Now Hear This - Halloween 2024 The Final Chapter

 You're tuned into KRPT radio for another round of hits from the underground. 

Six feet underground!

Are you groovy ghouls ready to rock? Click the cover art to go to Bandcamp where you can preview and purchase the tunes.

Midnight Danger makes some great darksynth that sounds like it was taken from an obscure 80s horror flick. In addition to their terrifying tunes, they have a killer music video for To the Shadows and Back which is a fantastic tribute to 80s horror.

Punk Rock Halloween II brings you 28 tracks to keep your blood pumpin'...assuming you're still alive. I'm not sure if this is 100% covers but there are a lot including: Grim Grinning Ghosts, Ghostbusters, (It;s A) Monsters Holiday, and Dead Man's Party.

If you need something a little more mellow, how about The Manchester String Quartet's A Gothic Halloween? They cover the theme from Halloween, Don't Fear the Reaper, and even Marilyn Manon's The Beautiful People. Most of these aren't songs I'd put on a Halloween mix (I'm a snob about my Halloween music) but hearing them covered this way, they hit a little different. 

 

BoJo is back with his annual Halloween Mix Tape. There's all sorts of fun stuff in here. If you enjoy classic novelty albums, here's another to add to your collection...for free!

Now Hear This - Halloween 2024 The Revenge

We're spinning back around with more tracks for you to get down! 

If you're lurking about on Bandcamp, give me a follow right here.

 

 

Let's drop that beat like a guillotine!

Click the cover art to go to Bandcamp where you can preview/purchase the music.

The short lived Zombina and the Skeletones side project, Beat Bats has posted this rare EP which you can download for free, but only for a limited time.

 

 

Halloween at High Noon has quite a collection of 13 tracks from different artists.I really like this one because it's electronic/dub so you're getting creepy tunes with some bass (the instrument, not the fish). In addition to 13 Tricks, they also released 13 Treats here.

Toad/Retoad is the latest from Boo Dudes who always deliver comedy with a Halloween theme. With songs like "The Legend of Creepy Follow", "Frankenstein Crashed on my Couch", and "Do the Dirt Nap Dougie" you know you're in for a fun time.

Halloween Scene's The Last Trick or Treater is a soundtrack based on the album art and a short story. This would be good ambience for your front door Halloween night.

 

If you like a little spooky in your surf, check out this collection from Greasy Mike. Not every track is Halloween adjacent but it is a fun throwback novelty album. 

 

Don't forget to visit the other Countdown to Halloween sites!

You can find a list at the link below.

Now Hear This - Halloween 2024 The Sequel

Here's a few more terrifying tunes for your turntable!

 

 Click the album covers to go to Bandcamp where you can preview and purchase.

 

 

Just released Friday, is my most anticipated release of the season: the first new album from Zombina and the Skeletones in 10 years! They're one of my favorite bands because their music not only heavily features horror themes but is a fun mix of new wave, punk, pop, and surf. If you want to get a feel for them, start with the track Don't Kick My Coffin.

 

SURPRISE KIDDIES! Just when you thought the Reliquary would be forever shut, another brave or foolish soul has dared once again to unlatch its ancient lock! This time we've unearthed another unparalleled collection of terrifying tracks from some of Dungeon Synth's most notable artists around the world, as well as some brand new ones! All gathering to bring you a menagerie of music that will curdle your blood and have you screaming! As usual, recommend listening all alone on a dark and stormy night...  

 

Reliquary of Terror is a series I only just became aware of this year and this is the third release! These collections are great for setting a dreary dungeon vibe.

Next we have one of my favorites from recent years, Haunted House Party with a double release! HHP creates some frightfully funky lofi beats prefect for any Halloween party.

Speaking of lo-fi chill beats, The Jazz Hop Cafe also has a new compilation.

It’s Halloween night, you’ve fallen asleep after a long night of trick-or-treating with your friends. You awake in a state of sleep paralysis. A creak from your wardrobe pierces the silence, but you’re paralysed with fear and stomach cramps!

I discovered LBD during last year's Now Hear This posts. In addition to original music, they have a killer cover album of horror hits. This season, they dropped a cover of Hex Girl by the band Hex Girls from Scooby-Doo. The B side is a cover of "I Wish You Were a Beer" by Cycle Sluts from Hell.

Stay cool, daddy-o and check out the other Countdown blogs at the link below.

