You wouldn’t wear the same Halloween costume every year. So why listen to the same mixtape of Monster Mash / Thriller / Ghostbusters / Rocky Horror / Highway To Hell over and over? If you want to update your playlist, feel free to add some of these brand-new goodies:
King Diamond | Masquerade Of Madness
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “King Diamond and co. have made a video for their latest single Masquerade of Madness. Here’s what King has to say: “Masquerade of Madness was released digitally in 2019 before our North American tour. During rehearsals, we took one full day to film (a video) with David Brodsky and Allison Woest. We spent all day and all night recording while performing the song with our full tour stage show choreography. After the tour, Covid happened. The video was all but forgotten as the world came to a standstill — we never saw a single frame from all the footage. Years later, as things began to pick up and writing began for both new Mercyful Fate and King Diamond records, we wondered: What happened to that video from four years ago? So we decided to check in with David Brodsky and a couple of weeks later, we had the first cut of the video. I was speechless! The visuals fit the music flawlessly and this is now among my favorite King Diamond videos. Happy Halloween, it’s not just a dream!”
The Dwarves | Voodoo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “We’re celebrating Halloween with Voodoo from our new record Concept Album. Enjoy the gory bloody sexy nasty catchy video and BEWARE!!!”
Yobs | Fortune Teller
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Liverpool four-piece Yobs are here to ring in Halloween with two slabs of scuzzy, hedonistic garage-punk that each race by under two minutes. Their explosive debut single and video Fortune Teller arrives alongside the B-side Cemetery Man. Emerging out of the rubble of the now-defunct Liverpool bands Weird Sex and Ohmns, Yobs were kick-started last year by Joey Ackland (vocals), Alex Smith (bass/vocals), Michael Quinlan (guitar/vocals) and George Gebbie (drums).”
Josie Cotton | Day Of The Gun
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “It’s just a typical day for infamous new wave icon Josie Cotton to wade through psycho bikers, bounty hunter priests, and lightning-quick kung-fu killers while carousing with friends… and carrying the disembodied head of a spurned conquest. Her video for Day Of The Gun may seem shocking, but it’s de rigueur for her. The third chapter in her Trilogy of Horror video triptych with Painting In Blood and Disco Ball, Day Of The Gun marks the final installment of her love affair with the macabre. Complete with cannibalism by the criminally insane, ritual decapitation, serial killers and bad ’70s cop shows, it’s a vintage-styled exploitation flick that oozes Aquanet mixed in with a whiff of wood paneling and the scratchy feel of polyester. For people who love the horror genre and B-movies, it’s Halloween all year long.”
Allison Russell | Demons
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Four-time Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Allison Russell has released a stunning video for Demons, from her recently released album The Returner. The piece was filmed in Prague over three days with choreographer Zizou and her rainbow coalition of dancers and executive produced by Jacob Tierney. “We don’t have to hide from our history, we just have to face it,” Russell says. “And walk through it together. Our trauma can be the mother of empathy, of compassion, of equal human understanding, of truth, reconciliation, reparation, forgiveness, of loving coalition and harm reduction. Demons is about looking our traumas in the face — and not letting them drive the bus. This video marks my inaugural creative collaboration with my beloved childhood friend, fellow Montrealais and birthday twin Ethan Tobman.”
Burn The Evidence | Night Terror
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This Halloween, prepare yourself for a spooky metalcore release: Night Terror from Ottawa’s Burn The Evidence. This single off their upcoming album is guaranteed to send shivers down your spine and leave you headbanging in your car, at home, at the gym, everywhere! “We are very happy to present to you Night Terror, where inspectors are dealing with mastermind killers that are pushing them to their limit,” the band say. “The feeling of being followed, being watched every movement, every car ride, always double checking if somebody is following you, we put inspectors in the spotlight but you can relate the lyrics and emotions in other circumstances.”
Derek Smalls | Hell Toupee
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “To herald the November release of the deluxe version of his 2018 album Smalls Change – Meditations Upon Aging, and to mark Halloween, Derek Smalls unveils an unreleased live video of the album’s most demonic track, Hell Toupee. The bass force, formerly of the fabled heavy metal band formerly known as Spinal Tap, is back, and back with a vengeance. The video comes hot on the heels of the September release of Must Crush Barbie and marks a stunning renaissance for the embodiment of lukewarm water. “The two scariest things I can think of are, A: Satan, and B, hair loss,” says Smalls. “In this song, I imagine what happens when B happens to A. The answer, of course, is Hell Toupee.”
