The Devil’s Rejects
The trick of the classic-rock guitar solo depends on what came before it. The best—which is to say, the most exemplary in this least-relevant, most exuberantly puerile sub-art form—are emergences after transformations, moments when edging balladry finally gives way to real ascendence. Some skin is cracked open.
The Lords of Salem
“On the rare occasion, a special child appears…” I first watched The Lords of Salem in an empty multiplex in Easton, PA, in 2013. After 10 minutes, I had to go ask them to turn off the lights.