LOS ANGELES — Remember when your parents said how scary the Beatles were?

Times have changed, but a big part of rock’s appeal has remained a certain darkness that’s still around today.

With Halloween rolling around, what better time to unleash Metal Sludge’s version of 12 scary songs for the ages. 

For this spooky spectacular we’ve included 70’s rock, of course the 80’s, and even sprinkled in the 90’s!

We’ve got goth to glam, classic rock to thrash and even added some nu-metal.

Happy Halloween and we hope you enjoy Metal Sludge’s “Dirty Dozen” — 12 scary rock songs perfect for Halloween.

And don’t forget to take our Halloween poll at the bottom of this article.

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1, Motley Crue “Shout at The Devil” — This hit single and album of the same name propelled Motley Crue’s ascent into the rock and roll stratosphere. 

With it’s ultimate fist-pumping, sing-along chorus, “Shout at The Devil” was designed for arena rock, and that’s exactly where it sent Motley Crue.

This winner features every key Crue element — Vince Neil’s soaring vocals, Tommy Lee’s crashing drums and Mick Mars’ usual catchy guitar riffs but most of all Nikki Sixx’s poppy, rhyming lyrics: “He’s the wolf screaming lonely in the night

He’s the blood stain on the stage

He’s the tear in your eyes

Been tempted by his lie

He’s the knife in your back, he’s rage.”

2, Faster Pussycat, “Monster Mash” — There are dozens of versions you can find on this Halloween classic, but Faster Pussycat is the perfect Metal Sludge fit.   

The legendary Los Angeles glam band led by Taime Downe recorded this one in 2011 as part of the “Covers & Oddities” album. He turns in a fine vocal performance, and the band remains surprisingly loyal to the original melody.

And the lyrics are the greatest ever: “Out from his coffin’, Drac’s voice did ring

Seems he was troubled by just one thing

He opened the lid and shook his fist and said

“Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?

It’s now the mash, it’s now the monster mash

The monster mash, and it’s a graveyard smash”

3, Van Halen “Running With The Devil” — The title jars the senses, but Van Halen has never revealed what the song is really about.

Released in 1978 as the band’s second single, this one helped Van Halen become stars including a headline appearance at the 1982 US Festival.

Satanic? That’s doubtful but the lyrics are certainly iconic: “I found the simple life ain’t so simple

When I jumped out, on that road

I got no love, no love you’d call real

Ain’t got nobody, waitin’ at home”

4, Alice Cooper “Feed My Frankenstein” — Of course the ultra-theatrical Cooper was going to make this list.

The 70-year-old has doing the scary thing for decades, but if you look closely, “Feed My Frankenstein” is actually about sex: “Feed my Frankenstein

Meet my libido

He’s a psycho

Feed my Frankenstein

Hungry for love, and it’s feeding time”

Wikipedia: Alice Cooper’s “shock rock” reputation apparently developed almost by accident at first. An unrehearsed stage routine involving Cooper, a feather pillow, and a live chicken garnered attention from the press; the band decided to capitalize on the tabloid sensationalism, creating in the process a new subgenre, shock rock. Cooper claims that the infamous “Chicken Incident” at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969 was an accident. A chicken somehow made its way onto the stage into the feathers of a feather pillow they would open during Cooper’s performance, and not having any experience with farm animals, Cooper presumed that, because the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly. He picked it up and threw it out over the crowd, expecting it to fly away. The chicken instead plummeted into the first few rows occupied by wheelchair users, who reportedly proceeded to tear the bird to pieces. The next day the incident made the front page of national newspapers, and Zappa phoned Cooper and asked if the story, which reported that he had bitten off the chicken’s head and drunk its blood on stage, was true. Cooper denied the rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, “Well, whatever you do, don’t tell anyone you didn’t do it.”

5, Metallica “Seek and Destroy” — This was the first song Metallica ever recorded back in 1983 for “Kill ‘Em All” on Megaforce, and the tune has remained popular through all these years with not just fans pro wrestlers and hockey team themes.

James Hetfield has said the song is about wanting to kill but not doing it.

The lyrics laid the foundation for one of the world’s top metal bands: “Our brains are on fire with the feeling to kill

And it will not go away until our dreams are fulfilled

There is only one thing on our minds

Don’t try running away ’cause you’re the one we will find running.”

