Photo Re-Cap: Fangoria Convention 2009 – Los Angeles Convention Center

"Horror movies and heavy metal go hand-in-hand. They always have," exclaimed Devildriver guitarist Jeff Kendrick as he strolled down the corridor of 2009's Fangoria Weekend of Horrors at the Los Angeles Convention center. Surveying the crowd—which included everyone from Tool's Adam Jones and Ozzy Osbourne's Blasko to cult icons Bill Moseley and Ashley Laurence—Kendrick's words couldn't have rung more true.

While scanning some severed heads at one vendor booth, Kendrick explained, "It's funny because I've always drawn more personal inspiration from films than anywhere else. In terms of creating music, especially what we've done on our new album, Pray For Villains, channeling movies is always the best way to paint a sonic picture."

Welcome to the cross roads of all things slasher culture. Fango Con is the cozy spot in Hell where art, movies, Suicide Girls and purveyors of heavy metal convene on all things bloody good. Aside from a wide selection of vendors and autograph booths, Fango Con features some insightful panels. This year, highlights included Clive Barker talking about Hellraiser, the cast of Laid to Rest discussing their flick and Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman giving the crowd an exclusive look at Mutant Chronicles.

One remark from Barker could've summed up the whole event. At one moment, he glanced off the main auditorium stage at the crowd and exclaimed, "We get far dumber movies than we actually deserve." Roars from the audience followed. The master of horror was completely right. This audience isn't a dumb one. In fact, they're well-read and boned up on almost every aspect of this culture.

There's a purity and lack of pretension that makes the horror genre somewhat comforting. During his panel for Laid to Rest, director Robert Hall made an illuminating comment about his slice-and-dice romp. He said, "It's a slasher movie. It's not The English Patient. We aimed to create shit that we wanted to see because we still haven't seen it yet." From the brutal clips he then showed, it looked like the mission had been accomplished.

Of the young guns, Hall stood out, and he'd immediately caught Sarah Connor Chronicles star Thomas Dekker's attention with his previous film, Lightning Bug. Dekker commented, "I saw Lightning Bug, and I thought it was very good. I said I'd do anything Robert asked, and he asked [Laughs]." Dekker landed a spot in Laid to Rest and the results are a bombastic bloodletting bound to satiate any horror fan's thirst.

Mutant Chronicles offered up a different sort of action. The sci-fi epic looks to be one of the best this spring. Star Thomas Jane sat on a panel alongside Anna Walton and Ron Perlman. Jane shed some light on the flick, saying, "I felt like the film was like an old Buck Rogers serial or Flash Gordon, and that was the hook for me." It'll most likely hook the world too.

With a pervasive attitude and a whole lot of black clothing, Fango Con was about as metal as OZZfest without the sunburns.

For more Fango Con coverage, check out the playlist links and photos below!

Playlist: Jeff Kendrick of Devildriver

Playlist: Ron Perlman of Mutant Chronicles & Hellboy

Playlist: Nick Principe of Laid to Rest

Photos: