The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
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The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets are a rock band from Chilliwack near Vancouver in Canada. Their music largely consists of often tongue in cheek homage to the works of H. P. Lovecraft, specifically the Cthulhu Mythos. The band's name is drawn from a phrase in Lovecraft's story The Tomb: "I will tell only of the lone tomb in the darkest of the hillside thickets."
The group is fronted by vocalist Toren Atkinson who is also an artist, having illustrated books for role-playing games including Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu and his own Spaceship Zero, as well as the Lovecraft-inspired collectible card game Mythos. He formed the band in February of 1992, mostly from members of his role-playing group. The line-up consists of backup vocalist Merrick Atkinson, bassist Bob Fugger, guitarist Warren Banks, and drummer Jordan Pratt (also drummer for the band Mystery Machine).
After a slow start, several of their songs were picked up by music magazines and others for inclusion on compilation CDs, lending them greater recognition. They often perform live, and have performed concerts with many other bands including Gwar, They Might Be Giants and the Dayglo Abortions. The Thickets continue to enjoy reasonable cult success.
Discography
- Gurgle Gurgle Gurgle (3-track demo tape)
- Hurts Like Hell! (9-track demo tape)
- Cthulhuriffomania! (cassette only)
- Cthulhu Strikes Back (1995; reissued 2003)
- The Great Old Ones (1996, tracks from Hurts Like Hell! and Cthulhuriffomania!)
- Spaceship Zero Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2001)
- Let Sleeping Gods Lie (2002, an all-Mythos themed CD produced in association with Wizards of the Coast to promote their new edition of Call of Cthulhu; features tracks from previous albums)
External links
- The official web site (http://www.holycow.com/thickets)