6, Ozzy Osbourne, “Suicide Solution” — Ozzy was unsuccessfully sued in court over this controversial song that is not about suicide but actually about alcoholism.

It was released in 1980 on the highly successful “Blizzard of Ozz” album.

Considered dark back then, the lyrics are relatively lite by today’s standards: “Evil thoughts and evil doings

Cold, alone you hang in ruins

Thought that you’d escape the reaper

You can’t escape the master keeper”

Wikipedia: On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat that he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 ranked this incident number two on its list of “Rock’s Wildest Myths”. While the Rolling Stone article stated the bat was alive, 17-year-old Mark Neal who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead. According to Osbourne in the booklet to the 2002 edition of Diary of a Madman, the bat was not only alive but managed to bite him, resulting in Osbourne being treated for rabies. On 20 January 2019, Osbourne commemorated the 37th anniversary of the bat incident by offering an ‘Ozzy Plush Bat’ toy “with detachable head” for sale on his personal web-store. The site claimed the first batch of toys sold out within hours.

7, AC/DC, “Highway to Hell” — Released in 1979 and based on Angus Young’s magical guitar riff, this one started it all for arguably the most successful metal band in history.

Like many rock hits, the lyrics reflect the difficulty of being on the road, but the spooky title guaranteed it would be a hit for the ages, and that’s exactly what happened, as 20,000 sing along every night AC/DC plays it. 

Wikipedia: Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It was the band’s fifth studio album released internationally and the sixth to be released in Australia. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who would die early the following year on 19 February 1980.

8, Marilyn Manson “Beautiful People” — This is among Manson’s most notable songs if not the most scary, but the group’s image will forever be appropriate for Halloween.

It was released in 1996 as a single from the album “Antichrist Superstar.”

According to Manson, the lyrics are about a culture of beauty — but it’s hard to tell: “The worms will live in every host

It’s hard to pick which one they hate the most

The horrible people, the horrible people

It’s all anatomic as the size of your steeple”

9, Motorhead, “Hellraiser” — Originally recorded by Ozzy Osbourne on the *No More Tears” album, Lemmy had co-written the song and released it a year later in 1992 as an official single. 

Lemmy’s voice might not have been perfect for MTV and FM radio, but his growl fits in perfectly for Halloween.

The title is scary but the song is about touring in a rock and roll band: “Feeling alright in the noise and the light

But that’s what lights my fire

Hellraiser, in the thunder and heat

Hellraiser, rock you back in your seat

Hellraiser, and I’ll make it come true

Hellraiser, I’ll put a spell on you”

10, Blue Oyster Cult, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” — Well, no surprise, the song is about death — but not about suicide, the band insists.

At any rate, 45 years later this 1976 radio hit remains Blue Oyster Cult’s most recognized hit, soaring to No. 12 on Billboard.

Interestingly, this song was among the first to use a cowbell. 

The lyrics are pure classic: “Love of two is one

Here but now they’re gone

Came the last night of sadness

And it was clear she couldn’t go on

Then the door was open and the wind appeared

The candles blew and then disappeared

The curtains flew and then he appeared

Saying don’t be afraid”

11, Rob Zombie, “Living Dead Girl” — This 1999 single references several classic horror movies, making it a perfect choice here from an artist that was never known for his smiles even on a good day.

The music video is based on the 1920 silent film, *The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” with Zombie in the role of The Doctor.

The lyrics are plenty creepy: “Crawl on me

Sink into me

Die for me

Living dead girl.”

12, Slayer “Raining Blood” — This is a song about a soul banished from heaven and hungry for vengeance — perfect for Halloween, right?

Released in 1986 from the “Reign in Blood”album, the song charted in England and helped Slayer become a pioneering thrash band from the same Hollywood streets that produced Poison and Warrant during the same time period.

Slayer was coming from a different place than their Glam competitors: “Raining blood

From a lacerated sky

Bleeding its horror

Creating my structure

Now I shall reign in blood”

What is your Favorite part of Halloween?
???‍♀️?????

— metalsludge (@MetalSludge) October 26, 2021

Gerry Gittelson can be reached at gerryg123@hotmail.com.