Heavy Metal Halloween
10 Shock Rock Bands to give you the creeps this All Hallow's Eve!
Every Halloween, when it comes to entertainment, most people immediately think of Horror Films… but what about music? Over the years many artists have attempted to bring the "shock" back into rock. So, if you are hosting a Halloween party this year, here are some performers that will help you turn it into a Heavy Metal Halloween.
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is the undisputed king of shock rock and horror in metal. The name and the music is synonymous with frights and eeriness, rocking out with songs like I Love The Dead, The Black Widow, Pick Up The Bones, and many more. Cooper has had Vincent Price guest on his albums, has acted in a few horror movies (fans will remember him acting as the abusive foster father of Freddy Krueger!), and provided a song for the Friday the 13th film series called He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask).
Alice Cooper: The Black Widow (with Vincent Price)
Slipknot
While many metal fans are split on Slipknot, with some quite critical of their contribution to the genre, there is no doubt that (along with a few other artists) the band helped bring back a theatrical feel to metal during the late 1990's. Following the no-frills grunge era, Slipknot embraced the showmanship of performers such as KISS, Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P., and GWAR, and mixed it with a harder-edged metal sound with strong influences from thrash and death metal. They were pivotal in creating resurgence into a new era of shock rock.
Slipknot: Dead Memories
Lordi
Lordi are relatively new to the scene, but what makes them so unique is not the fact they dress up in costume a la Slipknot and KISS... What makes them unique is the way in which they hit the big time. Lordi were the winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest; a music competition known more for its European pop rather than theatrical metal bands. Hailing from Finland, the band continues going strong, with thematic approaches in their music heralding tales of monsters and apocalypses... Lordi are most certainly the new breed of shock rock in the world of metal, and most definitely a worthy inclusion in a "Heavy Metal Halloween" list.
Lordi: Would you love a MonsterMan?
Mercyful Fate
Fronted by the great King Diamond, Mercyful Fate erupted onto the metal scene from Denmark in 1980, embracing the Satanic stylized image popular in the day and mixing it with King’s black-and-white make-up (along with Alice Cooper and KISS, this would inspire black metal bands for years) and the harder edged metal of the time. Mercyful Fate were key influencers of their time – awing up and coming musicians who would end up in bands such as Metallica and Testament. With songs of Satan, funerals, demons, and just downright evil, Mercyful Fate (and the other work of King Diamond) was the transition music that took metal fans from the days of Black Sabbath to the days of modern Norwegian Black Metal.
Mercyful Fate: Nightmare Be Thy Name
Rob Zombie
There is no way in hell that this list would be complete without Rob Zombie. After the band White Zombie went on hiatus, Rob continued forward on a solo career of his own. His first solo effort, Hellbilly Deluxe, was a literal play on his last name – Rob delved into classic horror themes, focusing on zombies, monsters, vampires, and so on. It was perhaps the first successful horror-based album since the days of Alice Cooper's 1970's concept albums.
Rob Zombie: Dragula
GWAR
Despite being labeled by critics as a band that wouldn’t last long GWAR are still going. Forming in 1985, they were hidden by masks and elaborate costumes, well before the days of Slipknot and Lordi. They were the next logical step in shock rock from Alice Cooper, Mercyful Fate, and W.A.S.P., bringing obscenities and satirical perspectives of figures popular in current events. With their punk-laced thrash-style rock, GWAR brought a new element to the genre that would influence newcomers in the years that followed.
GWAR: Immortal Corruptor
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson is another logical inclusion here, and though it’s clear that the band was heavily influenced by KISS and Alice Cooper, it was Manson’s image and the message in the music that, along with other bands of the decade like Slipknot, helped keep the theatrics in music alive. Dogged by controversy in nearly every year of fame, Marilyn Manson highlights not only the scary nature of horror – but the very creepiness of reality itself. Everything has a dark side, and Manson was more than satisfied at highlighting that fact to the world.
