Tales from the Jugular

Top 10 Horror Movie Soundtrack Songs

Okay, with Halloween almost upon us, I thought it would be a fun idea to look back on metal in horror. Below I have listed what I feel are the best horror soundtrack songs. To avoid confusion, when I say horror soundtrack songs I'm not talking about the chimes in Exorcist or the classic piano that John Carpenter added to Halloween. I'm simply discussing songs that were on horror movie soundtracks or were played in a horror film. Most of these songs had singles released or promo videos where they incorporated the horror character or clips from the movie into their music. I highly suggest breaking some of these tunes out for all your Halloween festivities.

1. Dokken - Dream Warriors, taken from the Nightmare On Elm Street 3 soundtrack. This is probably one of the most popular horror theme songs done in metal. Spooky little power-ballad about nightmares and the ability to fight back in your dreams. The video for this had the band playing in the "Freddy" house, complete with the band doing battle with the killer. A single was released for this with some cover artwork featuring the Nightmare On Elm Street cast.

2. Alice Cooper - The Man Behind The Mask, taken from the Friday The 13th VI soundtrack. Very cool song penned about the killer of the Friday The 13th series, Jason Voorhees. The song has the signature whispers of the masked man, the eerie choo-choo-choo that is featured in every film. The video had Alice singing the track in the woods near a lake, with parts of the movie shown.

3. Laaz Rockit - Leatherface, taken from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre III soundtrack. This is one thrashy tune created for the chainsaw wielding madman. Promo video featured the band standing on a hill with parts of the movie airing in the background.

4. Iron Maiden - Flash Of The Blade, taken from Dario Argenta's Phenomenon film. This is perhaps the only Iron Maiden song to be featured in a film. I'm not sure if the official soundtrack to this film contains the Iron Maiden cut. This movie was also called Creepers in the US.

5. Dudes Of Wrath -Shocker, taken from the Shocker soundtrack. The Dudes Of Wrath were a special "supergroup" band that was assembled to work on the Shocker soundtrack. The band was made up of KISS frontman Paul Stanley, famed producer Desomnd Child, and Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. This song can be found twice on the soundtrack in different formats, and also introduces the film during the opening credits.

6. Slayer - Angel Of Death, taken from the Gremlins 2 soundtrack. Its pretty odd to feature something as fast as Slayer on a soundtrack, but once you see the placement of this song it does seem to fit. Mohawk, the evil Gremlin star of this sequel turns into a Spider during one scene. Slayer's Angel Of Death really fits the mood during the graphic transition of Mohawk into an arachnoid. Its kind of a comical twist really, but its interesting to see Slayer used on film.

7. W.A.S.P - Scream Until You Like It, taken from the Ghoulies 2 soundtrack. This song is listed as the official theme song for the film. Really groovey blues style cut that can also be found on the band's Live In The Raw record.

8. Accept - Fast As A Shark, taken from Lucio Fulci's Demons. As far as I know this is the only time that an Accept song has been incorporated into the big screen. This Italian classic features a huge chase scene where demons chase their victims out of a theater. This song is played during that scene to give the chase a little bit of atmosphere. Motley Crue and Pretty Maids can also be heard on the film.

9. Morbid Angel - Rapture, taken from the film Night Of The Demons 2. This may be the first time that death metal was used on film. About halfway through this gore-fest, a young girl gets possessed by a demon and does a strip dance to Morbid Angel at a school dance. Funny as hell!!

10. Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper, taken from John Carpenter's Halloween. I was hesitant about adding this one to the list, but the song does come into play during the film. If you listen to the car radio during one scene you will hear the song being played. The scene is when the main character, Laurie Strode, is being told to have a little fun on Halloween and not worry so much. The song kind of echoes that statement.



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