Here Be Monsters

About

In the shadowed underbelly of the late 1980s, where the cassette whispered its defiant tales, Here Be Monsters emerged as a spectral presence. Between 1988 and 1992, their six releases echoed through the underground, carried on the winds by labels such as ZH27 and Zidslick. Their sound—a folk-punk tapestry woven with melodic instrumentation and tales spun in lyrical threads—invoked the spirit of the DIY ethos, a movement as raw and unyielding as the times themselves. Among these relics, "Choosing The Weapons" (1988) and "Thousands Are Still Asleep" (1992) stand as testament to their ritualistic journey. Each tape, a vessel of sound and story, navigated the realms of drama and farce, capturing the essence of a scene shrouded in secrecy yet vibrant with life. The whispered incantations of Here Be Monsters found kinship with the likes of OUT OF SYSTEM TRANSFER and Average Joey, fellow wanderers in this aural netherworld. Zan Hoffman, the enigmatic figure behind this endeavor, left no role unturned, his presence both known and unknown, a spectral guide through the elemental landscapes carved by Here Be Monsters. As the last echoes of their cassettes fade, they remain a mythic footnote in the annals of underground lore.