Don't Slander Me

Don’t Slander Me was recorded in 1982, hot on the heels of Erickson’s comeback album The Evil One, but it didn’t come out until 1986. It’s no grab-bag of outtakes, though; it’s an eclectic, committed and high-energy collection of songs that allow Erickson to step away from the cartoonish, horror-movie image that threatened to swallow him. There are blazing rockers (the title track, “Haunt,” “Crazy Crazy Mama,” “Bermuda,” “Can’t Be Brought Down”), power pop (“Nothing in Return”), and two shockingly overt homages to Buddy Holly (“You Drive Me Crazy,” “Starry Eyes”). The only horror-rock track is the six-minute “Burn the Flames,” a crawling, Alice Cooper-esque anthem that found its way onto the soundtrack of Return of the Living Dead.