When we think of Halloween, we often picture Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger on our heels. But there are plenty of contemporary horror villains as well: the Babadook, Get Out’s Armitage family, and the Nun to name a few modern day nightmares. In the heavy music world, there are plenty of sinister sounds to add to the legacy initiated by Black Sabbath and Slayer, and 2021 is no exception. From depraved deathcore demolition to blacked-out emo terror, this year has given us a slew of scary-good songs to add to our Halloween playlists — including these 10 throat-slashing cuts.
Bring Me the Horizon – “DiE4U”
At this point, Bring Me the Horizon is basically a pop group playing heavy music, and they flaunt that in full with “DiE4U,” the follow-up single to Post Human: Survival Horror (a.k.a. their best Linkin Park impression). The keyboard-driven track channels vocalist Oli Sykes’ struggles with addiction, and it’s as brooding and morbid as any of the material the band released last year. “This isn’t love, this is a bloodbath,” Sykes croons on yet another ominous offering from the band who previously gave us a zombie music video and gut-splattered album cover.
Carnifex – “Graveside Confessions”
Over the past decade, Carnifex has perfected its brand: a horror-inspired deathcore band with plenty of frills. Graveside Confessions is perhaps their most frightening listen yet, with the gloom of death and cemeteries guiding the band’s eighth LP. The title track blasts things into full gear right away with sprinting double bass and lyrics about all things ominous: red moons, vampires, and caskets. If you have time, be sure to give their death metal rendition of Korn’s “Dead Bodies Everywhere” on this record a whirl as well.
Cold Hart – “Every Day’s a Day”
Cold Hart has a dark side, and we hear it on his new full-length, Every Day Is a Day. Once a member of GothBoiClique with Lil Peep, the emo rapper has gone full goth in contrast to his more upbeat 2019 LP, Good Morning Cruel World. Steady guitar instrumentation guides the mid-tempo emo rock offering, bridging the gap between hip-hop and pop-punk we’ve seen throughout 2021. The rapper puts “the fun in funeral” on the namesake cut, a black humor take on a failed relationship that we can’t help but sing along to.
The Devil Wears Prada – “Nightfall”
2010’s Zombie EP was one of the high points of The Devil Wears Prada’s career, so the follow-up 11 years later came with high expectations. Yet, Prada surpassed them with a return to their aggressive metalcore side on ZII. “Nightfall” leads off another zombie-themed adventure with chunky helpings of guitar and eerie keyboard as Mike Hranica screams about the undead coming out at night. The metalcore outfit has truly returned to form on this song and release, making it clear they’re most comfortable with zombies in their sights.
Ice Nine Kills – “Funeral Derangements”
Ice Nine Kills has always proven to be much more than a gimmick band (though we love the gimmick), and Welcome to Horrorwood adds to their discography with another batch of high-quality metalcore tunes themed around horror films. A direct sequel to 2018’s The Silver Scream, part two explores Psycho, Child’s Play, and on the standout “Funeral Derangements,” Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. One of the most aggressive songs on the record delivers technical riffing and smashing breakdowns as it depicts the dead rising from the grave.
Lilhuddy – “The Eulogy of You and Me”
Chase Hudson was still a TikTok star fresh on the music scene when he dropped “The Eulogy of You and Me” in early 2021, but it also helped define his brand as Lilhuddy: a swoopy-haired emo kid ready for the big stage. This single is perhaps the most pop-punk of any tracks off the eventual full-length, Teenage Heartbreak, and it wouldn’t feel out of place on an All-American Rejects album. Everything in Lilhuddy’s world has gone black (lipstick, and nails, and even roses), and this song puts the final nail in the coffin of a relationship gone sour.
Lorna Shore – “To the Hellfire”
Following a change in vocalist, Lorna Shore wasted no time putting the metal to the medal (metal?) with …And I Return to Nothingness — a mammoth EP frontloaded with “To The Hellfire.” The song made waves in the spring when it dropped, and it’s obvious why: It’s one of the most scorching offerings ever to come out of the deathcore genre. The track takes listeners on a six-minute ride full of blast beats, pulverizing guitars, and new vocalist Will Ramos’ black metal-styled vocals (which are as demonic as ever for the blackened deathcore unit).
Poppy – “Her”
Once a YouTube prodigy, Poppy has become a bit of a unicorn in her time as a musician. First an electropop artist, then a pop-metal icon, now an alternative rock star, she’s as versatile as ever on Flux — the follow-up to 2020’s surprise gem I Disagree. No two songs sound alike on her newest LP, but it’s best defined by her ‘90s rock and grunge influences. The rocking new sound is brought out in full on the first single, “Her,” which borrows the dark sheen of Garbage and Marilyn Manson and features a music video that’s like Coraline but creepier (if that’s even possible).
Save Face – “Bury Me (Tonight!)”
On their debut full-length, Save Face superbly straddled the lines between alternative rock and emo. It only makes sense, then that they go full My Chemical Romance — the ultimate generic crossover — on their next effort. “Bury Me (Tonight!) finds vocalist Tyler Povanda donning black nails and singing about his own death. “I have never listened to My Chemical Romance,” the band tweeted recently. But they also hail from New Jersey and have a ghastly sense of fashion, so we all know that’s blasphemy.
Slaughter to Prevail – “Demolisher”
Russia has entered the deathcore chat. The Yekatirenberg-born Slaughter to Prevail has found their place in the genre and continues to move full steam ahead — with plenty of nu metal overtones to round out their sound. But what truly makes them dastardly is the demonic vocal delivery of frontman “Alex Terrible.” In “Demolisher,” he goes from nefarious spoken word to a layered growl so nasty it sounds like a video game monster (The Last of Us, anyone?). How’s that for a mosh call? Yeah, the breakdown is wicked too.
To bring the dead to life at your Halloween party, jam these songs from 2021 and other Halloween hits in my all-things-spooky playlist:
Featured Image Credit: Josh Holt (Carnifex), Angelo Kritikos/Revolver (Poppy), Zoe McConnell/NME (Oli Sykes)
The Verbatim 