Evil Elvis

REVIEW: Evil Elvis – Evilest Elvis (2025)

EVIL ELVIS – Evilest Elvis (2025)

Evil Elvis is back in 2026 with his new album Atomic Psycho, but you can get a taste of the new tunes on his new compilation:  Evilest Elvis!  KC Carlisle is a Toronto psychobilly artist who has a reputation for a hot live show, great musicianship, and horror-inspired lyrics.  The tunes range from punky spunk to loungy rock.

 

 

The songs:

“Cat Woman” from 2017’s Undead Or Alive:  The rambunctious chorus of “Here, kitty kitty” will keep you rocking while that bassline keeps things moving!

“Zombified” from 2001’s Evil Elvis:  Now we’re on a slow nocturnal groove, perfect for those spooky nights.  This smooth, smoky tune has an intoxicating quality.

“Evil Love” – new song from 2026’s Atomic Psycho:  The master of the drum, Cleave Anderson from Blue Rodeo, makes his Evil Elvis debut here.  It is incredible to think that this veteran drummer from one of my favourite bands is now burning down the house with Evil Elvis.  On this one, EE channels the original Elvis a bit on the chorus, but in ways the King could never have foreseen.  “I’ll kill your fuckin’ parents and make it look like suicide!” he growls.  “Evil Love” indeed!  Cleave absolutely proves his punk rock mettle here.  A promising song.

“Too Fast For You” – a 2015 single that ended up on Undead Or Alive, is a personal favourite.  There’s an Alice Cooper vibe here, of the Detroit variety.

“Surfin’ To Hell” – from 2011’s Tattoo’d Fuckwit.  This adds surf rock sounds to the repertoire.    The guitar solo is manic panic fun.

That concludes “Side Eh” of the album, and on to “Side B”:

“My Evil” from 2017’s Undead Or Alive:  A jaunty number with organ and a shuffle beat.  This impressive song has lush backing vocals, on a chorus that reminds me a little bit of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.  Possibly the best track on the album and a song which deserved to be a hit somewhere somehow!  “GO!”

“I Wanna Wed (The Undead)” is a funny title, from 2001’s Evil Elvis.  This has the most traditional rock and roll sounds, like something out of a 1950’s graveyard.  Just pure fun, with a Halloween dance party vibe.

“Wolf Woman” – from 2006’s Viva Las Vampire:  If you have a thing for a woman with body hair, you will probably love this ode to werewolf love!

“Heavenly Body (From Outer Space)” is the second of the new songs to come from 2026’s Atomic Psycho.  The bassline plays a bit of the Twilight Zone theme before Cleave rings the band in with a thumping beat.  We’re off to space this time!  The backing vocals provide a the hooks on the chorus.  Once again, the musicianship and singing are really top notch here.  The guitar solo is way fun!

“Let’s Make Sin” from 2011’s Tattoo’d Fuckwit:  “Come on baby, let the sinnin’ begin!”  Vampire love is fun way to end the album.  But wait!!

There’s more!  Two “XXXtra Tracks” bring the total track count to 12.

“Backseat Love” – from 2017’s Undead Or Alive.  A fun duet with one foot in the 1950s and the other in the grave!

“Hey Space Girl!” – from 2001’s Evil Elvis.  The roughest, most garage-y song on the album.  An ode to a woman from Mars that’s here to stay.  “Hey space girl, wanna see my laser gun?”

This album was dedicated to photographer Ron Boudreau, a staple of the Toronto scene who took pictures of many of the bands I loved.  Rest in peace Ron.

4/5 stars

 

VIDEO: Evilest Elvis: Unboxing the new compilation by Toronto Psychobilly star!

20 years is a long time, but not for the undead!  Check out the new XX anniversary compilation, Evilest Elvis, by Evil Elvis!  A review will be coming.

VIDEO: New Grab A Stack of Rock “Faces” shirts available at Teepublic!

Here’s a fun and quick video for you!

Thank you to Jex Russell for helping me present this brand new “Faces” shirt from Grab A Stack of Rock!  (Shirt pictured provided by Mike Semeniuk.)  These have been popular, probably due to the handsome mugs on ’em!  This new shirt features some popular guests.  In order:  Mike Slayen, Johnny Clauser, Peter Kerr, Jex Russell, Dr. Kathryn, Spenny Rice and Harrison Kopp.

Don’t forget, you can choose not just to support me, but the other wonderful creators in this community.

  • Tim’s Vinyl Confessions
  • 2 Loud 2 Old Music
  • Visions In Sound
  • The Contrarians
  • Grab A Stack of Rock

Every shirt, sticker or coffee mug keeps us going.  I say this factually.

Please give the video below a watch – trust me it’s worth it! – and consider supporting us on Teepublic.

teepublic.com/user/grab-a-stack-of-rock

Evil Christmas? Unboxing a Care Package from Evil Elvis!

A huge thank you to K.C. of Evil Elvis fame, for this care package.