Taproot | Favourite Song (ft. Elias Soriano)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Reformed Michigan hard rock favorites Taproot have released the video for their new single Favourite Song, ft. Elias Soriano of Nonpoint. Directed by Thom Hazaert and edited by Ewar Acosta and Yando Coy, the video, filmed partially on location at Buffalo Bill’s house in Perryopolis, PA, the actual filming site from the iconic film Silence of The Lambs. It’s also the first to feature the band’s new lineup — original members Stephen Roberts, Phil Lipscomb, and Jarrod Montague, with new guitarist Taylor Richards.”
Diamond Weapon | Science Fiction At The Edge Of Existence
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Diamond Weapon have shared the video for the second single from their upcoming album, All Heart, No Sleeve. The grungy new track is packed to the brim with emotion and introspection and today’s accompanying video comes aptly themed for its spooky season release. On the new video, filmed entirely at vocalist Louis Tentsos‘ home in Toronto, he comments that: “Considering the sombre nature of the song, we wanted to present a dichotomy to the seriousness of the song with a funnier video. With the idea of the afterlife, we decided to impersonate The Gatekeeper from the early ’90s video board game Nightmare and have some fun with it!”
As The Palaces Burn | Obbey
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Encompassing traditional heavy metal, thrash metal and hints of progressive and modern metal, Brazil’s As The Palaces Burn unlock their sonic diversity with the new album Drowning Into Shadows. To celebrate the record’s release day, the band is sharing their latest video Obbey, a track that emerges as an anthem of surrender and defiance. “Within the labyrinth of shifting faces, where time’s relentless pulse echoes. With each note, a rebellion against the clock’s cruel march takes shape, transcending highs and losses,” say the band. “The symphony of Obbey resonates with the struggle for identity, questioning beliefs, and the pursuit of purpose. Join the chorus that confronts control, as this metal saga unveils a new dimension of rebellion, entwined with the unyielding spirit to persevere.”
Black Daggers | City Limits
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Red Deer band Black Daggers’ brand-new debut album Phantasmagoria is a concept record is about a Faustian bargain gone awry. The album is as much about struggling with vices as it is dealing with depression and addiction. The band wanted to really dig into the idea of drug-induced psychosis and explore where that might lead to paranoia and further self-destruction. They think in some ways the character will be relatable to people who’ve dealt with battling their inner demons with mental health issues or lived with addictions. They say: “The character struggles to cope with their newfound euphoria and it leads them down a dark path of self-destruction.”
He Is Legend | Endless Hallway
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Post-hardcore veterans He Is Legend have unveiled a very special video for the title track to their most recent album Endless Hallway. It concludes the cinematic narrative of previous singles Lifeless Lemonade, Honey From The Hive and Sour, delivering fans a timely Halloween treat from one of the scene’s most horror-inspired outfits. Frontman Schuylar Croom says: “This video is basically what happens when you give a bunch of out-of-work filmmakers the keys to the movie studio during the strikes. This was my first time in the director’s chair, so it’s very special to me and the band. I got to have a lot of fun with my best friends making something magical. Finally, the finale of the Endless Hallway is here. Happy Halloween creepies.”
Ann Magnuson | Ghost Cat
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In her new single Ghost Cat, multimedia shapeshifter Ann Magnuson conjures up the creatures that haunt her native West Virginia. Returning to her Appalachian roots with members of WV band The Carpenter Ants and The Mountain Stage house band, the track features harmonica legend Charlie McCoy. Ghost Cat is a spooky, upbeat song about searching for the supernatural among the hills and hollers of Appalachia. Engineered and mixed by renowned engineer, producer and musician Don Dixon, the song combines deep American folk traditions with surreal psychedelia reminiscent of Magnuson’s indie-cult band Bongwater. Ghost Cat is an example the artistic oeuvre Magnuson calls “SurRURALism” that takes the listener into a trippy sonic dreamworld you can clog dance to!”
Earl Of Hell | Impaler
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hailing from Edinburgh, fuzz-rockers Earl Of Hell have given themselves a suitably heady head start on the New Year with murmurs of new recordings and a killer new single in the shape of Impaler: “It’s about blood thirst, revenge and lawlessness,” explains singer Eric Brock. “We wanted to go back to 15th-century Walachia and give a gory snapshot of a sadistic leader’s notorious rein and brutal legacy and turn on the heavy distortion, pounding rhythm section and sharp vocals that make us who we are.”
