Scary music

A few years ago I put together a mix tape with a scary or Halloween theme, most from the prog rosters:

1. Mike Batt—The Night of the Dead/The Dead of the Night
2. Esperanto—Danse Macabre
3. The Cure—Lullaby
4. Strawbs—Deadly Nightshade
5. Curved Air—Phantasmagoria
6. Quantum Jump—The Séance (Too Spooky)
7. Procol Harum—The Dead Man’s Dream
8. Barclay James Harvest—Beyond the Grave
9. The Epidemics—Full Moon
10. Rick Wakeman—Chamber of Horrors
11. Émigré—Things That Go Bump in the Night
12. Gryphon—The Unquiet Grave
13. Peter Gabriel—Intruder
14. The Robbs—Jolly Miller
15. Caravan—C’Thlu Thlu
16. Peter Hammill—Fogwalking
17. Bill Nelson—Demon Raising
18. Sting—Moon Over Bourbon Street
19. Rare Bird—Fears of the Night
20. Split Enz—Ghost Girl
21. Julee Cruise—Into the Night
22. Happy the Man—Carousel
23. Steppenwolf—For Madmen Only

Not that I’m genuinely scared by any of these songs, I just thought it was a fun theme.

I mainly put it together around the last two. The HTM tune was one that made my jaw drop upon first listen. By the title you’d think something more cheery, and instead it brings forth visions of something blood-red-glowing suddenly popping up in a field in the dead of night, with carved horses that you could swear are turning their heads and looking more demonic with each turn. A most un-merry-go-round, in the words of Allan Holdsworth.

The Steppenwolf piece was the B-side of “Ride With Me” and isn’t easy to get hold of; I don’t think it ever came out on CD. Apparently it’s not highly thought of by their fans (“Urrgh! It doesn’t rock!”) but it does an astonishingly (insanely?) great job of conveying the feel of a haunted house or the darkened corridors of an abandoned (or is it abandoned?) asylum. Highly recommended for listening to in total darkness.

When I was a kid I never forgot the creepiness of "Spooks" by Lous Armstrong

progbethyname wrote: You know this is gonna sound kinda funny and maybe strange to ye fellow proggers, but I always found the Flute solo and the end of Strawberry fields eerie and frightening. It's creepy for sure.

Dude, that's a mellotron - (no wonder it sounds creepy)

Tom Ozric wrote: progbethyname wrote: You know this is gonna sound kinda funny and maybe strange to ye fellow proggers, but I always found the Flute solo and the end of Strawberry fields eerie and frightening. It's creepy for sure. Dude, that's a mellotron - (no wonder it sounds creepy)

Wow!! you just blew my mind.

It sounds like a flute very much. Consider me creeped out! Lol

This whole album by Giles Corey. A little bit of backstory to the recording:

"Giles Corey began as a collection of acoustic songs written by Dan Barrett (of Have a Nice Life and Nahvalr).
Then, he nearly killed himself. Instead of following through with that, he started a project: a search through any and every piece of written word that he could find to determine if life were worth living.
Giles Corey became a way to catalog those thoughts, books, and events, to put them in a box, and to hopefully put them away forever. "

RedNightmareKing wrote: pianoman wrote: This whole album by Giles Corey. A little bit of backstory to the recording: "Giles Corey began as a collection of acoustic songs written by Dan Barrett (of Have a Nice Life and Nahvalr). Then, he nearly killed himself. Instead of following through with that, he started a project: a search through any and every piece of written word that he could find to determine if life were worth living. Giles Corey became a way to catalog those thoughts, books, and events, to put them in a box, and to hopefully put them away forever. " I enjoyed the rest of that album, but taste be damned I could not digest that song.

Like the piano, but can't say the same for the vocals.

Betrayed by Peter Hammill. And we've all been there at least once, isn't it?

This probably overlaps with something I've posted before in another thread, but anyway, my list of scariest music:

1.  The ending of "Killer" by Alice Cooper.  the first time I thought my heart was going to stop.  The second time I thought my blood would turn to ice.  There hasn't been a third time yet in over 10 years.  It's a great song from a great album, but please do yourself a favor and stop this song about 1 minute before it ends.

2.  "Dead London" from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.  This is the part of the story near the end where the Martians are dying.  Richard Burton's narration is chillingly intense, the horror-movie piano part adds tension, and then the Martians periodically SCREECH "UUUULLLLAAAAAA!!!" in an electronically altered voice that will decalcify your spinal column.  I had a copy of this album as a kid and I always avoided this part.  A couple of years ago I re-acquired the album and (just once so far) decided to give it another go, now that I'm 44 years old and silly sci-fi albums with Justin Hayward singing couldn't possibly scare me any more, right?  Well, wrong.

3. "I Cannot Feel You as the Dogs Are Laughing And I Am Blind" by Nurse With Wound.  Only dared to listen to this once.  I'm not quite sure why it f'ed me up like it did, but it was just uncalled for.  Damn you, Stapegun!  

progbethyname wrote: The mellotron at the end of Strawberry Field by the Beatles. Sounds like Satan's flute. It's creepy. I don't care what anyone says.