And of course, there is the gravel-voice like of the singer. The choice of the producer for King of the Undead was easy, say the Ghoulunatics, who wanted a second album with a superb sound quality combined with the simplicity of live recording. « It had been a while since we wanted to work with Pierre Rémillard ( Cryptopsy, Obliveon, Gorguts, Anvil, Voivod ) who produced and mixed all 12 songs. « We’ve known him for years so he is aware of our musical style. His knowledge much helped our working situation so that he was able to focus more on the sound quality. Result, in four days, at the pace of 12 working hours per day, the recording was completed. Time for us to enjoy it.

Music Style Deathcore, Metalcore, Horror Groove Metal, Death Metal, Death'n roll

Musical Influences Dead Horse

Artist History Highlights 1994 - The Ghoulunatics are born. Patrick Mireault, Gary Lyons, Patrick Gordon and Jarrod Martin are the original members 1995 - Launch of the Mystralengine demo-cassette. 1996 - The Ghoulunatics play Toronto’s North by Northeast Music Festival & Conference. 1996 - Finalist at the 5th edition of the Polliwog contest, the Ghoulunatics will also be a finalist at the All metal/loud rock-band war held in Montreal. 1998 - The band launches the Carving Into You album. 1998 - Drummer Brian Craig joins the band. 1999 - After three years of absence, guitarist Jarrod Martin rejoins the Ghoulunatics. 1999 and 2000 (month of August) - Elvis Dead Story I et II; The Ghoulunatics plays two tribute shows in honor of Elvis Presley’s death, August 16th 1977. 2000 - Relaunch of the Mystralengine demo in cd format by Great White North Records. The new format holds 5 bonus tracks recorded live in Montreal in 1999. 2000 - Finalists at the BOM (Best of Montreal) gala. 2000 and 2001 - Nominated in the « Best Metal Artist » category at the MIMI’s (Montreal International Music Initiative) 2001 - Launch of the King Of The Undead album. 2002 - The band wins the MIMI award for metal band of the year. Pierre Remillard is nominated for producer of the year for King of the Undead - Finalist at the Canadian independant music awards

Group Members Patrick Mireault - vocals Brian Craig - drums Gary Lyons - bass Jarrod Martin - guitar Patrick Gordon - guitar

Albums Mystralengine - Carving into you - King of the Undead

Additional Info Management: E.D.S. management (514) 577-8355 ghoul668@hotmail.com - Booking: Eric Galy tel/fax (514) 769-6137 quebecmetal@hotmail.com

Location Montreal, Quebec - Canada

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