Top 10 Halloween Musicians

Whether you’re planning a Halloween party, just a friendly get together, or simply staying at home by yourself, it helps to have some tunes to set the mood for the season. Now, you might think that it’s a little early to be in full-on Halloween mode all the time, but personally I find that having some spooky songs playing in the background helps me stay in the Halloween spirit, which is essential when writing all these reviews.

It’s not too hard to find some appropriate Halloween songs. Lots of artists have put out music that is appropriate to the season. Some of it’s spooky and some of it’s silly. Some of it’s explicitly meant for Halloween and some of it just happens to fit in comfortably. But a lot of dedicated Halloween songs are one-hit wonders, singles released and never expanded to an album, or given a follow-up. So here, with video accompaniment (sort of), is a top ten list of artists who provide at least a couple different options for your Halloween mix tape. (Those still exist, right? My musical tastes expired in 1989.) Continue reading

Oculus Infernum

Van Helsing's Curse: Oculus Infernum“Patience… that it had, in abundance. Watching. Wanting. Waiting for the time. Then it would feed. Then they would know suffering. The thought made it smile. Nothing else could.” So begins the 2003 Halloween concept album Oculus Infernum, the first and so far only album from the group Van Helsing’s Curse.

Van Helsing’s Curse is a project group founded by Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider. Inspired by the heavy metal classical Christmas music produced by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (itself a group made by members of the heavy metal band Savatage), Snider wondered why no metal group had done an entire album dedicated to Halloween, and set out to do just that. Van Helsing’s Curse is made up of a five-person rock band, a six-person string orchestra, and a six-member Latin choir. With Oculus Infernum, the group sets out to turn classical music into a Halloween tale with rocking music, haunting overtones, and all the subtlety one expects from the lead singer of Twisted Sister.

Which is to say, it’s cheese in its most glorious form. Continue reading