It’s that time of year again. While college guys deliberate which skin tight costume most prominently shows their pecs, and rackety old men prepare their pile of toothbrushes for distribution, some of us look for albums and tracks to fill our Halloween playlists.
This is the time when horror-core, death-metal and spooky ambient sound music rule the sound waves. For those who are married to pounding 808s, grimy snare hits and dirty lyrics, I have several recommendations that should last you through the season.
Captain Murphy’s Duality
This is one of the eeriest hip-hop records ever produced. A mysterious release on the Brainfeeder label in early 2014, Captain Murphy burst into the scene as an unknown character, represented by a cartoon face with a devilish smile, thick sunglasses and a Rick Ross beard. Captain Murphy was an enigma for months, before theatrically revealing himself to be none other than Flying Lotus.
Duality is a mixtape that celebrates evil and horror. The songs are separated by a mix of snippets from the Heaven’s Gate recruitment video and an instructional video regarding cult leadership. Murphy plays with the pitch of his voice throughout his verses, layering evil lyrics over the dark, grimy production.
“I wanted to watch the world burn/Y’all know how I do/I’ve got the last laugh or two/In that awkward moment when you see that I’m the Joker too,” he spits, before madly giggling.
This EP is both playful and deathly spooky. I highly recommend listening while watching the paired video, which is filled with off-kilter clips depicting cult activity, distorted pornographic images and interviews with dead-eyed cult followers.
Ghostface Killah’s Twelve Reasons to Die
This album is a throwback to the horror of yore. It’s built upon Adrian Young’s phenomenal suspense-building instrumentation. Ghostface Killah assumes the character of Tony Starks, an enforcer for an Italian mafia family in the mid 1900s, and weaves an intricate and creepy story about his death and rebirth as Ghostface.
“Murders, bodies chopped into Ziplocs,” he chants in “The Rise of Ghostface Killah.”
Ghostface truly knows how to weave a compelling tale, and Young builds some great soundscapes. This is a beautiful piece of music, one that should be experienced in a single sitting, through some nice headphones or a good speaker system. In a time when almost every album with a theme is considered a “concept album,” this is a true concept album — cinematic and thrilling.
Death Grips’ whole discography
Anything Death Grips-related has this creepy, unsettling aspect to it. It’s hard to go wrong. Zach Hill’s gritty, experimental production is wild enough, but together with MC Ride’s crazed, shrieking vocal performances, it becomes a kind of music that can be found nowhere else.
The sounds are muddy and incredibly loud, the kick pounds violently and MC Ride’s lyrics, if you can catch any of them, are brutal and vile. Adrenaline pulses through your veins with the throbbing synths and the guttural screams — it calls forth something primal and repressed.
I don’t necessarily recommend this selection for your party playlist. Death Grips’ music is made for sitting in a pitch black room, channeling rage and letting your base desires congeal into one burning ball of longing and ferocity. You might well end up sweating profusely with weakened eardrums, a tense face and dilated eyes — generally feeling purified.
21 Savage & Metro Boomin’s Savage Mode
The surprise pick! I realize that this isn’t really a horror album at all, but it is nonetheless one of the creepiest LPs of the past few years. Metro Boomin’s discordant and slow production pairs perfectly with 21 Savage’s quiet, methodical delivery to create this measured trap music that speaks of evil and horror. 21 whispering “Slaughter gang, murder gang” over the looming, lumbering “No Advance” beat is nightmare fuel.
Out of all of the selected albums, this one is the most versatile. It works both for sitting alone in a dark house with dark thoughts and for DJing a Halloween house party. “X” with Future is one of the slowest, eeriest bangers I’ve ever heard. Nonetheless, it never fails to get people dancing. “Savage Mode” on the other hand, is made for loud listening in dark, dirty, possibly haunted rooms that smell of illegal substances and gunpowder.
Honorable Mention: The Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”
This isn’t an album, but a single song. Still, it’s a true classic. Scarface yelling “I sit alone in my four cornered room, staring at candles” maintains its standing as one of the best song intros. Ever. The Geto Boys describe in gruesome detail the paranoia that grips men who think they’re being followed and tailed. It’s a depressing, horrific tale that speaks to the aspect of life that scares us most: the loss of sanity.
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