Marilyn Manson: Sweet Dreams
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath is a definite inclusion here. Not only are they widely regarded as the world's first metal band, but the content of their lyrics are reason enough for inclusion. From the song that was also the band's namesake, to Children of the Grave, to Headless Cross; Black Sabbath have embraced darkness, the occult, religion, and evil themes in their music from their very beginnings. They are the benchmark for all of the metal bands that followed in their footsteps, bringing forth the inclusion of "evil" in the genre itself. All shock rock and theatrical metal bands owe a great deal to Sabbath.
Black Sabbath: Children of the Grave
KISS
From young fans in the 1970's wanting to be their favorite member for Halloween; to the inclusion of the song God of Thunder in Rob Zombie's take on the movie Halloween, KISS are a definite inclusion here. While their act was more about extravagance and their music more about enjoying life and partying, the theatrical aspect of KISS was a huge influence on theatrics in music. Also, with Gene Simmons taking on the blood spitting mantle of "The Demon" in the band lead to the development of songs that took on a more dark nature in the band’s repertoire to match Simmons' on-stage persona; some examples include Almost Human, Not for the Innocent, and Unholy.
KISS: God Of Thunder
W.A.S.P.
Cross KISS with Alice Cooper, add in a good dose of 1980’s early glam metal, as well as throwing in some raw meat, and you get W.A.S.P. In the early 1980's, many hard rock acts started becoming more interested in glamming up their looks… W.A.S.P. went for a slightly different tact – continuing the shock rock – and they were so successful at doing so, they became targets of Tipper Gore’s PMRC. With founder Blackie Lawless still at the helm as frontman for the band, W.A.S.P. has become one of the most enduring groups of the era they came from.
W.A.S.P.: Scream Until You Like It (from the movie GHOULIES II)
Alice Cooper is the undisputed king of shock rock and horror in metal. The name and the music is synonymous with frights and eeriness, rocking out with songs like I Love The Dead, The Black Widow, Pick Up The Bones, and many more. 
While many metal fans are split on Slipknot, with some quite critical of their contribution to the genre, there is no doubt that (along with a few other artists) the band helped bring back a theatrical feel to metal during the late 1990's. Following the no-frills grunge era, 
Lordi are relatively new to the scene, but what makes them so unique is not the fact they dress up in costume a la 
Fronted by the great 
There is no way in hell that this list would be complete without Rob Zombie. After the band White Zombie went on hiatus, Rob continued forward on a solo career of his own. His first solo effort, Hellbilly Deluxe, was a literal play on his last name – Rob delved into classic horror themes, focusing on zombies, monsters, vampires, and so on. It was perhaps the first successful horror-based album since the days of 
Despite being labeled by critics as a band that wouldn’t last long GWAR are still going. Forming in 1985, they were hidden by masks and elaborate costumes, well before the days of Slipknot and Lordi. They were the next logical step in shock rock from Alice Cooper, Mercyful Fate, and W.A.S.P., bringing obscenities and satirical perspectives of figures popular in current events. With their punk-laced thrash-style rock, 
Marilyn Manson is another logical inclusion here, and though it’s clear that the band was heavily influenced by KISS and Alice Cooper, it was Manson’s image and the message in the music that, along with other bands of the decade like Slipknot, helped keep the theatrics in music alive. Dogged by controversy in nearly every year of fame, 
Black Sabbath is a definite inclusion here. Not only are they widely regarded as the world's first metal band, but the content of their lyrics are reason enough for inclusion. From the song that was also the band's namesake, to Children of the Grave, to Headless Cross; 
From young fans in the 1970's wanting to be their favorite member for Halloween; to the inclusion of the song God of Thunder in 
Cross KISS with Alice Cooper, add in a good dose of 1980’s early glam metal, as well as throwing in some raw meat, and you get W.A.S.P. In the early 1980's, many hard rock acts started becoming more interested in glamming up their looks… W.A.S.P. went for a slightly different tact – continuing the shock rock – and they were so successful at doing so, they became targets of Tipper Gore’s PMRC. With founder Blackie Lawless still at the helm as frontman for the band, 
