Metal Underground.com

Zak Bagans is a name many of our readers may not recognize, at least as a musician. However, his name may seem familiar if you like ghost hunter shows on television. Bagans investigates hauntings on the Travel Channel’s number one-rated program “Ghost Adventures.” His first album “NecroFusion,” contains actual audio samples from his investigations. Lords of Acid founder Praga Khan complements the spooky sounds with synth-laden soundscapes, resulting in a blood-curdling electronica album.

Whether you believe Bagans’s investigations reveal true paranormal phenomenon or you think it’s a hoax, he has created one hell of scary album. On “In My Dungeon,” Bagans says, “There is something around me,” and asks, “Are you fucking with me?” The music could better relate that mood with its up-tempo and danceable beats, but the electronic sounds seem connected with the higher frequencies of ghosts that Bagans later refers to on the album. “NecroFusion” works best when Khan slows down the beat and adds Gothic instrumentation, such as the ethereal movements found on “They Are Talking” or the random blues-based guitar notes on “Room 20.”

Part of the way Khan creates mood is through the collision of mellow and harsh sounds. These two polarities resonate like cold and hot fronts forming a tornado. “Demonator” trudges onward through a doom-laced guitar. Bagans and Khan take a different approach to “Poor Pearl,” which is a country folk song featuring Bobby Mackey singing, “Poor Pearl, poor girl lay dead upon the ground. Poor Pearl, poor girl, her head was never found.” Further into the track, Khan warps and twists this macabre tale with harsh, unhinged electronica.

Some of Khan’s backgrounds convey disparate emotions from Bagans’s topics, but this only represents a small part of the album. Most of the recording conjures images of angry apparitions unsettling a home’s peaceful darkness. “NecroFusion” is the perfect recording to set the tone for Halloween. Check your closets and under the bed after spinning this recording!