What if Ozzy Osbourne could really bark at the moon? Or if Iron Maiden was really marked with the number of the beast? Questions like these must have been circling within the minds of Jason Lei Howden and Llexi Leon as they come up with stories for OPUS Comics, a division of Incendium, LLC. Dealing with stories that are myths, monsters and metal, Opus released "Monsters of Metal: Krampus in Concert" at the end of last year. The story begins with Krampus patrolling the streets and putting down a Santa Claus who is enjoying some libations in public.
Frank, Billy "Wolfgang" Rains, Brianna "Bride" McKenzie, Medyna and Jack-O are members of a metal band that recently signed to Fony Records. They have twelve days to record an album before the label takes a Christmas break. They are also recording an unenthused documentary. Krampus finds his way to the band and Frank points him in the direction of Danzig, figuring that this demon could not possibly have any business with them.
It is soon discovered that Krampus is there to confront Jack-O because they use to jam together in another band. Not there to shoot the shit, Krampus claims that Jack-O has stolen his songs for this new band. Denying these allegations, Krampus puts a curse on Jack-O and his bandmates. Working with Producer Dick Demon at Rockfield Studios, things start to go wrong. Things reach a head when the famed producer is killed by a reindeer.
Things go from bad to worse as they still try to complete the album. Jack-O realizes something has to be done when the curse dissolves their label. The only thing left to do is for the two ex-bandmates to shred themselves to death with their respective guitars. As Bride is playing both Krampus and Frank against each other, an obsessed fan appears to be ready to make a move for Frank. The artwork had me confused at moments as to whom I was looking at. With that being said, Miguel Mora, Omar Estévez and Jacob Bascle also had moments of brilliance with their artwork. Also, check out the cover gallery by Ryan Christensen and Dwayne Harris. There is also a special introduction to "Deathgasm" in the back of the book. Either way, it was a fun and entertaining read!
