As a horror enthusiast, I definitely feel like horror goes beyond the movies. Horror is also depicted in great ways through music. Be it through the musical style, the influence, the background, or even just the album art, music allows you to sense horror in a different way than you would while viewing a film. That is, the feelings and reactions are sparked by auditory rather than visual stimuli. Therefore, I present you with a list of bands that any horror fan would love:
1. Impetigo
Formed: 1987
From: Bloomington, IL
Genre: Death, Grindcore
Expect lots of zombies, lots of gore, and lots of horror. When better to start a band like this than during the Golden Age of slasher movies? Most of their songs have intros consisting of audio clips from the best horror films. Even their album art for Ultimo Mondo Cannibale is based off of a horror film: Cannibal Holocaust, which has been banned in numerous countries for things such as the realistic gore scenes. Their music is as contagious as their name.
Impetigo has been an influence on many other bands like them, including some on this list.
2. Frightmare
Formed: 2002
From: Portland, Oregon
Genre: Death, Thrash, Grindcore
The album art shows it all: there is a combination of some of the best horror movies, making for some of the best album art I have seen to date. It is clear that Impetigo heavily influenced this band, since they share some notable commonalities.
However, they are not entirely the same. Frightmare's musical style includes a little bit of thrash, giving it a unique style. Nonetheless, it is just as great of a band as Impetigo.
3. Deceased
Formed: 1985
From: Arlington, Virginia
Genre: Death, Thrash
Deceased is definitely one of my favorites from this list. Unlike most bands on this list, they lean more towards thrash. What really gets me, though, is the album art, especially Luck of the Corpse, which consists of a picture of the old woman from the movie Black Sabbath (which you should watch if you haven't already). The music definitely doesn't disappoint either.
4. Gruesome Stuff Relish
Formed: 2000
From: Asturias, Spain
Genre: Death, Grindcore
This band's sound really owns up to its name: gruesome. Other than being from Spain, what makes this band interesting is that the songs they write are based entirely on Italian horror films. This interesting mix creates a vibe that will remind you of classics like Suspiria and Dawn of the Dead.
5. Splatterhouse
Formed: 2002
From: Portland, Oregon
Genre: Brutal Death, Grindcore
Although this band was formed in 2002, their primary focus is 80's horror movies, and as we've seen before, you can never go wrong with 80's horror. Their music portrays what true horror is, making it an ideal band for true horror lovers.
6. Blood Freak
Formed: 2003
From: Portland, Oregon
Genre: Death, Grindcore
The album covers speak for themselves. Blood Freak is just crazy and wild and genuinely frightening.
7. Machetazo
Formed: 1994
From: Galicia, Spain
Genre: Death, Grindcore
Here we have another great band influenced by none other than Impetigo. One of their more interesting works includes their third album, Sinfonías del Terror Ciego, which is entirely about horror filmmaker Amando de Ossorio and his films.
8. The County Medical Examiners
Formed: 2001
From: Scotts Valley, California
Genre: Goregrind
Aside from great music, their background is far more interesting. For one, this band includes members that are quite older than your normal band, but more interestingly, two of the members are in med school and the third works in the morgue. With this experience, their lyrics are that much more genuine, but in a chilling way.
9. Mortician
Formed: 1989
From: New York
Genre: Brutal Death, Grindcore
Mortician is a great example of an underrated metal band. Every aspect of this band is absolutely amazing and what makes it better is its fair share of classic movies. From the great album art to the vocals, this band would make any horror fan happy.
10. General Surgery
Formed: 1988
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Genre: Death, Goregrind
This is an interesting name for a band that is more on the horror side. I say this because this band focuses on general surgery... gone wrong. This is not surprising considering the band was formed in the 80's, when the greatest, goriest slasher films were made.
