What I’ve Been Listening During Spooky Season, Part I
Halloween is almost upon us, folks, so you know what that means, right? It means watching nothing but scary movies and listening to spooky music, and you bet that’s what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks. I haven’t written any reviews in a week, give or take, partially because I haven’t wanted to write any, but also because I’ve been sick, so I haven’t had any energy to. Now that I’m back, though, I wanted to talk about a bunch of albums I’ve been listening to in a rapid-fire fashion, namely Halloween-ish and spooky albums that would fit perfectly in the vein of what I’ve been looking for. I’m going break this series up into a few parts, the first being some classic albums from a few bands and artists you’re definitely going to recognize and these I’d consider the top three “spooky” albums to listen to if you want something to frighten party guests if you’re having a Halloween party, or if you want something to play during the day in your headphone that will send chills down your spine. You probably know these albums, and if so, listen to them again. They’re all absolute classics, and there’s a reason people keep coming to these albums year after year, starting with...
Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe
I’m going to go in descending order, starting with the “youngest” album of the bunch, and that’s Rob Zombie’s debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe from 1998. I’d never really listened to Zombie’s music before, but I knew about it. I knew who he was, and I’ve seen some of his horror movies, but his music is something I haven’t touched. I listened to this album, along with one of his records with his former band, White Zombie. They’re a groove-metal band, and while they’re pretty good, I wasn’t as drawn to that record or band as much as this one. Hellbilly Deluxe took a lot of the groovy sounds that Zombie played with, and threw an electronic and industrial kick onto them, sending them into overdrive. Everyone knows “Dragula,” which is named for the Munsters care of the same name (and he did just put out that Munsters film on Netflix), but songs like “Superbeast,” “Living Dead Girl,” and “Meet The Creeper” are absolute bangers that I love playing loudly. They also feature a B-movie horror feel to them, and the lyrics are a lot of fun in that respect. Zombie’s voice is also really creepy and matches the music very well. It showed people that there was a lot more to him than just White Zombie, and following this record, he’d start making movies, but I feel like people more know Rob Zombie as a director and filmmaker than a musician.
King Diamond - Abigail
Next up is the second album from maybe the spookiest metal musician to grace peoples’ ears, and that’s King Diamond’s sophomore solo album, 1987′s Abigail. Known as the frontman of Mercyful Fate, who’s also quite spooky, Abigail is one of the first horror / metal hybrid concept albums. It’s a bit of a convoluted story, and it doesn’t really make sense unless you read the Wikipedia article on it, but it’s a weird, spooky, and interesting ghost story that’s about a haunted house where the main character and his wife move into after inheriting it. I won’t say anything else, but let’s just say a lot of haunted shenanigans happen, and a lot of awesome vocals and solos come from King Diamond and company. It’s a really catchy album, despite being a concept album, and it’s really short, only a brisk 40 minutes, so it never takes up much time. It’s a lot of fun, despite being really creepy, but it’s one of the ultimate Halloween albums. This album was tailor made for Halloween, although the last album I wanted to talk about might be even more so tailor made for this time of year...
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
If there’s one album out there that I would consider the “spookiest” album in existence, not song but album, it would be Alice Cooper’s debut solo album, Welcome To My Nightmare from 1975. This was my first Alice Cooper album, and it’s an album I really enjoyed, although I wasn’t super in love with it at first listen. I haven’t listened to it in years, but I’ve been playing it a lot lately to get into the Halloween spirit, and man, I love this record. Cooper went solo after releasing a few really successful glam-rock albums with his band of the same name, but this was a chance for him to reinvent himself, and boy, did he do that. This album is a concept album going through the dreams of a young boy named Steven, and it’s about his nightmares that he sees, as well as the crazy and deranged things that go bump in the night. It has everything from spiders, dead bodies, madmen, and even a monologue from Vincent Price himself. It’s a loaded album, but it’s also incredibly fun, catchy, and creepy. This is the album that you want to listen to during Halloween.