Each week, HEAVY will run a fresh list of 15 things to do with metal. They could be anything from metal karaoke songs to bands that have been banned from playing to horror-themed metal bands. You name it, if there are 15 or more of them out there, then HEAVY will assemble them into a list for you! This week’s list is Horror Themed Bands. What’s more, at the bottom of each weekly list, we will tell you the subject of next week’s list and how you can use it to win yourself a signed CD from Better Noise Music artists.
Horror-themed bands, spanning genres from punk to metal and beyond are known for their use of horror imagery, lyrical themes, and theatrical performances. They have a taste for the macabre and the darker side of music probably shouldn’t be left on repeat for your children to go to sleep….
GWAR
The story of GWAR is carved across the history of this hopeless planet, but GWAR themselves are not of this world…Their story begins far past Uranus, in the deepest reaches of space, where the beings known as GWAR were warriors in the Scumdogs of the Universe, an elite fighting force in the army of the Master of All Reality. But GWAR proved too reckless and powerful, and after a series of tragic but hilarious blunders, they were banished to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, with orders to conquer an insignificant backwater prehistoric mudball known as the planet Earth.
Once here, GWAR, the original Ancient Aliens, shaped the face of the globe, wiping out the dinosaurs, and mating with apes to create the human race. Having accidentally given rise to all human history, the Master of All Reality froze them in Antarctic ice where they could do no more harm. It was there they were discovered by a shady entrepreneur known as Sleazy P Martini, who sat the band down in front of professional wrestling, late-night horror movies, heavy metal music, and a steady diet of crack cocaine until GWAR became the cultural force they are today!
ROB ZOMBIE
As a rock icon and filmmaker with a unique vision, ROB ZOMBIE has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of both music and film. He has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of eight feature films with a worldwide gross totalling more than $150 million.
Each of ROB ZOMBIE’s 7 solo studio albums has debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s 200 chart, including his most recent album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse, in 2021. ZOMBIE is an 8-time Grammy nominee, with his most recent nomination up for Best Metal Performance at the 2022 awards. ROB ZOMBIE’s ninth feature film, The Munsters, is set to release later this year.
BLITZKID
Blitzkid were an American horror punk band, who were active from 1997–2012 and reformed in 2020. The band were widely known for their fusion of energetic punk rock with horror-themed lyrics.
Spearheaded by singer/guitarist TB Monstrosity and singer/bassist Argyle Goolsby, Blitzkid released a handful of albums and established themselves in the horror punk scene thanks to touring internationally with must see live performances.
THE CRAMPS
Starting in 1976, The Cramps mixed punk rock with rockabilly music to deliver what was dubbed as pyscobilly rock. Vocalist Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy remained the only two constant members before disbanding in 2009.
They developed a unique sound and theatrical style inspired by B-movies and garage music, releasing nine studio albums and EPs over their thirty-year career. The band disbanded after Interior’s death in 2009 but left a significant cult following and influenced the garage, psychobilly, and early goth rock genres.
CRADLE OF FILTH
GRAMMY Award-nominated CRADLE OF FILTH reign supreme as one of the most revered, formative and notorious names in music – from the depths of the extreme metal underground to the peaks of mainstream pop culture itself, and are responsible for breaking ground for many of today’s top metal artists with their trademark mixture of blackened heaviness, macabre theatricality and scintillating gothic style.
The rule of Filth began in 1991, followed by the unleashing of 1994’s The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh – humble beginnings that expanded into cinematic classics like Cruelty And The Beast and Midian, among others. Now, following the release of 2021’s Existence Is Futile – which debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200 with Hard Rock Genre (beyond many other chart debuts) – the international institution returns with their arrestingly catchy 14th studio album, The Screaming of the Valkyries. Out in March 2025 via Napalm Records, the album is a succinct summation of the ghosts of Cradle’s past and a bold step into the future.
WEDNESDAY 13
Joseph Michael Poole (born August 12, 1976), better known by his stage name Wednesday 13, is an American singer and musician. Apart from his solo career, he was the frontman of the horror punk/glam metal band Murderdolls and has also played in several other bands, including Maniac Spider Trash, Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13, Bourbon Crow, and Gunfire 76.
Poole‘s musical career began in 1992 when he played guitar in his first band Mizery, which was later renamed Psycho Opera. Other members included Ray Franks (guitar), Michael Patrick (bass guitar), Jeff Washam (drums), and Todd Cage (vocals). Soon after, Poole moved on to being the vocalist for Maniac Spider Trash. Poole fronted the band from 1992 to 1996. The band released a 6-song cassette called Dumpster Mummies in 1994 under the fictitious record label, Dead/Hell Records. In 1995, the band also recorded a full-length album called Murder Happy Fairytales. The band broke up before the album saw an official release. Many years later, in 2010, Joe Poole and Ray Franks worked together for a CD release of Dumpster Mummies and a digital release of Murder Happy Fairytales.
SAMHAIN
Samhain was an American horror punk and deathrock outfit and were formed by Glenn Danzig in 1983 after his departure from the Misfits.
They released three albums, evolving from horror punk into a darker, metal-influenced style that directly bridged the gap to Danzig‘s commercially successful solo band, which formed from the remnants of Samhain in 1987. Despite a short active career, the band gained a cult following and remains an influential predecessor to Danzig‘s later sound.