One thing I am passionate about is doing my small part to promote music I love.  I have always felt strongly about that, and now that I have a couple platforms to do it, I’m happy to tell the world about artists like Evil Elvis.  I recently reviewed the excellent Undead or Alive CD, and in gratitude, I was sent an early evil Christmas present.

Check ’em out at evilelvis.bandcamp.com and enjoy this fun unboxing video with a couple music clips for a taste of Evil Elvis.

REVIEW: Evil Elvis – Undead Or Alive (2015)

EVIL ELVIS – Undead Or Alive (2015)

This CD, Undead or Alive, is my first exposure to Evil Elvis.  I was aware of singer K.C. since the 90s, from his band Blackglama who were featured on Raw M.E.A.T Vol 1.  Unsure what to expect, I was delighted to find this album is both hard to describe, and excellent!  They call it psychobilly, and I get it.  It has elements of that familiar rockabilly sound, but there’s way more going on here.  It’s hard to distil down into words, but here we go.

Surprise #1:  Lush and vibrant backing vocals.  I expected something way more ragged, but these guys are all singing in complementary harmony.  Really well produced too.

Surprise #2:  Just how flat-out catchy each and every song is.

Surprise #3:  Singer K.C. has only gotten better in the three decades since I first heard him.

Perfect example, I love when he screams “GO!” on opener “The Dead Are Walking”.  This timeless ode to zombies has some nice theremin-like sounds, and a breakneck beat.  Even faster, “My Evil” has tasty organ over a shuffle beat.  If it had horns, it could have been the Bosstones.  K.C. is a commanding singer, throttling through several voices in just the opening verse alone.  Sometimes he’s like Elvis (obviously), but he seamlessly goes to a growl next, and then back again.  Then he’s in a Tom Waits rasp like on “Apocalypse”, one of the catchiest songs about zombies I’ve heard to date.  “Adrenaline pumping fear and lust, we’re hellbound to fight these zombie fucks!”  But the chorus!…top quality.  “Bodies piled to the sky, I want yours next to mine!”  Love it.

Each song has a slightly different direction, but all of them contain hooks galore, fast beats, and great singing from K.C.  Example:  “Backseat Love” is a duet with Sarah Beth for variety.  This album no shortage of variety, even within the confines of its psychobilly direction.  Each song has its own flavour, sometimes drawing from the wells of other genres, such as heavy metal, on bonus track “Sick of this Shit”.

Tremendously fun album, expertly executed for high voltage kicks.  Recommended.

4/5 stars

 

Great Australian & Canadian Record Faire Hauls with Jex, Harrison & Mr. Books – Bonus Unboxing Autographed Sven Gali & Evil Elvis

A pretty exciting show for fans of physical media.  Jex was just at a Record Faire yesterday, and Harrison a couple weeks ago.  They had plenty of cool new finds on CD, vinyl, DVD, and cassette.  Alice Cooper, Dio, Accept, Twisted Sister, and some artists a little off the beaten track.  We know that Harrison, Jex, and special guest Mr. Books have a variety of tastes.  Mr. Books, incidentally, had some cool Charlie Watts stuff and a new guitar to experiment with.

Meanwhile, Mike did a cameo with the newest releases by Sven Gali, and Toronto psychobilly artists Evil Elvis.  For Sven, it’s their first full-length CD of new material since 1995’s InWire.  The new CD Bombs and Battlescars has tracks produced by Andy Curran, and others featuring the late guitarist Dee Cernile.  I ordered the autographed version from RockPaperMerch!  Meanwhile, Evil Elvis just picked up original Blue Rodeo drummer Cleave Anderson, and I opened their most recent CD as well.

Finally, we had a new Ask Harrison question from “Noirison”, and a special question for Jex from “former Honeymoon Suite keyboardist Ray Coburn”!

NEXT WEEK:  ONE YEAR ANNIVERSAY SHOW WITH DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED!

Record Faire Hauls with Jex, Harrison & Mr. Books + LeBrain Unboxes Sven Gali & Evil Elvis

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With The Mad Metal Man & Jexcalibur

Episode 39:  Mr. Books & Record Fair Scores
+ LeBrain Unboxes Sven Gali & Evil Elvis

I decided to take tonight off, but Harrison and Jex have a bunch of new stuff they wanna show off, so they’re going LeBrainless tonight with an almost completely Mike-free evening.  Jex went to a Record Faire, and Harrison went undercover as a normal bloke without superpowers to bring you this episode.

With them will be Aaron KMA otherwise known as Mr. Books.  He may or may not have books, or guitar equipment to show.

Meanwhile, Mike will be there by 9:00 PM sharp for two special unboxings:  The newest releases by Sven Gali, and Toronto psychobilly artists Evil Elvis.  For Sven, it’s their first full-length CD of new material since 1995’s InWire.  I ordered a special version, so I can’t wait for you to see!

LIVE Saturday Oct 21 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!