A Playlist by Boogie Muggins
It’s spooky season, and that means a playlist of songs meant to instill frights and inspire dark machinations. Feast your audible palate on these tasty tracks, and grab a handful of sugary snacks; it’s Halloween.
1. In the Fire by Roadrunner United
This track features an all-star collection of heavy metal artists from Roadrunner records. Besides Papa Emeritus from the Swedish band ‘Ghost’, there is perhaps no more evil-looking a front man than King Diamond. His garish screams and howling falsettos highlight a track with a ripping melody, a relentless double-kick rhythm and sinister solos from the guitarists of Trivium.
2. Dig Up Her Bones by The Misfits
An old-school classic for creepy tunes, this song channels a story of love, resurrection, and morbid curiosity. With a surprisingly poppy sounding chorus, the lyrics give this song the haunted characteristic to make it an apt choice for this Halloween season.
3. What A Horrible Night to Have a Curse by Black Dahlia Murder
One of modern death metal’s hardest hitting bands, this classic tune from Black Dahlia Murder tells a grim story to the thrashing pace that has become synonymous with BDM’s sound.
4. Let Me In by WWE and Code Orange
Halloween is all about reveling in campiness. Nothing is more campy than professional wrestling, and since the Undertaker effectively retired, the mantle of spook has been taken up by the brilliant “Fiend” character by Bray Wyatt. This entrance theme song is as creepy as anything ever done by WWE since going PG. Channel your inner demon and LET HIM IN.
5. Demon of the Fall by Opeth
This track devastates with vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt’s crushing low growl vocals and the band’s commitment to bringing melody and carnage together in harmony.
6. Prologue/All Alone by Blind Witness
One of Canada’s understated death metal outfits, the opening track(s) to their debut album, Nightmare on Providence Street, are heavy, fast, and the sort of thing you might hear coming out of an interrogation room. Anyone familiar with the ‘blind kid playing football’ meme will surely enjoy the drop in this song.
7. Conquer All by Behemoth
The lords of evil, Behemoth unleashed hell with this powerful track. The blistering speed of the double-kick drums, the depth of musicality and brutality ensure one thing and one thing only, a sore neck and maybe a noise complaint.
8. Ramirez by The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain’s 2010 album, Wormwood, has song titles that hearken to America’s violent history. This song is a reference to the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, LA’s ‘Night Stalker’ from ’84 to ’85. This song is brutal (in a good way), and has a filthy (also good) drop that will break into your ears, defile your brain, and murder your previous notions of what a good death metal drop is.
9. Vicer Exciser by Whitechapel
The debut album for Whitechapel draws heavily on the crimes of Great Britain’s most famous killer, Jack the Ripper. This song goes into gruesome detail the perspective of that bad ol’ boy Jack as he goes from hunt to kill to dismemberment of his victim.
10. A) Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix) by Andrew Gold
B) Astronomia (Coffin Dance) by HUTS
If the first 9 songs didn’t sit well on the palate, jam songs 10a and 10b on repeat to alleviate the terror and dread.
Happy Halloween Boys and Ghouls
Boogie