GHOST
Ghost is a Swedish occult-rock and heavy metal band, formed in 2006, known for their theatrical performances and costumed members, including the frontman, Tobias Forge, as a revolving “anti-pope” character. It’s virtually impossible to overstate how far GHOST has come since manifesting from the imagination of Tobias Forge in the early 21st century. Over the course of the nearly 20 years since its inception in Linköping, Sweden, GHOST has become so much more than Scandinavia’s foremost theatrical rock export. The achievements and accolades amassed by the GHOST discography include nearly 10 billion streams, five GRAMMY nominations (including a 2016 Best Metal Performance win for “Cirice”), an RIAA-certified platinum single (“Mary on a Cross”), an American Music Award and an iHeart Radio Music Award (both Rock Album wins for 2022’s international #1 charting IMPERA). GHOST’s ambitions have only risen with the exponential growth of its profile, recently resulting in the highest grossing hard rock cinema event in North American history (the band’s feature film debut RITE HERE RITE NOW). As GHOST continues to strengthen its bond with the world-spanning legion of kindred souls that commune with the band and each other at its vaunted live rituals, it’s no exaggeration to describe GHOST — and the uniquely intense connection formed with the faithful who find refuge in the personae, lore and world Forge has created — as a singular global phenomenon.
THE CREEPSHOW
The Creepshow is a Canadian psychobilly band formed in 2005. Renowned for fast paced horror themed anthems and energetic live performances, The Creepshow released several albums, including Run for Your Life (2008), They All Fall Down (2010), Life After Death (2013), and Death at My Door (2017).
The band toured extensively worldwide, playing major festivals like Warped Tour and Soundwave.
THE BLOODY JUG BAN
The Bloody Jug Band is an Orlando-based horror-themed jug band that blends traditional 1920s jug band sounds with dark Americana, swamp-noir, and bluegrass.
Known for their use of traditional instruments – jugs, washboards, and washtub basses – with guitars, mandolin, and percussion, The Bloody Jug Band were dubbed as Swamp-Noir or Jug Rock, releasing several albums culminating with How to Train a Spooky Horse (2023).
ALICE COOPER
The original Alice Cooper group – Alice Cooper (vocals), Michael Bruce (guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums), and Glen Buxton (guitar) – redefined rock in the early 1970s, blending raw, hard-hitting music with shocking theatricality. With Bob Ezrin at the helm, they pioneered shock rock, delivering rebellious anthems, dark storytelling, and over-the-top stage shows featuring guillotines, snakes, and macabre theatrics.
Albums like Love It to Death (1971), Killer (1971), School’s Out (1972), and Billion Dollar Babies (1973) turned them into superstars, producing legendary hits like I’m Eighteen, Elected, School’s Out and No More Mr. Nice Guy. Their mix of hard rock, glam, and horror made them one of the most influential and controversial bands of their era, leaving a permanent mark on rock history. Alice Cooper has sold countless millions of records worldwide and shaped rock history forever. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, their music remains as powerful and relevant as ever.
MISFITS
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery.
The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group’s main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only‘s brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has undergone many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the group’s only constant member. The Misfits disbanded in 1983, and Glenn Danzig went on to form Samhain and then Danzig.
MURDERDOLLS
Amid a 2002 musical landscape full of baggy pants, backwards caps and tracksuit pants rose a metallic glam punk band that defied the prevailing trends and brought back hard and fast rock ’n roll. Murderdolls dug up the corpse of rock, defiled it and injected pure unadulterated undead life back into it. And it was glorious!
Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls and its successor, Women and Children Last were like nothing else. Fast and dirty, raw and macabre. Drawing lyrical inspiration from classic horror, each track is full of tongue-in-cheek horror done to perfection. Led by horror-punk icon, Wednesday 13 and the late great Joey Jordison, Murderdolls slithered their way to the top of the horrendous heights of rock amassing a colossal cult-following along the way.
The sinister, sneering vocals, huge hooks, gang vocal choruses, pounding rhythms and some of the best riffs ever penned, the Murderdolls wrote songs for arenas and played them in theatres, making their adrenaline-fuelled odes to darkness that much more thrilling.
ICE NINE KILLS
Ice Nine Kills craft anthems full of passion and precision. The band’s theatrical bombast created a community of self-described “Psychos” and launched the type of pop culture lore celebrated in their songs. They make timeless and timely music, mixing metalcore, melody, and punk with power.
Led by Spencer Charnas, Ice Nine Kills spread cavalier carnage with a knowing smile, as evidenced by the densely catchy songs on their pair of breakthrough albums, The Silver Scream and The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood, which propelled them to death-defying new heights. They toured with Slipknot in 2022. Metallica handpicked INK for their M72 World Tour in 2023/2024.
THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT
The Funeral Portrait is an American rock band hailing from Atlanta, Georgia.
The group formed in 2014 and currently consists of Lee Jennings (vocals), Cody Weissinger (lead guitar), Caleb Freihaut (rhythm guitar/auxiliary), Robert Weston (bass) and Homer Umbanhower (drums). Their musical style has been described as a blend of emotional hardcore, punk rock, and musical theater, with lead singer and frontman Lee Jennings comparing their sound on social media to a blend of bands such as My Chemical Romance, Ghost, and Motionless In White.
Next week, HEAVY will be assembling a list of 15 Metal Movie Soundtracks, and if you want to be in the running to win one of three weekly draws for a signed CD from Better Noise Music artists, including Bad Wolves whose album Die About It Deluxe is out now, simply sign up to the free weekly digimag HERE. Then email [email protected] and tell us three bands you think should be in our list of 15 Metal Movie Soundtracks. Please put Metal Movie Soundtracks in the subject area. Existing subscribers just have to email the three bands. Does it get any easier?
