jephjacques

October Music Column: SPOOPY MUSIC

Added 2014-10-27 18:47:13 +0000 UTC

Halloween is right around the corner, so I thought I'd list some of my favorite SPOOKY MUSIC for you to check out! First up is Andy Stott. His albums We Stay Together and Luxury Problems sound like David Lynch soundtracking a basement rave- all eerie synths, industrial noises, and sinister beats. There are moments of beauty hidden in these tracks, but the overall gloom is the perfect soundtrack to a moonless October night. On the more metallic end of the spectrum, we have Deathspell Omega's experimental black metal classic "Fas- Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum." Satanic black metal has been done to death over the years, but I haven't come across another album that genuinely sounds like an attempt to summon demons and spray blood on the walls. Godspeed You! Black Emperor are masters of symphonic post-rock, and nobody does impending doom and post-apocalyptic gloom quite like they do. Their songs "Terrible Canyons of Static" and particularly "Dead Flag Blues," with its impossibly grim opening monologue, evoke nothing so much as the end of the world. Justin Broadrick's JK Flesh album "Posthuman" is scuzzed out, industrial metal that's heavier than Nine Inch Nails and uglier than a body run through a woodchipper. Perfect for keeping the kids away from your front door on Halloween. Techno producer Ben Klock's album "One" takes minimal dance music in a decidedly disquieting direction, with menacing loops underpinned by throbbing kick drums and a pervading sense of gloom. Album standout "OK" is just severely, severely creepy.