Halloween Music Recommendations 2021

Since I did this last year, I figured I would feature some more recommendations this year.  Being a huge metal fan, these will be primarily metal.

Necrophagia- Season of the Dead and Ready for Death

Okay, I am going with a double-feature kind of thing with this one.  The first full-length studio album by one of the original death metal bands and the album recorded before it that remained unreleased until a few years later.  

First, Season of the Dead came out in 1987 and was Necrophagia's one and only album until vocalist/mainman Killjoy teamed up with Phil Anselmo to reactivate the band with a new lineup in the late '90s.  The lyrics are filled with horror influences, as is the cover art.  The music itself is going for a bit moodier sort of feel rather than just out-and-out speed.  It is a classic and always a great listen.  The imagery and mood make it a natural choice for Halloween listening.

Ready for Death was recorded in 1986, but was not released at that time.  Much as was the case with Morbid Angel's intended first album, Abominations of Desolation (also recorded in 1986), Ready for Death was shelved and only saw the light of day a good few years later due to the bootlegs that had come out.  Being so close in time to Season of the Dead, Ready for Death is fairly similar.  Some of the songs would end up on Season of the Dead, some retitled or slightly reworked.  The differences between the two albums are somewhat subtle.  The production is one of the most noticeable,with Ready for Death sounding a bit more raw.  Regardless, I think both albums are essential to a death metal collection and each got a re-release this year (Hells Headbangers did Season on LP and Xtreem Music released Ready on CD and LP).  Crank both this Halloween.

 

Various Artists- Halloween Hootenanny

This one is a compilation put out by Rob Zombie a couple of decades ago.  The music is primarily surf rock and rockabilly stuff.  The songs are spooky and fun with dark humor and Halloween themes.  The album is also introduced by legendary horror host Zacherley, who also has a song included on the album.  If you want a party album that is upbeat and not too moody, but still fitting the Halloween spirit, then this is a good choice.

Mortician- Hacked Up for Barbecue

 I included a Mortician release last year and I am including this one this year.  The is the first full-length album from Mortician, released in 1996.  This is one of my favorite death metal albums of all time, so it is a natural for me to mention.  The recording is more polished than the previous recordings, but it is still heavy.  Many of the songs on this album dated back a few years, with some being re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on prior EPs and the compilation album Corporate Death.  A few others had been part of live shows for a few years, but had not been recorded in the studio until this album.

Brutal yet memorable songs, horror movie samples, morbid artwork by the great Wes Benscoter-- what else do you need for a good Halloween soundtrack?

Various Artists- Elvira Presents Monster Hits

 It has been quite the year for Elvira, who has celebrated her 40th anniversary this year.  She hosted a marathon on Shudder, did some hosting gig on Netflix, and of course, Cassandra Peterson released her book (which I recently finished).  It seems only fitting to include one of her compilation albums on the list.  I included this one as it is probably a bit easier to get than some others, but I will talk about some of those another year, probably.

This is another light-hearted, upbeat party album.  The songs are fun and varied, with a couple performed by Elvira and friends.  It is nothing very serious, just fun horror-filled music.

 

 Happy Halloween