Now Hear This - Halloween 2024

 Welcome to the first Halloween 2024 edition of Now Hear This! In these posts I'll be sharing some spooky tunes to get your crypt rockin'! They may not all be new releases but hopefully, they'll be new to you.

Clicking on an album cover will take you to the artist's site where you can preview/buy it. 

Halloween 2024 is coming out swinging with new releases!

 

  Kicking off the annual line up is, of course, Sam Haynes! His latest release has got a mix of darksynth and the occasional pop tune with vocals. There's also some bonus tracks exclusive to the Bandcamp release.

This is my second most anticipated release this season! If you're not familiar with the previous volumes of Sean Keller's Killer Sounds of Halloween, you're missing out on modern holiday classics. It's all original songs with each song being done by a fake band that has a very recognizable style. He said the third one was his last, but you can't keep a good killer down!

 

LVCRFT is also back with a new album called Under the Covers. As you might guess, it's got plenty of cover songs that make their way on to spooky playlists. I think my favorite is "We Got the Treats," a parody of The Go-Gos "We Got the Beat".

You can always count on Nancy Nightmare and the Wizard rising from their graves this time of year with some fun tunes. This new album may just be my favorite of theirs. Check out the track Spooky Halloween.

If you've been to Universal Hollywood's Horror Nights in recent years, chances are you've heard something from dastardly dub-step artist Figure. He recently released Triple Feature with his mixes of The Addams Family, The Munsters, and Beeteljuice themes.

Stay tuned for more music next week!

Visit the other Countdown blogs using the link below.

Now Hear This - Sorcery

I presume I'm not the only person that has some music that lives only in their head. And what I mean by that is you have your popular music that lots of people know and you hear everywhere but there are some bands/songs that just live within you because it's something you only ever hear when you decide to listen to it. It just doesn't "exist" out in the world. Am I making sense or sounding like a crazy person? 

 

I recently saw Eli Roth's Thanksgiving and was incredibly surprised to hear a few songs from the band Sorcery in the movie. If what I said above made sense to you, then you know what a crazy feeling it is to hear something you're very familiar with but don't expect to hear in the wild.

 

  

Behold...Sorcery!

Now Hear This - Halloween 2023 The Revenge

How about a few more tunes to get you in the holiday spirit while you carve up a pumpkin (or something else)? They're not all brand new releases but hopefully they'll be new to you. Clicking on the album cover will take you to Bandcamp where you can buy the music.

DJ Pumpkin, let's twist this!

 

What better way to kick it off than with some hard rockin, coffin knockin horrorpunk? With 50 tracks, there's sure to be something that will get the dead on their feet.

Now Hear This - Halloween 2023 The Sequel

 The reason I end up doing a couple of these posts every year is because a lot of artists release during October and I want to make sure they get some recognition! As with other posts, click the album cover to go to Bandcamp where you can preview, and buy, the music. These are NOT affiliate links but artists deserving your ear.

Count Spookula, who just released Monster a Go-Go in May, is back for some rockin' tricks and treats.

The legendary Slasher Dave is lets loose with 18 tracks that are the love child of a horror movie score and one of those Halloween cassettes that randomly turns about to be the best thing ever.

Creature Feature dropped a new single for the season called Every Day is Halloween.You should also check out their back catalog. Great stuff!

Halloween at High Noon rises from the grave with another killer compilation of 22 tracks from various electronic artists.

On 10/27, The Marshmallow Ghosts are unleashing a 3 album reissue/remaster of their past 15 years of Hallow-goodness. You can pre-order the album now and get all 31 tracks when it's released.

Click the image to see the full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs! 

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2023

 You can't have a proper spooky season without some musical accompaniment. Whether you prefer it dark and spooky or light and fun, music is one of the big things that helps set the perfect mood. 

 

 

We'll kick this year off with a few artists you can depend on every year to drop some new Halloween tracks. Click the album cover to bop over to Bandcamp where you can preview and buy the tunes.

Sam Haynes returns with Haunted House Party II (sorry, no sign of Kid 'n/or Play). There's a great assortment among the 18 tracks. You've got some good spooky synth instrumentals, any of which could be in a horror movie, and a few with vocals that are super catchy. 

Now Hear This - Cybertronic Spree

Last year the Cybertronic Spree did a Kickstarter to fund a brand new album of original songs and it was successful! I got my rewards recently so I had to share them. But wait, do you know who The Cybertronic Spree are?

