Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Diary of a Madman” — Ozzy Osbourne (1981)

Voices in the darkness Scream away my mental health Can I ask a question To help me save me from myself? Well it’s not like I’m not getting to Black Sabbath later… Oops. Spoiler alert. The title track from Ozzy’s landmark 1981 album Diary of A Madman is arguably the finest track of his best…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Soul Stripper” — AC/DC (1975)

Oh I thought I got to be dreaming I didn’t know I fell in her trap… I can’t believe we’re in the last week of October, a few days from Halloween, which means we’re nearing the end of our month-long celebration of all things spooky and musical… which means we’re going to double our efforts…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Totentanz” — Franz Liszt (1849)

As much as I have grown to really appreciate what’s known as ‘classical music’ throughout my lifetime, I think probably retained the greatest affinity for the composers of the Romantic Era, a period which occurred during the first half of the Nineteenth Century. Not that I want to get too deep into pseudo-intellectualism in a…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Gallows Pole” — Led Zeppelin (1970)

Brother, did you get me some silver? Did you get a little gold? What did you bring me, my brother, to keep me from the Gallows Pole? Led Zeppelin III is easily my favorite Zeppelin album because it showcases the band’s “shadow and light” ethos at its finest. Certainly it brings “teh rawk” in abundance…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Somebody Super Like You / Life At Last” — Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Life at last! Salutations from the other side! I can see that you’re the devil’s pride.. Brian De Palma’s 1974 film Phantom of the Paradise is one of those “cult classics” that gets bandied around by movie and music nerds as one of THE classic film musicals that just never found an audience, save for…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “The Prophet’s Song” — Queen (1975)

“Oh oh People of the Earth, listen to the warning,” The Seer, he said. “Beware the storm that gathers here…” Trying to locate a really great fantasy/mythology/heroic-based song from Queen is about as difficult as mastering the art of basic gravity. Seriously. You could basically take Side 2 (the “black” side) of Queen II and…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “The Ripper” — Judas Priest (1976)

You’re in for surprise You’re in for a shock! Judas Priest’s second album Sad Wings of Destiny is a Top 20 metal album in my book. Sometimes maybe even Top 10. Who knows, I don’t keep track of these things. Anyway, today’s edition of Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs is taken from said LP, a creepy, rockin’…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” — The Charlie Daniels Band (1980)

“Old Lucias Clay was a greedy old man and that’s all there ever was to it…” Treachery, murder, and revenge, and it’s all served up ghastly and Southern-fried. Yup, good old Lucius Clay is a miserly, bitter old dude who hides his money in jars in the swamp because of course he does. Naturally word…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Red Right Hand” — Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1994)

Spooky… This 1994 single from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is one of those perennial “spooky” tunes. Even if you’ve never heard it before, you’ve definitely heard it before. Either in movies, on television, in trailers or commercials… somewhere, you’ve heard Red Right Hand before. It has seeped into your subconscious mind and settled…

Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Rooks” — Shearwater (2008)

The end of the world is a pretty nutty thing, isn’t it? Most probably picture this Book of Revelations styled Apocalypse, what with asteroids smashing into the Earth, the planet’s crust opening up and unleashing all sorts of demons and oceans of magma and goblins, the sky turning to fire and the seas steaming into…