In 1988, a straight-to-VHS satanic panic horror film called Black Roses went nowhere fast. The movie itself is, by any honest assessment, terrible: bright red fake blood, rubber monster suits, Vincent Pastore as a concerned father, and a teacher who kills a possessed student with a tennis racket. What the film left behind, almost accidentally, was a soundtrack worth arguing about.
The musicians behind the fictional band Black Roses are King Cobra's core lineup: Marcie Free, Mick Sweda, Carmine Appice, and Chuck Wright. They show up alongside Lizzy Borden, Bang Tango (in their first commercial recording ever, predating Psycho Cafe by a year), Tempest, Hallow's Eve, and a second King Kobra lineup featuring Johnny Edwards, who later sang for Foreigner. Metal Blade Records put full-page ads in every metal magazine. The CD now sells for $50 to $300 on Discogs. Patron Keith Miller paid $100 for his.
This week, Jay, Tim, and Chip work through whether this is a hidden gem, a curiosity, or something more complicated: a record that does not fit the artist album model or the showcase compilation model, and lands somewhere between the two.
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Episode Highlights
Intro (0:00): Poll reveal. Black Roses wins a four-way race at 30.4%, beating Venom, Death Angel, and Marry My Hope. Patron Keith Miller spent $100 on the CD to make this happen.
6:23: The movie. Jay watched it on Tubi: satanic band, small-town teacher, monster from a speaker, tennis racket murder, Vincent Pastore, an open ending where Black Roses heads to Madison Square Garden.
14:07: Is it fun-bad or just bad? Jay: "Worst movie I've ever seen." Taken completely seriously, no camp wink at the camera, zero budget.
17:45: The Keith Miller subplot. An actor named Keith Miller appears in the film's credits. Running gag: he is possessed, much older than we realize, a satanic demon.
20:07: Rock Invasion. Carmine Appice's drumming is most audible here; a conventional anthemic verse gives way to a minor-key trippy middle section nobody expected.
22:27: Two versions of King Cobra on one record. The Black Roses band is the Marcie Free/Mick Sweda/Carmine Appice lineup; "Take It Off" is King Kobra with Johnny Edwards, who later sang for Foreigner.
26:34: Paradise (We're On Our Way). Power ballad that divides the hosts: sounds like Winger or Stan Bush's "The Touch," overly positive, no edge.
30:10: Bang Tango's first commercial recording. "I'm No Stranger" predates Psycho Cafe by a year. Joe Leste's name is spelled differently in the liner notes.
32:13: Me Against the World. The best song on the record by a clear margin. Used twice in the film. Already had a video before the movie existed.
36:03: Take It Off (King Kobra). Johnny Edwards, later of Foreigner. Jay: "Could have been a Gene Simmons song."
41:40: Trick or Treat comparison. The 1986 Fastway soundtrack as a contrast: bigger budget, theatrical release, now retroactively a Fastway album. Future episode pairing suggested.
44:38: Carmine and Pink Floyd. While filming in Canada, Carmine walked into a record store and heard himself on A Momentary Lapse of Reason for the first time. Nick Mason had a hand injury; Floyd called Carmine for "Dogs of War."
47:07: Bill and Ted comparison. Black Roses falls between a cohesive all-artist album and a showcase compilation, satisfying neither. Hosts rattle off both Bill and Ted soundtracks from memory.
53:20: Dance on Fire. Jay: "I kept singing Bon Jovi's 'In and Out of Love': same cadence." Could have had a Headbangers Ball video.
Outro: Verdicts delivered. Keith Miller shoutout.
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