Nightmare Sonata is a horror punk

Horror punk

Horror punk is a music genre that mixes Gothic and punk rock sounds with morbid imagery and lyrics, which are often influenced by horror films...

 band from Greensboro, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. The original incarnation of the band formed in 2003 as an industrial metal

Industrial metal

Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...

 band. They are notable for being the only Voodoo horror punk band in the world. They are also notable for their theatrical stage shows in which they have acts of BDSM

BDSM

BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...

, Torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

, & Crucifixion

Crucifixion

Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...

.

History

The band was formed by Benjamin Samedi in 2003. After seeing the band several times with various temporary lineups, Billy Bones joined the band playing bass. When previous drummer Doc left the band Benjamin recruited Vega to play drums. After a short East Coast tour the band realized the need for a second guitarist. Billy asked his personal friend Mark to audition. After one practice he was hired, being dubbed "Pork" as a suitable substitute for his real name.

The band has released several self-produced EP's. The most recent of which is the "Necrophile EP". Their first studio release since 2009, and the first featuring Vega on drums and Pork on guitars. It was released in November 2011. They provide music for the Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...

 film, Hack Job

Hack Job

Hack Job is an American horror-thriller film directed by James Balsamo and produced by Lloyd Kaufman. It stars Dave Brockie, Lloyd Kaufman, & Debbie Rochon. Nightmare Sonata provides music for the film...

. In May 2011 they supported Polkadot Cadaver

Polkadot Cadaver

Polkadot Cadaver is a band formed by members of the now defunct Baltimore rock band Dog Fashion Disco. The band is stylistically similar to Dog Fashion Disco and inherited many of their fans.-History:...

 on their "All Of Our Friends Are Dead Tour". In October they opened for Irish Rock band Lluther

Lluther

Lluther is an Irish noise rock/alternative metal band from Dublin, Ireland, founded in 2004 by songwriter/guitarist Gerry Owens. The band has released two studio albums, one EP, and seven singles....

. In November They supported Wednesday 13

Wednesday 13

Joseph Poole, better known as Wednesday 13 , is a rock musician from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is most famous for his role as the frontman of the Murderdolls...

, Vampires Everywhere!

Vampires Everywhere!

Vampires Everywhere! is an American band from Los Angeles best known for their 2010 EP Lost in the Shadows. They are currently signed to Century Media and Hollywood Waste Records.- Band History :...

 & Polkadot Cadaver on the "Something Wicked This Way Comes" tour.

Musical style

The band plays a unique style of horror punk, containing elements of punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 and rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

. Front man Benjamin Samedi is heavily influenced by bands such as The Misfits, Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...

 and Type O Negative

Type O Negative

Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...

. He takes a large cue from Type O Negative Front man Pete Steele on his vocal style. Bassist Billy Bones considers NOFX

NOFX

NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...

, GWAR

GWAR

Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...

, and Journey

Journey (band)

Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...

 as key influences(having previously played in a Journey cover band). Pork has almost no Punk influences as opposed to the rest of the band. He considers Thrash Metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 acts such as Slayer

Slayer

Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

 & Anthrax

Anthrax (band)

Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

 his main influences. Drummer Vega has more diverse influences, Citing Drum & Bass drummer Jojo Mayer as one of his favorite drummers. He also cites Chris Adler (of Lamb of God

Lamb of God (band)

Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...

), Shannon Larkin (of Godsmack

Godsmack

Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...

) & Derek Roddy(of Extreme Metal fame) as heavy influences on his style.

Many of the bands songs are very fast (upwards of 200 BPM) and in Double Time (such as Wicked Sandman, Bloodbath & Bloody Valentine) In contrast to this, other songs are usually at a moderate tempo(160-200 BPM), with a more groovy metal influenced feel (Shiver, Frustration Rage & Ode To It All). Though there are many exceptions to this rule, Zombie

Zombie

Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

 Slave Ballad being most prominent. Benjamin is a practicing Vodoun. His lyrics reflect his religion as many songs reference Vodou themes and practices.

Image

The band shows their influences from The Misfits, Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

, and many Black Metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 bands in that they always wear face paint on stage. The bands takes their image very seriously. Front man Benjamin Samedi dons skull face paint with a top hat, reminisce of Vodou Lwa Baron Samedi. In fact, the legend of Benjamin Samedi forms that he is the delinquent great-nephew of the Baron, who is the guardian of the cemetery and the dead. Rhythm Guitarist Pork has a whited out head with black eyes and face paint. Billy Bones has varying makeup styles, ranging from decomposing zombie

Zombie

Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

 to something more like Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger

Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...

's Joker from Batman

Batman

Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...

. Vega Has face paint that resembles many Black Metal musicians and his torso is covered in fake blood. The entire band wears all black at performances, and most of their equipment is also black. The band frequently plays Cover songs, usually of Misfits songs.

Discography

• The Horror Demo (2006)
• Horror Demo 2 (2006)
• Postmortem Lullabies (2007)
• Skeletons From The Closet (2009)
• Necrophile EP (2011)

Music videos

Year	Song	Director
2009	"Affection, Pain & Suffering"	Jennifer Rockrock
2011	"Wicked Sandman"	Jennifer Rockrock