When Horror met Metal: A Satanic Panic
When Horror met Metal: a Hermanos of Horror pairing series.
To say that the mediums of Horror and Metal go together is to say that salt and vinegar go together, politician and scandal go together, pleasure and pain go together, angel and demon, cenobite and exquisite suffering....you get the drift.
It was during the recording of the Trick or Treat podcast that Ed's talk about the satanic panic and subliminal messages started me off down this path of exploring horror soundtracking and when I saw Edgar Wright and Kyle McLaughlin shamelessly duplicating Nicks trademark of pairing films with wines I knew what had to be done.
Therefore for this series Hermanos of Horror bring to you our recommended musical pairings for some of our favourite horror sub genres.
What do we mean by these pairings? Surely we've not gone to the trouble of working out what music syncs up perfectly with specific horror films?
No....of course. Dark Side of the Moon and the Wizard of Oz has already completed that experiment. Instead our pairings are more like a before or after course, an appetiser to get you in the mood or a follow on when your main isn't quite enough. You'll also note that our offerings are not all explicitly in the metal world, but much like a fine whisky will have a variety of tastes and influences beyond that of simply a smoky alcohol taste, our pairings like to give a broad rich palette of flavours.
Without further adiue, HoH presents the first in our Hermanos Soundtracks.
A Satanic Panic:
It had to be really....this is a mix for the horror lover whose in the mood for some devilish hijinks, some late eighties subliminal messages and some non conforming scares. You're here, on a horror fan site, reading about music that could be accompanying horror films, you don't need us to explain why these particular songs, just know they've been curated to pair with some of the following films, with no spoilers...as hard as that is to do when one lives to spoil:
We Summon the Darkness (2019). Set in the time of the panic and very much exploring horror and metal culture. It's got the songs and the horror. Also Jonny Knoxville perfectly cast.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)- yes...that's right...what of it? Our children are being corrupted....8 more days til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween
Prince of Darkness (1987) - John Carpenter. Part of the Apocalypse Trilogy. Quantum physics, Catholic Priests, Satan...sold
Deathgasm (2015): Play the song backwards....A Dildo is a weapon.....brothers of metal.
Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981): There is nothing to say. You're on a horror website, you know what this is about.
Lair of the White Worm (1988): Look at this DVD cover..
The Babysitter (2017): Samara Weaving and horror are a perfect pairing on their own...add in Beelzebub and you've got yourself a satanic panic.
Trick or Treat (1986): Discussed on the podcast, all the fears of heavy metal and Satanism distilled into a high voltage horror.
Zodiac (2007): It could be argued that this isn't really a satanic panic film, but the Zodiac Killer drove the fear that was a part of the panic, and...then when then hurdy gurdy man came singing songs of love....
And this concludes our first pairing session. We hope you are sated on the rich plater of horror, metal and satanic panic and if our first pairing has left you thirsting for more we have a whole menu prepared to cater to your exquisite palette.
