Between the recent mood swings in the weather and the presence of bumble bees buzzing around my back porch, there is no doubt that we are firmly in the throes of spring. The Southeastern snowstorm a few months ago is now an afterthought, and now is the season of transformation and resurrection. Aside from the obvious spooky season later in the year (which will creep up on us before you know it), I can’t think of a better time to be in the mood for the creatures who are the very embodiment of these themes…ZOMBIES! Hey, it even feels like fall out there, so in the spirit of the season, let’s all take a brief, sonic stroll through the cemetery.
ASF are LEGENDS in the Batcave-goth scene and one of the first goth bands I ever heard, thanks to Cleopatra Records’ first Gothic Rock compilation. For decades, this track has been a mainstay in darkened clubs and is the perfect example of their campy horror style.
Hailing from Denmark, HorrorPops has cemented itself as one of the most popular (if not the most popular) psychobilly bands around. Patricia Day, adorned with rockabilly fashion and tattoos, is a darling of the scene. Not to mention, she kills it on the standup bass. Who wouldn’t “want to hold hands in the cemetery” with her?
Probably the most obvious choice for this list, but it would have been a crime to not include something from Misfits. Arguably, they single-handedly invented the genre of horror punk and spawned a million imitators. Which brings us to…
Wearing their biggest influence on their leather sleeves, Calabrese have been carrying the horror-punk torch for over 20 years, and just keeps getting better with every album. Finally getting to see and meet them at Snug’s Harbor in Charlotte last year was a huge bucket list item for me. Love those guys!
I love a good novelty album, or in this case, a good novelty band. Zombie Girl picked a theme that works and stuck to it.
Picking just one song for this list from the soundtrack to Return of the Living Dead is near impossible, as it’s one of the most fantastic horror soundtracks ever. But, I had to settle on this one. Longtime listeners know that it’s the opening track to my retro-Halloween episode of "Dark Entries: Goth Radio" every year.
I’m including this one because it appears on a fantastic compilation entitled "Back from the Grave Vol. 1" by a collective called Darkness Calling, who specializes in comps inspired by horror films. This particular one collects songs that aren’t on the soundtrack to Return of the Living Dead but are heavily inspired by it. Great stuff!
I had to include Charlotte’s own (and a friend of mine), Tenderlash. She’s carved out a name for herself in the Southeastern-goth scene by churning out a seriously impressive catalog in a relatively short amount of time. Yes, this is a cover of the Cranberries song and no, it’s not literally about the undead, but it deserved a mention anyway.
For more spooky goth, post-punk and Deathrock tunes from beyond the grave, tune into "Dark Entries: Goth Radio" with DJ D on Saturday nights from 8-10 PM on WUSC-90.5 FM.
An exploration into Goth, Darkwave, Deathrock, Post-Punk, Industrial, Horror, and everything else that goes bump in the night. It’s like if Halloween became a radio show. It's also one of the longest running shows on WUSC. Still undead and shuffling around after 25 years!