Terromania | The Pain Makes You Feel Alive
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Finnish metal newcomers Terromania throw an uncompromising Halloween party with their single The Pain Makes You Feel Alive, from their debut full-length Nyctophobic out Nov. 17. Naming Ghost, Devin Townsend and Lordi as major influences, this young and talented five-piece create a sharp and modern combination of melodic death and power metal operated with top-tier technicality, and delivering towering Van Halen-inspired solos and intoxicating melodies while also falling within the scope of more genre-bending bands such as Avatar, One Morning Left or Strapping Young Lad.”
Foul Body Autopsy | Crucifix Dreams
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “To celebrate Crucifix Dreams’ bloody emergence into the world, Foul Body Autopsy have unveiled a new lyric video to accompany it. Immerse yourselves in the visuals drawn from the stunning artwork of Dan Goldsworthy and the searing, merciless sounds that were brought to life by a metal dream team: Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth) on drums and Steve Di Giorgio (Testament) on bass, with guitar solos from Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) and Bobby Koelble (Death) and an unnerving spoken-word intro from Simon Shaw (Temple of Lies). Inspired by the heinous crimes of John George Haigh, the Acid Bath Murderer and his disturbing night-time visions, Crucifix Dreams is a chilling, exhilarating rush of terror, formed from twisted riffs, spiralling solos and a savage vocal attack.”
Gods Of Gaia | Bow To Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The enigmatic collective known as Gods Of Gaia unveils their latest masterpiece: The lyric video for Bow To Me. This sonic journey is a standout from their recently released album As Daylight Dies. “The world is lost. Slowly but surely, we are perishing. However, it is not the world that will suffer. It has endured worse than humanity. So why wait? We can simply expedite our downfall. Let us bow to our envy, and the lust for power, and hasten the pain. For a better, beautiful world. After us.”
Slower | War Ensemble
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Doom-metal supergroup Slower — the new all-Slayer cover project formed by members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Kylesa, Monolord, Lowrider and Year Of The Cobra — unleash the crushing first single from their upcoming self-titled album, due Jan. 26. . This unique recording will catch all heavy and doom metal fans off guard, delivering five fully reinvented Slayer classics with a gloomier and heavier-than-thou atmosphere and compelling ethereal vocals. “War Ensemble was the first song I was approached with for this project,” says Year Of The Cobra vocalist Amy Tung Barrysmith. “The only direction I got was to ‘have fun and be creative’, so I decided to look at it as if it were an original piece, not a cover, and not Slayer. Pretty easy to do, honestly. The riffs slowed down really created a life of their own. It’s genius in so many ways!”
Mikaela Davis | Our Creepy Eep Hour
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In the wake of the summer’s LP and timely for Halloween comes a covers EP by Mikaela Davis and Southern Star. Jerry Garcia’s first solo record Garcia, was released in 1972. The six tracks on side two include Late for Supper, Spidergawd and Eep Hour. Davis and the band cover these three songs on their latest release. Interpreting these songs by the Grateful Dead’s storied guitarist is only fitting, since Davis has shared the stage with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. Davis shares, “Earlier this year, we had a residency, where along with originals, we performed a different selection of Grateful Dead songs each week. This suite of instrumentals is from the final night of our residency 5.19.23 at Parish Public House in Albany, NY, where we performed Garcia in its entirety.”
Rosy Finch | Venus In Furs
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This Velvet Underground cover was recorded during the studio session of the Scarlet album in 2020. The magical violin passages were composed and played by the magnificent multi-instrumentalist Alicia Nurho, who has worked for artists such as Paradise Lost or Paula Matthews.”
Bleach Everything | All Alone In Dirt
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “To mark the arrival of Halloween 2023 in proper fashion, Bleach Everything invoke All Alone In Dirt, an EP of new material created under the invigorating spirit(s) of the season. A series of tactical strikes spanning only 4:33 total duration across four songs, All Alone In Dirt still manages to cover a ton of sonic territory within that same blink of an eye. Bookended with the raging, explosive cookers Canopic Jars and The Happiness, the program also takes listeners into deeper, darker waters with the scream-less and ultimately haunting Truth At The Dead Ends and a guitar seance titled Praetorian.”
Psyche | Haunted When The Minutes Drag
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Final mix for Halloween 2023. Originally released on Love and Rockets/Tones On Tail tribute sampler.”
