Horror punk
Encyclopedia
Horror punk is a music genre
that mixes Gothic
and punk rock
sounds with morbid imagery and lyrics, which are often influenced by horror films. The genre is similar to and sometimes overlaps with deathrock
, although deathrock leans more towards the Goth sound while horror punk leans towards a 1950s-influenced doo-wop
and rockabilly
sound, reminiscent of the era championed as the heyday of science fiction
and horror B-movie
s.
The Misfits are recognized as the progenitors of horror punk, releasing a series of singles and EPs beginning in 1977 before releasing their first full-length album Walk Among Us
in 1982.
Influenced by The Misfits, California punk bands TSOL
and Christian Death
released the horror punk albums Dance with Me
and Only Theatre of Pain
in the early 1980s. In the late 1970s however, 45 Grave
appeared in California taking the imagry of Italian horror films although not so much so in the lyrics.
Horror punk is generally apolitical
in comparison to other punk rock subgenres, although some horror punk songs refer to political events (e.g. the Misfits' "Bullet", which discusses the assassination of John F. Kennedy
), and some artists like Jack Grisham
(on the left
) and Michale Graves
(on the right
) have espoused political views.
Horror hardcore, a term coined by Dwid Hellion, refers to a hybrid of horror punk and hardcore punk
. The Misfits' 1983 album, Earth A.D., and the early work of Glenn Danzig
's subsequent band Samhain
inaugurated the style. Septic Death
and Integrity
also performed this subgenre.
Horror metal is a term to describe heavy metal music
with horror themes. Bands that fall under this category include Ripper
, King Diamond
, Mercyful Fate
, Necrophagia
, The Vision Bleak
, Murderdolls
and Motionless in White
.
Psychobilly
is another subgenre of punk that combines elements from horror movies and punk, almost a specified form of horror punk, despite the heavy influence of early rockabilly in the actual music. For other horror punk bands the rockabilly influence is more visual. One notable exception is American Nightmare by the Misfits. The doo wop influence on the other hand has been a major influence on horrorpunk.
With the exception of the Misfits most horror punk bands are underground. AFI
was for a time a notable exception until they evolved into a more direct rock band.
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
that mixes Gothic
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
sounds with morbid imagery and lyrics, which are often influenced by horror films. The genre is similar to and sometimes overlaps with deathrock
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
, although deathrock leans more towards the Goth sound while horror punk leans towards a 1950s-influenced doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
and rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
sound, reminiscent of the era championed as the heyday of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and horror B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s.
The Misfits are recognized as the progenitors of horror punk, releasing a series of singles and EPs beginning in 1977 before releasing their first full-length album Walk Among Us
Walk Among Us
-Band:* Glenn Danzig – vocals, guitar on "Vampira", "Devils Whorehouse", "Astro Zombies", overdubbed guitar on all tracks except "Mommy Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight?"* Jerry Only – bass, background vocals...
in 1982.
Influenced by The Misfits, California punk bands TSOL
TSOL
TSOL is an American punk rock band which formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....
and Christian Death
Christian Death
Christian Death is an American deathrock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979. The band was founded and fronted by Rozz Williams. Christian Death is most notable for their first album Only Theatre of Pain....
released the horror punk albums Dance with Me
Dance With Me (TSOL album)
Dance with Me is the debut album of American punk band TSOL. A departure from the entirely political nature of their previous release , "Dance With Me" is far darker and more macabre, featuring such themes as necrophilia, and the song "Silent Scream", which is made up entirely of horror movie...
and Only Theatre of Pain
Only Theatre of Pain
Only Theatre of Pain was the debut studio album of American deathrock band Christian Death, originally released by Frontier Records in 1982. The album is considered the harbinger of deathrock....
in the early 1980s. In the late 1970s however, 45 Grave
45 Grave
45 Grave are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985 but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. 45 Grave are noted as one of the first bands to mix punk rock with horror-themed lyrics, thereby positioning them as...
appeared in California taking the imagry of Italian horror films although not so much so in the lyrics.
