Horror Punk; The Most Beautifully Disturbing Music Genre
If you’re a pierced nose and choppy hair angsty teenager looking for a new music genre to listen to, look no further than the wonderful genre known as horror punk.
Horror punk is a sub-genre of punk. Many bands that fit into the horror punk genre are known for their fast beats, strong guitars and angsty lyrics that are too fast to understand. (I’m looking at you AFI) You don’t see many genres that focus mainly on horror aspects so that’s what makes this genre so unique. Punk has always had an edgy horror aspect to it and so horror punk focuses almost entirely on that part of the punk scene. The living dead, being carried away in a hearse, cemeteries, devils whorehouses, album covers that make you feel like you’re wither in Dracula's basement or tripping on acid, devil manipulation, grave robbing, necrophilies. Name literally any aspect of horror culture and there will be a horror punk song about it. You get the dark, angsty, I Wanna Get A Mohawk (But Mom Won’t Let Me Get One) aspects of punk, as well as all the monsters, guts and almost unsettlingly detailed description of a murder scene aspects of horror. It isn’t all murder and monsters though. Surprisingly enough, some horror punk songs have meanings that are more on the romantic side. While they may be expressing their romantic lust by explaining how they are going to kill their lover so they can’t be with anyone else. It is still romance nonetheless. Plus I’m sure Wednesday 13 pulled more with songs like that than any male manipulator musicians ever could. But seriously though, horror punk can be an oddly romantic genre if you really listen. Bands like Aiden and AFI have songs in the horror punk genre that are extremely romantic once you get past the fast tempos and hard breakdowns. “Wester” by AFI off of their album “The Art of Drowning” doesn’t seem like a particularly romantic song until you actually pull up the lyrics and read what they are singing about. It almost sounds like a draft from a Wattpad fanfiction and I honestly love it. Other than horror punk being a more horrifying version of punk, horror punk also strays away from the more social and political side of the punk genre and focuses more on the angsty teens with bullet belts and death hawks side. “The politics of horror punk only extend as deep as a vampires bite or a silver bullet in a werewolf’s hide,” says dailycollegian.com. While I admire the social aspects of punk, I appreciate the focus on the outcast side of the genre.
Horror punk is best known after the formation of the band The Misfits in 1977. Their “Crimson Ghost” logo is one of the most known logo in the punk scene and is one of the biggest influences for bands in the scene today. I mean what lead singer of a famous metal or punk band hasn’t been seen wearing the crimson ghost logo? Bands like Metallica, Guns ‘N Roses, Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides, My Chemical Romance, Aiden, Green Day and Alkaline Trio all reference The Misfits as an influence for their music. This also makes The Misfits one of the most merchandised bands. The crimson ghost logo is the kind of logo you get on a t-shirt even if the only Misfits song you know is Dig Up Her Bones or Scream just because it is a badass logo and it is seen everywhere in the punk scene, which makes it recognizable to people who aren’t necessarily even fans of The Misfits. This ghostly logo along with their iconic corpse paint and earsplitting performances practically built the foundation of horror punk. many of their first EP’s and singles were attempts for The Misfits to get their foothold in the punk scene. Then in 1982, they released their first full length album “Walk Among Us” which has since become a staple in the punk and horror punk scenes. More and more people were discovering The Misfits, from their dark gruesome lyrics to their iconic stage presence and their role played in revolutionizing the punk and horror punk scene. The Misfits were and still are unlike any other.
The Misfits weren’t the only band specializing in the gothic and horror sub genres though. Bands like True Sounds of Liberty, who’s song “Code Blue” off their 1981 “Dance With Me” album was one of the first songs about necrophilia to ever be released. Weird fact, I know but even though the subject wasn’t particularly popular back then, those in the punk scene were very fond of it and even found the overall meaning of the song to be very relatable. While the song may seem like nothing more than a guy winging about having sex with a dead body to someone who isn’t apart of the punk scene. Those who were apart of the scene recognized it as a man who’s tired of being rejected because of women’s morals and constant complaining so he insists having sex with a dead body would be much easier because they lack the ability to reject him. While the meaning is still quite morbid, many found it relatable because, quite frankly, love is a bitch so it probably would be easier to have sex with someone who no longer has any morals or feelings. I listened to this album in its entirety just recently and I can tell T.S.O.L is one of those bands that you know when you hear.
