EIGHT YEARS IN THE MAKING the world's most extant Cthulhu-inspired rock band is ready to record another album!

In 1992 some nerds living in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, who were into H.P. Lovecraft's weird horror fiction and roleplaying games, decided to start a band. With no musical training but with a penchant for spine-tingling monster costumes, Toren Atkinson and Warren Banks began "writing" "music" and showcasing their unique brand of humor and horror in performances at local venues.

Human earthlings seemed to enjoy it.

                                            ---The Thickets' previous albums---

Over the next 20+ years, the band released multiple albums and toured across North America, spreading the message of Cthulhu apocalypse in punk rock form. They performed live alongside like-themed weirdos They Might Be Giants, GWAR, and Jonathan Coulton, and had their music put in film and video games, including Rock Band 2. They even had a special compilation CD in tandem with the release of the roleplaying game d20 Call of Cthulhu.

               ---the Thickets perform live in many outrageous costumes---

Now we are ready to bring new music to your ears with our 5th full-length studio album titled The Dukes of Alhazred, but we can't do it without our loyal cultists!

With your help, we will record brand new material as well as revisit some of our favorites with a special twist. Will there be songs about the world coming to an end in unexpected and creepy ways? Will there be songs about obscure deep-sea fish? Will there be songs about industrial accidents in old-timey Boston that drowned people and horses in molasses? Will there be not-so subtle references to the Cthulhu Mythos? Help us fund this project and find out for yourself!

As a special treat, we have secured the inimitable artist Chris Woods to provide the cover art for the album! Thickets fans will remember his paintings used on Cthulhu Strikes Back and Spaceship Zero: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

                         ---Chris' Woods oil painting of the band in the
                  Millennium Falcon for the album 'Cthulhu Strikes Back---

What We Need & What You Get

We will be recording real songs with real equipment in the real world. We will then mix those sounds with professional sound mixing software with the same sound engineer we used for our last album (The Shadow Out of Tim). This, of course, costs real money.

We are planning for a full length album of about 12 songs including a few acoustic versions of classic Thickets songs and several brand new songs in the full rock tradition you have come to expect from the band.

Stretch Goal: Physical CDs

If we reach $11,500 we will press physical CDs. Anyone who donates at levels  Cthulhu's Choir, Dagon's Dedication, Elder Endowment, Formless Figure, Gugls Game, Hastur's Hymn, Ia Ia Cowbell Fhtagn, or Juk-Shabb's Jolly Pie will have the option of receiving a physical CD mailed to them if this stretch goal is met. Shipping perks will be added at that time for shipping to Canada, USA and everywhere else.

Stretch Goal: Two More Songs!

We've been continuing work on still more new material as the campaign rolls forward and we're confident that we can add to the stack of songs we currently have on the proverbial table. If we reach $14,000 we will use that extra capital to put two additional songs on the album! How do you like them non-Euclidean apples?

Stretch Goal: H.P. Lovecraft Audiobook

Once we cross reach the threshold of $15,000, we will create and provide to donors of ALL LEVELS an audiobook of an H.P. Lovecraft short story. This audiobook will be read by lead singer and voice actor Toren Atkinson, with interlaced music provided by guitarist Mario Nieva. We will provide more details as they become available!

Stretch Goal: Two More More Songs!

Yes, that's right! It may take extra time but we're prepared to go BACK into the studio if we reach $17,000 and write and record yet another two songs to add to the album. BE WARNED however this may push back the release date because we want to make these songs up to the caliber you've come to expect from The Thickets. Forewarned is four-armed, as the gugs say.

Risks & Challenges

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets have been writing, performing and recording for over 2 decades. We have recorded and released four albums in the past 23 years: "Cthulhu Strikes Back," "Great Old Ones," "Spaceship Zero: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack," and "The Shadow Out of Tim." The music for this album is already 99% written (there's always a bit of magic that happens in the studio). The studio space, equipment and sound engineer secured. We've given ourselves a deadline - the last piece in this eldritch puzzle is the funds!

Other Ways You Can Help

Can't contribute? Here's the part where we ask you to get the word out to your friends, enemies, and frenemies about our fundraising campaign! Use the Indiegogo share tools why don't you?