Horror punk is generally apolitical
Apolitical
The state or quality of being apolitical can be the apathy and/or the antipathy towards all political affiliations. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased position in regard to political matters.-References:...
in comparison to other punk rock subgenres, although some horror punk songs refer to political events (e.g. the Misfits' "Bullet", which discusses the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
), and some artists like Jack Grisham
Jack Grisham
Jack Grisham is an American rock musician, raconteur and political activist. He is the vocalist for the punk band T.S.O.L. , which emerged from the 1980s Los Angeles punk rock scene, along with Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Social Distortion. Grisham has also fronted the bands The Joykiller, Tender...
(on the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
) and Michale Graves
Michale Graves
Michael Emanuel , better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer and songwriter, singing for the late 1990s re-incarnation of The Misfits from 1995 to 1998 and again from late 1998 until late 2000. Graves grew up in Dumont, New Jersey...
(on the right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
) have espoused political views.
Horror hardcore, a term coined by Dwid Hellion, refers to a hybrid of horror punk and hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
. The Misfits' 1983 album, Earth A.D., and the early work of Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Allen Anzalone; June 23, 1955 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, entrepreneur, and a progenitor of the horror punk subgenre of music. He is a founder of bands the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig...
's subsequent band Samhain
Samhain (band)
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from the Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Danzig's previous band. By 1987 Samhain's membership evolved into a new band,...
inaugurated the style. Septic Death
Septic Death
Septic Death was a hardcore punk band fronted by artist Brian "Pushead" Schroeder on vocals. Septic Death's music became a major influence on bands like Integrity, Citizens Arrest, Infest, and many other bands tied to the hardcore punk, thrashcore, crust punk etc. scenes...
and Integrity
Integrity (band)
Integrity is a metallic hardcore band formed in 1988. Their lyrical themes include religion, the supernatural, mental illness, individualism, and the occult.- Discography :*Harder They Fall - Demo cassette - 1989...
also performed this subgenre.
Horror metal is a term to describe heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
with horror themes. Bands that fall under this category include Ripper
Ripper
Ripper may refer to:* Jack the Ripper, a pseudonym given to an unidentified serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London in the latter half of 1888...
, King Diamond
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen , better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond...
, Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate was a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen. Initially active from 1981 to 1985, they reunited in 1992. The band went on hiatus again in 2000, when frontman King Diamond decided to continue his solo career...
, Necrophagia
Necrophagia
Necrophagia is an American death metal band. The group was assembled in Wellsville, Ohio in 1983 and are credited as being one of the very first musical groups to be classified within the death metal genre. The group was founded by Frank Pucci...
, The Vision Bleak
The Vision Bleak
The Vision Bleak is a gothic metal band from Germany formed in 2000, consisting of former Empyrium member Ulf Theodor Schwadorf and former Nox Mortis member Allen B Konstanz. The band's themes are most notably orientated towards horror....
, Murderdolls
Murderdolls
Murderdolls is an American horror punk supergroup, founded during 2002 in Hollywood, California. The band line-up consists of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison. Former members include Ben Graves, Acey Slade, Eric Griffin & Tripp Eisen....
and Motionless in White
Motionless in White
Motionless in White is an American metalcore band from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2005, the group is known for its dark horror-themed lyrics and physical appearances, that of which heavily correspond to gothic imagery. Motionless in White is currently signed to Fearless Records and have...
.
Psychobilly
Psychobilly
Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
is another subgenre of punk that combines elements from horror movies and punk, almost a specified form of horror punk, despite the heavy influence of early rockabilly in the actual music. For other horror punk bands the rockabilly influence is more visual. One notable exception is American Nightmare by the Misfits. The doo wop influence on the other hand has been a major influence on horrorpunk.
With the exception of the Misfits most horror punk bands are underground. AFI
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
was for a time a notable exception until they evolved into a more direct rock band.
Notable horror punk bands
- AidenAidenAiden is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. The members are WiL Francis , Nick Wiggins , and Angel Ibarra . wiL originally played bass but took over lead vocals when the original singer left...
- AFIAFI (band)AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
- BalzacBalzac (band)Balzac is a Japanese punk band formed in 1992 in Osaka. The band was founded by singer and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama, who has remained the only constant member of the band since its creation...
