Halloween Essentials

I thought this would be a fun undertaking, and people are usually always looking for shit like this around Halloween, so I'm providing a list of albums that would make any Halloween better. Links provided are mostly just google'd searches, I haven't tried them myself. I can't upload at this stupid university, so my apologies.

Earth A.D.
Misfits
The only band I've liked since I was 12, the Misfits hold a special place in my heart. Earth A.D./Wolfblood is essential, the only issue being that the song "Halloween" isn't on it (for that I suggest Collection II, or if you're a big spender like me, the box set). But you've got the more "hardcore" songs here- "Earth A.D." (my favorite), "Green Hell," "Death Comes Ripping," "Wolfsblood," etc. For the more upbeat kinda Halloween.

Download


Buried Death
Coffins
I can't say enough about this band. Old school production, lyrics, style, but refreshing in some way. Coffins combine absurd heaviness with gore drenched lyrics and imagery and badass song writing. Some songs crawl, some are propelled by d-beats. It's Hellhammer and old school death metal worship compressed with agonizingly slow tempos.


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Midnight Murder Mania
Frightmare
Leave it to Razorback records to be on this list, but Frightmare are everything you could ask for. Thrashy death metal that's all about the horror movies you grew up watching behind your parents back. Midnight Murder Mania is catchy and absolutely rockin'. Employing riffs galore, varied vocals (from gurgles to screeches, and barks in between), and blasting drums, Frightmare offers it all. I prefer this to the cleaner sounding Bringing Back The Bloodshed as well as the handful of other Razorback bands. There's even a Misfits cover.
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We Came For The Dead!!!
Ghoul
Very similar to Frightmare's brand of thrashy death metal, We Came For the Dead!!! is another essential. Started by members of Impaled, Ghoul is a tribute to the bands before them that reveled in gorey lyrics and a horror filled imagery. Catchy thrash riffs off put with blasting drums, a huge array of vocals and little noises here and there to keep the hairs up on the back of your neck.I used to love this band, haven't listened in awhile- happy to use this as an excuse to.
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Hell
Hell
Aptly named, Hell conjure a horrowing and oddly bleak atmosphere with this tape. Mixing black metal, sludge, ambient, and drone, Hell gets your head banging and at other times it gets you holding the sheets tight. The juxtapositions are clear, as one track trudges in a super heavy and dark sludge tone, then goes to long stretches of noises and other effects eventually back to riffs. Black metal in terms of atmosphere, production, and vocals, sludge in terms of structure and guitar playing, and overall droning. This is the USA Hell, from Oregon.

This is my rip, so it's a bit rough-but i guess you could say it adds to the creepiness. Download

Horror Of The Zombies
Impetigo
As essential as essential gets, Horror of the Zombies is Impetigo's shining star. One of the first bands to pay such attention to horror clips, Impetigo matches the unsettling movies from which they borrow with a punky style of death metal with some of the most distinctive voices in metal. Punk like progressions with that dirty late 80's early 90's guitar/ bass tone and a lot of odd vocals, it stands out amongst the other death metal acts at the time. There is such an old school charm that surrounds this, you can't help but love it, i'd say the same kind of charm Horrified has.
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Mundo Cripta
Machetazo
Spain's best band (yeah, that's right I'll say it) Machetazo play a style of grindcore that dips heavily into the gore splattered death metal that I've talked about earlier. Raw, heavy, and fast is the name of the game. I've just ordered their cover album which I'm stupid excited for (check/buy it here). Zombies, movie clips, thick fuzzy guitars, blast beats, everything in Spanish, unique not without little homages to the gore lords before them; what else do you need? "Horror death grind from beyond" as they put it; it fits.
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Death and the Black Work
Nightbringer
Creepy and winding black metal that seems to be an endless void of tremolo riffs and drums with whispers and yells from beyond. It's a marathon effort as it's quite long, but the first track alone should give you a good idea with that creepy as hell intro and catchy riff. A real powerful album, I love it; overwhelming and dark as hell.

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Gudsforladt
Nortt
Unsettling and dismal, Gudsforladt plays blackened funeral doom; a fitting zombie shuffle pace for this list. Waves of feedback, sparse drums, shots of ethereal keys and odious growls and moans that swirl throughout the album make this release quite chilling. A real mood killer, but great to leave on and scare your neighbor's kids with.

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Obviously there's a lot I left out, but I hope ya'll can appreciate this.

-F