Another band worth mentioning as a staple in the horror punk scene are The Cramps. They were known as a strong presence in the late ’80s and early ’90s punk scene which then also became a strong presence in the horror punk scene as well. They rose to cult status as people loved their use of creepy themes, gore and strong sexuality expression in their early albums. Songs like, “Goo Goo Muck”, “I was A Teenage Werewolf” and “What’s Inside A Girl?” were labeled as “psychopathic country” but were created entirely within the punk scene. The Cramps quickly rose in the punk scene and became known amongst most who were apart of the scene.
AFI is another band that entered the punk scene in the ‘90’s. They emerged into the scene with two EP’s titled “Dark” and “Behind The Times”. They then released their first full length album titled “Answer That and Stay Fashionable” in1995 which is a punk rock album that kind of introduced them into the punk scene. This album features the songs “Two of A Kind” and “I Wanna Get A Mohawk (But Mom Won’t Let Me Get One)” Which both have very fast-paced lyrics and heavy instrumentals which were both very big parts of the punk scene. It also helps that I Wanna Get A Mohawk includes teenage rebel type lyrics that those in the punk scene were and still are very fond of. Whey released their ”All Hallows” EP, that was when they were finally able to get a footing in the horror punk genre. This EP includes four Halloween themed songs. The Halloween theme mixed with the fast paced tempo makes this their first release that is focused almost entirely on horror.
They then released “The Art of Drowning” in 2000 and I like to think of this album as one of their most loved, next to Decemberunderground. As well as the album that solidified their place in the horror punk scene. While this album doesn’t have a horrifying theme or brutal descriptions of murder and necrophilia. I found most lyrics on this album almost disturbing but in a euphoric way which sounds kind of twisted but hear me out. When you first hear the lyrics in this album you think “eew what?” But then you listen again and think “damn this is beautiful”. Lyrics like “I will sleep under your skin” from “The Lost Souls”, “Enter all monsters, let us twist another fairy tale” From “Of Greetings and Goodbyes”. Every single lyric in the songs ”Story at Three” and “Catch A Hot One” is beautifully disturbing. “The girl on the wall always waited for me and she was always smiling” from “Days of the Phoenix” is another lyric that makes me shiver and lastly, my personal favorite, “Open your veins so we can make a pool and bathe and see if anyone complains about the stains”. Songs like these mixed with the song “Wester” which is a beautifully written song that mainly focuses on romance without the disturbing bits, make this album truly one of a kind. It is no mystery that AFI writes the kinds of lyrics that you know have meaning and are beautifully written as well as slightly disturbing but you still can’t pin point exactly what the meaning is which makes you more enticed. Even the lyric “Bleed into black clouds and I will lick them clean” from their song “The Conductor” make you think “what the actual fuck?” but end up slipping into a feeling of euphoria anyways. So the beautifully disturbing yet euphoric and enticing lyrics mixed with the fast paced instrumentals is why I consider this another staple in the horror punk scene.
Lastly, when taking about horror punk we can’t forget to talk about the Wednesday 13 triple threat of bands. Starting with Frankenstein's Drag Queens From Planet 13. Their first release was the album “The Late, Late, Late Show” This album, much like some of the ones previously mentioned also feature horrifically unique lyrics which earns it the horror punk title. Songs like 197666", “The Wolfman Stole My Baby” and “Kill Miss America” are all angsty grotesque that contain lyrics that only the brilliantly messed up mind of Wednesday 13 can come up with. Their other albums such as “Viva Las Violence” and “Night of the Living Drag Queens” are also good exampled of the gruesome/makes you slightly uncomfortable but oddly enticed side of horror punk.
That side was also incorporated into both of the released Murderdolls albums. Many songs off of these albums were remastered Frankenstein’s Drag Queens songs, while the songs may sound more refined, they do not lose their horror punk aspects. I find the bands Frankenstein’s Drag Queens, Murderdolls and Wednesday 13 the type of bands that you can not find anywhere else and part of how unique they are is the genre they fit into. Wednesday 13 is known for his raunchy lyrics and his stage presence that can not be overlooked.
The band Wednesday 13 has put out many horror punk albums including their new 2022 album “Horrifier” which includes the same horror punk sound as their earliest album “Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death, Dying and the Dead”. Never losing his horrifying sound and iconic look, this is why I consider Wednesday 13 another staple in the horror punk genre.
A few other bands and albums worth mentioning are: “Nightmare Anatomy” by Aiden, “Rain in Hell” by Aiden, “13 Halloweens” by Calebrese, “Terrifying Tales” by Blitzkid, “Five Cellars Below” by Blitzkid and “Songs From the Earth” by Son of Sam.
There you go, now you have all the reasons and band reccomendations you need to take a deep dive into the wonderfully grotesque and beautifully disturbing punk sub-genre known as horror punk.
