Halloween is one of the more metal holidays in the year: the emphasis on horror, the dark decorations, and the self-destruction through candy consumption is where everything tends to line up between the music and the festivities. Unquestionably, if you wanna get in the mood for the holiday, or have the ultimate metal-esque horror house soundtrack, here’s some starting points to make the process easier.
King Diamond – Fatal Portrait: You can argue you can have any King Diamond-related album on here, which is entirely true, but Fatal Portrait has “Halloween” on it. Plus, King’s airy vocals and the heavy, chugging guitars that are constantly propelling the album forward are enough to discomfort and make every mom of the 80’s accuse King of being a Satanist. Which would be entirely true, don’t get me wrong, but the effect remains the same.
Ghost – Opus Eponymous: Ghost have gone on to be a major player in the modern heavy metal scene with this album alone. While subsequent albums have been more experimental and them branching out, Opus has those retro metal riffs to go with the retro-spooks and tongue in cheek lyrics provided by Papa Emeritus I. It’s a short endeavor, but the impression should be a lasting one, especially if you manage to find a version of the album with a slightly off center cover of “Here Comes the Sun” attached to it.
Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas: Never mind them spelling “Satanas” wrong in the title, this is the real horror album to put on here. Coincidentally my first black metal album ever, De Mysteriis has the chaotic rhythm sections and the demonic and ghostly (Yet disturbing) wails of Attila Csihar. More disturbing is that both guitarist Euronymous and Varg Vikernes, his murderer, are on the album, in which Varg plays bass. Even worse, the church on the front was meant to be the next church to be destroyed. If that doesn’t give you chills, then I don’t know what will.
Zeal and Ardor – Devil Is Fine: There’s something about mixing Afro-centric music and metal that seems like such a great idea, but when the execution is this effective you know this is something worth taking note of. Haunting sounds throughout, from guitar parts, to the vocals, to the backing keyboards and the choirs to go with them, this album makes you feel uneasy from start to finish in the best way possible. Partially because it’s so good but at the same time because it captures that scary side of metal so effectively, as well.
Cannibal Corpse – Butchered At Birth: Granted you can put any Cannibal Corpse album on here in this place for the same reasons, (Like King Diamond) but Butchered At Birth has some song titles that’ll turn your stomach inside out. Literally. As it is, this album’s a classic in death metal, so what’s Halloween without a gore-fest movie to take it over the top? Cannibal Corpse pride themselves on that, so they’re an absolute no-brainer for this Halloween. (Album cover is NSFW, in case you haven’t realized)