They're a band from the planet Canada made up of various Transformers! They put on a heck of a live show. This shot is from when I saw them in 2021, my first "post-pandemic" concert. Prior to this album, they mostly played covers but also had a couple of original songs. Back in 2019, they released a cover album of The Transformers 1986 movie. That's right, the covered the entire soundtrack album!

Let me tell you something about me...this soundtrack is one of my all time favorite albums. It came out just before I started my junior year in high school. I'd been into hard rock/metal and this album led me to new artists like Stan Bush and Lion. As you may remember, high school is a weird time and this album was there for me. Between Stan Bush's "Dare", "The Touch" and Spectre General's "Nothin's Gonna Stand in Our Way" this was my go to pick-me-up album.

Anyway, back Ravage, the new Cybertronic Spree album!

Haunted Library - Ghoul's Delight

For our final field trip to the Haunted Library, we've got a very special audio treat for you!

Ghoul's Delight is a 2 CD compilation that was released in 2007, limited to just 1000 copies. I don't remember exactly how I stumbled into it but am I ever glad I did! It pretty much instantly became a holiday (and year round) favorite.

The 33 tracks here are like a pillowcase full of Trick or Treat candy: there's a little bit of everything. You might not like it all but you're sure to find something you do! You can check out the full track list here, just don't be surprised when you don't know any of the bands. I was only familiar with The 3-D Invisibles and I don't know the rest of the bands except from this album.

 

But don't let that stop you from checking it out! Tap the library card and you can give Ghoul's Delight a spin.

Click below to go to the Countdown to Halloween site and visit the other participants!

Revenge of Now Hear This Halloween 2022

 Sometimes you just find so much Halloween music that you have to make a second post in October to share it all! Most of these are on Bandcamp and free to preview before you buy. If you don't see a direct link, click on the album art to check it out.

If this still isn't enough music to fill your Graveyard Jukebox, head over to Nightmare City Halloween!

Image from VectorStock

 

Let's kick it off with some local (to me) tunes!

13 tracks of monster party madness! Feel what it's like to dig your own grave, to make love to Frankenstein, and to be trapped forever at the All-Night Midnite Monster Party. 

The Headless Horseman Rides Off

 Can you believe it's already the last Monday before Halloween?

The Headless Horseman is riding out for another year.

While he "heads" off, here's a playlist of 13 versions of his song, starting off with local legend Dr Gasp (aka Dan Blakeslee)! You can get his cover of the Headless Horseman on the album Halloween Special which is one of my all time favorite spooky season soundtracks.

Click below to go to the Countdown to Halloween site and visit the other participants!

Now Hear This - Halloween 2022 Edition

 There is just so much spooky season appropriate music on Bandcamp, it's hard to pick just a few for the annual round up. Here's a mix of recent and past releases for you. Also, it's Bandcamp Friday so 100% of your purchases go the artist. Go buy some stuff!

 

 This first one isn't Halloween per se but more of a seasonal treat. It's kind of silly but it's catchy as all get out and has become my new autumn anthem. It sounds like something SNL would do for one of their weird videos.

The title says it all! Pumpkin Spice Everything by LVCRFT, who is no stranger to holiday horror having released Half-O-Ween and a track for Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I also heartily recommend This is Halloween Vol 1 and the latest single It Must Be Halloween.

Now Hear This - Halloween 2021 Edition

 It seems like this year is just bursting with new Halloween music!

Here's some of the new releases that will definitely get you in the spirit of the season.

These tunes may be available on multiple services but I'm linking to Bandcamp because you can easily preview the whole album before buying it.

First up is Sean Keller's third Halloween mix tape, The Killer Sounds of Halloween 3D. Just like his previous releases, this one is packed with songs done in the style of popular music artists with other audio treats sprinkled in. Keller has a real talent for making sound alike songs and putting together something that feels like an old school compilation album.  If you don't have any of the Killer Sounds albums, you're really missing out. They are so much fun!

Behind the Music - Mah Na Mah Na

 On February 19th, Disney+ added all five seasons of the original Muppet Show (1976 - 1981) to its streaming catalog. The is pretty amazing considering the last two seasons have yet to receive a home release. Featured in the very first episode is the iconic (and infectious) musical number "Mah Na Mah Na". 

 

No doubt, you know the tune, but do you know this wasn't the first Muppet performance of it, or where the song originated?

Join us as we go Behind the Music with Mah Na Mah Na...