This Is Halloween

Ah yes, it’s Halloween again. The air is brisk, the nights have grown darker and longer, and it’s time to prepare for those little trick-or-treaters to come around begging for your Kit-Kat bars. Right about now you’re digging through the closet of decorations looking for that dusty old cassette tape of ‘scary’ Halloween sounds. Right, because nothing says ‘Halloween horror’ like the muted sounds of creaking doors, hissing cats, and fake footstep wafting out from behind the bushes. In my opinion, toss out that tape and put something a little more metal for your Halloween. With any luck you’ll scare away the little children, annoy your neighbors, and have all of that candy for yourself.

As always, I’m only using song that I own. And no, you won’t find “Werewolves Of London” or “Monster Mash” on this list, so don’t even ask...

1. Marylin Manson – “This Is Halloween” Marylin Manson covers the opening song of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, adding another layer of creepiness to Danny Elfman’s original.

2. Rob Zombie – “Dragula,” “Living Dead Girl,” “Superbeast,” the list goes on… Rob Zombie is the architect of the best scary, hypnotic metal and as the director of House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, he is the master of Halloween metal.



3. Opeth – “Demon Of The Fall” Mikeal Akerfedt and company unleash the growls and pummeling beats of Sweden’s best death metal. “Grapsing for another breath / She rose, screaming at the close doors / Seductive faint mist forging / Through the cracks in the wall”



4. DevilDriver – “Monsters Of The Deep,” “Swinging the Dead” Dez Fafara’s unearthly growls gives life and death to DevilDriver’s most monsterous tunes.

5. Ghost Brigade – “Clawmaster” Another death metal band from Sweden, Ghost Brigade lives up it’s name with eerily deep vocals, slow doom rhythm, and ferocious growls. The video for Clasmaster is perfect for your Halloween night.



6. Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave” No night of doom and gloom is complete without Black Sabbath. Enough said.

7. Katatonia – “Ghost Of The Sun” Katatonia’s brand of moody metal sets the stage for a night of walking through a misty graveyard.



8. Isis – “Hall Of The Dead” When the world ends, the sounds of Isis will be playing. Their brutally raw metal conjures images of the apocalypse.



9. A Storm Of Light – “Death’s Head” Another dirty, doom metal band, A Storm Of Light shares similarities with bands like Isis, Neurosis, and Ghost Brigade. Dense vocals supported by crushing guitars, these metallers will leave your trick-or-treaters quivering in their little costumes.

10. Slipknot – “Tattered And Torn” A circus can be scary, especially when the soundtrack is supplied by nine crazy dudes in jumpsuits. It sounds like a circus from hell that would be well at home in a Stephen King novel.

Opeth & Katatonia at the Palladium, Worcester, MA

Opeth kicked of a tour on the eve of the release of their 10^th studio album with long-time friends and fellow Swedes, Katatonia at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. Heritage is another chapter in Opeth's musical journey. For this 'observation' Mikael Akerfedt and company chose to dive deep into their prog rock roots. The sweet, classical-influenced opener, "Heritage" gives way to "The Devil's Orchard," which jumps out with gritty guitars and wild organs. Akerfedt's voice rings clear and desparate, backed by frenetic drums and a rollicking guitar accompaniment. Playing with familar song structure, "The Devil's Orchard" stops and starts, turns down low, and reaches out in a hundred directions before fading away. "Nepenthe" is at times soft and delicate as Akerfedt sings beautifully over jazz-tinged drums and bass. In "Haxprocess" the call and answer between Akerfedt and organ sets up an dangerously intricate play between syncopated rhythm and feverish acoustic guitar. Every song has been crafted with care. Each contains its strengths, subtlety, and technical ambition. You will love this record the moment you hear it because every moment is packed with grooves, catchy vocals, and unpredictable twists and turns. And yet, on every subsequent listen you'll discover something that wasn't there before. There's always another riff, bass lick, or organ squeal lurking just beyond your perception. Heritage is flush with intense musically, just like every Opeth album before it. It's technical and unabashedly exposed to the listener. There are no death growls or blast beats to hide under. Heritage is not prog, it's not death metal, it's simply Opeth.


On another note, it's worth getting the bonus tracks "Pyre" and "Face In The Snow."

Katatonia took the stage for an 11-song opening set. This is another band that I stumbled onto for no particular reason but was immediately drawn their dark, brooding style. Jonas Renske's haunting vocals are racked full of emotion, passion, and sorrow. Their set took songs from their most recent albums, Night Is The New Day and The Great Cold Distance. They also played songs from deeper in their catalog, stretching as far back as 1999's Tonight's Decision. It was a killer set and these 20-year veterans of heavy metal put on an excellent show. There was no fanfare or rockstar stage antics. Instead Katatonia let the music speak for itself. Hearing some personal favorites like July, My Twin, and Forsaker live (and in the front row) was utterly awesome.

Set List:
1. Forsaker
2. Liberation
3. Soil Song
4. Nephilim
5. My Twin
6. The Longest Year
7. Evidence
8. Chrome
9. For My Demons
10. July
11. Leaders

So, as if the Katatonia set wasn't enough fun, Opeth came out on stage and played a brilliant, inspired, and musically exhausting 2-hour set. They played songs from several many different releases including their latest, Heritage. This was a much different set than their typical festival shows. Keeping with the theme from Heritage, Opeth played an incredibly technical and challenging list of songs. They opened with "The Devil's Orchard" and "I Feel The Dark" (from Heritage), followed by "Face Of Melinda" and "Porcelain Heart." They demonstrated their musical prowess as they seemlessly blended new material with old. Face Of Melinda, a staple of Opeth concerts, is from 1999's Still Life. It sounds at home with "Porcelain Heart" (from Watershed) and the vibe from Heritage. 

The middle part of the show was performed acoustically by both Mikael Akerfedt and guitarist Fredrik Akesson. I've seen plenty of bands slow things down with an acoustic song here and there, but this performance was different. Opeth played through a handful of songs, with dual acoustic guitars playing in perfect harmony, backed by subtle organs and solid rhythm. They dove back to into their catalog, to play "Credence," from 1998's My Arms Your Hearse. They even played some very rare songs, including "The Throat of Winter" and "Patterns In The Ivy II."

With barely a breather between songs, the 2-hour show closed with songs both new and old. Opeth sounded amazing from every vantage point in the venue. From the front of stage to the risers in the back of the small theater. It is truly rare to witness such musicianship, especially in the increasingly dilute metal genre. Instead of delivering technically intense music, many bands do all they can throw up a wall of sound, masking imperfections and insecurity. Fortunately, bands like Opeth, show us that metal can still play.

I know what you're thinking... Opeth didn't play their heavy stuff? No death metal vocals? If you've got a complaint then you've missed the point. And that's a topic for another blog. Mikael Akerfedt declared, at the beginning of the show, "We're going to play some new stuff tonight. I hate it when my favorite bands play new stuff, I just want to hear to the old stuff." Thank you, Opeth, for playing one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Opeth - Devil's Orchard

Set List:
1. The Devil's Orchard
2. I Feel The Dark
3. Face Of Melinda
4. Porcelain Heart
5. Nepenthe
6. Throat Of Winter
7. Credence
8. Patterns In The Ivy II
9. Slither
10. A Fair Judgement
11. Hex Omega
12. Folklore