Tales from the House of Horrors
Team Unwinnable and Kursse return with our fifth Halloween mix tape, Tales from the House of Horrors. Featuring three stories about an undying killer, an 80s tech-noir slasher and the classic madman, Tales from the House of Horrors is sure to rock the dead from their graves.
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Freddy’s Origin
One Last Shot – “Halloween”
Death – “Evil Dead”
Marilyn Manson – “I Put A Spell On You”
The Cramps – “Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon”
Bad Brains – “Fearless Vampire Killers”
T.S.O.L. – “Blackmagic”
The Misfits – “Wolfs Blood”
Pentagram – “The Ghoul”
Concrete Blonde – “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)”
John McDermott – The Ballad of Harry Warden
Creepy Caller
Mega Drive – “Video Stalker”
Calabrese – “New York Ripper”
The Meteors – “Michael Myers”
Ghoultown – “I Spit On Your Grave”
The Sisters Of Mercy – “Black Planet”
Dream Theater – “The Count of Tuscany”
Fabio Frizzi – “Mystery’s Apotheosis”
Carpenter Brut – “Disco Zombi Italia”
Jay Chattaway – “Inner Voices”
Steven Wilson – “The Unquiet Grave”
Cliff Martinez – “Skull Crushing”
Ho99o9 – “Da Blue Nigga From Hellboy”
Lee “Scratch” Perry – “Disco Devil”
Madman
Bloodsucking Zombies From Outer Space – “Camp Crystal Lake”
The Rodneys – “Plan 9 From Outer Space”
45 Grave – “Evil” – Mike
Ghost – “Stand By Him”
The 69 Eyes – “Lost Boys”
Alice Cooper – “Black JuJu”
The Frantics – “Werewolf”
Redbone – “The Witch Queen Of New Orleans”
Desmond Dekker – “Dracula”
The Naturals – “The Mummy”
Groovie Ghoulies – “Pet Sematary”
Cradle Of Filth – “Halloween II”
T.S.O.L. – “Blackmagic”
I only got hipped to T.S.O.L. last year. I had no idea that they were the West Coast’s answer to The Misfits, by way of The Damned and a couple other curious influences. In retrospect, I have no idea how I made it this long without digging into their catalog.
“Blackmagic,” the lead track on 1984’s Change Today?, is a great example of a horror punk song that is actually spooky. The jangling, discordant guitars set the mood for the the growling lyrics, which tell the tale of a man who goes from being a doubter to being a screeching believer in black magic. I’d be into it if this ran over the credits of Night of the Demon.
Stu Horvath
John McDermott – “The Ballad of Harry Warden”
“The Ballad of Harry Warden” is a classic folk tune that appears at the end of one of the most under appreciated slasher flicks of all time, My Bloody Valentine. The song is about the events that cause disturbed miner Harry Warden to carve up the people of Valentine Falls and put their hearts inside Valentines Day chocolate boxes. Hailed as Quentin Tarantino’s favorite slasher film, My Bloody Valentine not only gave us gore, so much that nine minutes was cut from the film, but one of the best looking killers in filmdom. Have a heart and give this killer movie a viewing.
Kenneth Lucas
Sisters of Mercy – “Black Planet”
I love the imagery that is in this song. A goth band with a video that takes place during the day. A staple of late night MTV viewing. Sisters of Mercy are what got me into goth music and subsequently pushing me towards heterosexuality with my discovery of goth girls.
Chuck Moran
Dream Theater – “The Count of Tuscany”
A late high school discovery, I wouldn’t be able to listen to 20-minute long songs if it weren’t for Dream Theater. Speaking of which, here’s a 20-minute long song, “The Count of Tuscany,” off their tenth studio album. Still not sure if this song is about a vampire or not…
Harry Rabinowitz
Fabio Frizzi – “Mystery’s Apotheosis”
Whether you know the film as Gates of Hell, City of the Living Dead or Fear in the Town of the Ling Dead, this piece by Fabio Frizzi is memorable part of the Fulci classic. In honor of his recent tour, let’s get synthy and spooky with Fabio.
Erik Weinbrecht
Steven Wilson – “The Unquiet Grave”
[Don Becker picked “The Unquiet Grave” for this mix, but was dragged off by a horde of zombies before he could write his blurb. Despite the alarming amount of intestines we found strung throughout the woods, we’ve been assured that Don is, in fact, still alive. – Editor]
Ho99o9 – “Da Blue Nigga from Hellboy”
I generally call Ho99o9 an occult hip-hop punk band and they pull off every aspect of that very well. “Da Blue Nigga from Hellboy” is simultaneously a slow and crawling incantation and political denouncement anthem. BLUE FLAMES!
Shawn Alexander Allen
Lee “Scratch” Perry – “Disco Devil”
This dub version of the Max Romeo song “Chase The Devil,” by the innovative Jamaican producer Lee Perry, amps up the kooky and spooky, especially in the last half. While this track features Rastafarian sloganeering common to reggae it also features some great lyrics about donning an iron shirt, taking on a devil and sending him to outer space. This ain’t no ordinary devil, he’s a disco devil! The Max Romeo original was also later sampled in the Prodigy song “Out Of Space”
Mike Edwards
The Rodneys – “Plan 9 From Outer Space”
[Ed Coleman, Unwinnable’s legal counsel, picked this song. He then went down into the basement of the Unwinnable offices to check on some strange noises he kept hearing from the air duct in his office. Since he came back up, he won’t talk about what he found down there, or why he picked this song. – Editor]
45 Grave – “Evil”
This one is from L.A. goth punks 45 Grave. One of the first U.S. goth bands, this group formed in 1979 and singer Dinah Cancer continues to perform with a version of this group to this day. Over the years members of this macabre group also included former members of legendary L.A. bands like The Gun Club and The Germs. They gained notoriety for appearances on soundtracks to classic cult horror films like Return of the Living Dead and also for a music video of this song that got airplay in the early days of MTV.
Mike Edwards
Alice Cooper – “Black JuJu”
Off the album Love it to Death, Black Ju Ju calls in imagery and sounds of voodoo and the occult. The over 9 minute track kinda feels like you are in a seance or Rosemary’s Baby. I love the groovy vibe along with the dark overtones.
Chuck Moran
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Curated and Mixed by Kursse
Follow him on Twitter @Kursse