- Blaster the Rocket ManBlaster the Rocket ManBlaster the Rocket Man was a Christian horror punk band from Indianapolis, Indiana. They formed in the early 1990s as Blaster the Rocketboy and signed with Boot to Head Records in 1994. They released two records before signing with Jackson Rubio Records. Their name changed to Blaster the Rocket Man...
- CalabreseCalabrese (band)Calabrese is an American horror punk band that was based out of Phoenix, Arizona in 2003. The band includes brothers Bobby Calabrese on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Calabrese on bass and vocals, and Davey Calabrese on Drums. Calabrese is their actual surname...
- The CreepshowThe CreepshowThe Creepshow is a band from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The band formed in 2005 when the four original members got together with the purpose of starting a psychobilly band. The Creepshow writes the majority of their songs about horror films....
- The DeadlinesThe DeadlinesThe Deadlines were a rock band that formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2002. Their musical style started as horror punk and later evolved toward glam rock...
- Dr. Chud's X-WardDr. Chud's X-WardDr. Chud's X-Ward was formed in 2003 after Dr. Chud folded his other band Graves. Their first CD was released in 2004, it was be released on Dr. Chud's very own Bloodwork Records label, it was named Diagnosis for Death. The first 1000 copies of Diagnosis For Death are limited edition and were...
- Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 are a horror punk band from North Carolina. The band was formed in 1996 by Wednesday 13, who recruited friends and former Maniac Spider Trash bandmates Seaweed and Sicko Zero...
- The IndependentsThe Independents (band)-Biography:The Independents are an American swamp-ska/grind-core/horror-punk/doo-wop/fusion-jazz/ Emerson, Lake & Palmer cover band formed in Florence,SC in 1992 by Evil Presley and Willy B from the ashes of their 80's synth band "Snipe-hunter"...
- Misfits
- MurderdollsMurderdollsMurderdolls is an American horror punk supergroup, founded during 2002 in Hollywood, California. The band line-up consists of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison. Former members include Ben Graves, Acey Slade, Eric Griffin & Tripp Eisen....
- Nightmare SonataNightmare SonataNightmare Sonata is a horror punk band from Greensboro, North Carolina. The original incarnation of the band formed in 2003 as an industrial metal band. They are notable for being the only Voodoo horror punk band in the world...
- The OtherThe Other (band)The Other is a German horror punk band. It's considered the most prominent member of the horror punk genre in Europe.- History:The Other was founded in 2002 in Leichlingen, Germany. Rod Usher, Sarge von Rock, Dr. Caligari and Andy Only started out as a Misfits cover band under the name Ghouls in 1999...
- Rosemary's BillygoatRosemary's BillygoatRosemary's Billygoat is an American horror punk and heavy metal band from California formed in 1991. The band features live stage theatrics such as pyrotechnic effects, horned guitars, and satanic props that are reminiscent of shows by artists such as Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper...
- SamhainSamhain (band)Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from the Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Danzig's previous band. By 1987 Samhain's membership evolved into a new band,...
- Screaming DeadScreaming DeadScreaming Dead were a positive punk band from Cheltenham formed in 1980, who have often been characterized as "horror punk". They released several singles and EPs with indie chart success, before splitting up in 1985...
- SerpenteensSerpenteens- History :NYC’s SERPENTEENS were formed in late 1995 by Gee Grant and Mark Zap. Combining a passion for horror and zombie movies, with the love of theatrical bands , they began to lay the foundation for a concept. The look of the classic film "zombie" combined with a catchy "monsterpop" sound was...
- Son of SamSon Of Sam (band)Son of Sam is an American horror punk band that is a side project created by Todd Youth in 2000, during his tenure as the guitarist for Danzig. The band's initial line up featured members of Samhain, Danzig, and AFI. Much like its members' other work, Son of Sam plays in the horror punk style, and...
- Wednesday 13Wednesday 13Joseph Poole, better known as Wednesday 13 , is a rock musician from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is most famous for his role as the frontman of the Murderdolls...