The Most Wonderful Time of the Year to Be a Metalhead

"It’s the most wonderful time of the year

With the kids Annabelle an’ Chuckie who’re telling you be in much fear!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

It’s the heav-heaviest season of all

With those hungry brain greetings

And pentagram meetings when demons do call

It’s the heav-heaviest season of all

There’ll be parties for hosting

Pumpkins for our roasting

And hauntings causing great woe

There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales that are gory of dark matters

Long long ago

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

There’ll be much raven crowing

And Jacks’ carved glowing

When bloodstains are smeared!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

To be a metalhead anyway!"

The great thing about being a metalhead is that by the time All Hallows Eve comes around I have an infinite number of possible music selections to add to my party's playlist. This time of the year is when my "weird music", as jokingly and affectionately deemed by my friends, becomes the seasonal sought after treasure trove of a holiday fad. Honestly, it is more difficult for me to narrow down my selections than make my playlists. However, some songs and artists will always make the final cut.

I'm not a fan of the typical Halloween seasonal clichés. If you like them, that's your prerogative, but don't expect to find Michael Jackson or scary movie songs at my house. There are far too many other options for that! Now that we have that disclaimer out of the way, let's get ready to smash some pumpkins with my top 25 song recommendations.

1. "Dragula" by Rob Zombie

"Dragula" by Rob Zombie is the song that regardless of what time of year I hear it, I crank my radio up ten notches or more. This is my number one pick and kick starter for my Graveyard Smash playlist. Man, do I love me some Zombie!

Despite the order variance of these next two Rob and White Zombie songs from year to year, I just cannot find it in my heart to remove any of them from my playlist. They will ALWAYS be in my list somewhere.

2. "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie

3."More Human Than Human" by White Zombie

If you're a metalhead, we all know the original prince of darkness is Ozzy. Thus, I have to include two of my top Ozzy picks.

4. "Mr. Crowley" by Ozzy Osbourne

5. "Bark At The Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne

6. "Feed My Frankenstein" by Alice Cooper

What would Halloween be without Alice Cooper's Feed My Frankenstein? Alice Cooper is a big influencer in the horror community, and known for his shocking stage illusions and theatrics. Items such as electric chairs, guillotines, reptiles, and fake blood have been used in many of his shows. Sounds like a good fit for Halloween to me! I can't imagine watching one of his shows in the time period his career started, but I can only think it sent the same shockwaves and voltage through the audience's heart that my first Avenged Sevenfold concert did for me when a skeleton hanging from a noose dropped from the ceiling after the intro to "Nightmare". That, my dears, is a thrilling feeling!

Speaking of "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold, this is my next song in the playlist.

7. "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold (A7X)

It follows Alice Cooper's hit like a hypothetical father and son in the next generation of metal evolution. Avenged Sevenfold was actually influenced more by Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath, so please don't get hung up on my comparison. Personally, I can hear those four bands' influence in A7X's albums. Apparently, I find their taste in musical artistry exceptional as I have proudly attended four of their concerts. "Nightmare" is the perfect song for a Halloween playlist if you listen below.

8. "Bat Country" by Avenged Sevenfold (A7X)

Aside from "Nightmare", "Bat Country" always enters my Halloween Heavy Metal playlist. I'm a sucker for bats. You can't have a Halloween party without the furry little critters, and sorry Mom, I do think they are beyond adorable regardless of what you say. Maybe I adore this song because I get flashbacks to my high school days of watching M. Shadows sing in this bizarre music video scene, or maybe it is because of the dueling guitar riffs Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates play. I know it is Halloween and we're supposed to be talking about Hell instead of Heaven, but I'm fairly certain that long dueling guitar session is what Heaven sounds like, despite my grandmother's thoughts on the matter. It's fine. Speaking of fine, that's exactly what incredible guitarist, Syn, looks like with his sexy-ass hair: F-I-N-E. So, in case you needed another reason to love this song or video there you go.

Avenged Sevenfold has several songs that would go well on anyone's Halloween playlist, "Hail to the King", "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem", "The Beast and The Harlot", "Afterlife", etc. but for me, "Nightmare" and "Bat Country" are the top two.

9. "Voodoo" by Godsmack

I firmly believe that bats on Halloween should be followed up with a little voodoo. This is another one of those songs I crank up. I usually have at least one Godsmack CD in my car at any given point in time. (Yes, I'm old school, don't judge me!) This song brings back memories of my brother and I singing it with choir like harmonics, as well as that time he used my voodoo doll in hopes of breaking a girl he liked up with her boyfriend. It shockingly worked somehow. Yikes! My husband and I properly buried and burned the doll years afterward just in case it possessed any real dark magic. We looked up proper instructions and everything. Hahaha. Oh, the good old days right?! So, anyway pour a shot for "Voodoo."

10. "Bodies" by Drowning Pool

When I first heard this song, I was watching World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) cheering on Urijah Faber and fell in love with it. While appropriate for the MMA sport I thoroughly enjoy, I also found it fitting for horror films with mass-murderer vibes. Therefore, it makes the cut on my Halloween playlist. Personally, I'm a sucker for the cover art on Drowning Pool's Sinner album. It is macabre, yet beautiful so instead of adding the official "Bodies" music video, I always go with the album cover's display. Surprisingly, most of my friends love this song and sing along.

Now, we continue our list to Finger Eleven. Wait, no, I mean number eleven. Jeez.

11. Korn with "Freak On A Leash"

If you're going to have a Halloween Party, you better "invite" Korn. Halloween is a time for misfits and oddballs, so to celebrate I always throw "Freak On A Leash" in the mix. Why? Because we're all a bunch of freaks on leashes! Halloween is OUR TIME!

If you'd like some less metal recommendations with the same theme as "Freak On A Leash", I have to confess "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by The Smashing Pumpkins are also good options for a Halloween playlist and deserving of an honorable mention.

"The world is a vampire..." yes, yes it is, but tonight is Halloween and we're cool with vampires. Plus, it's Halloween and hello, Smashing Pumpkins! Right?!

12. "Coming Undone" by Korn

Alright, now we're back on track with the metal hits for my party. I always add "Coming Undone" by Korn to the center of the playlist because by now everyone has had a few drinks, and the party is nearing its height. Everyone is feeling good, and "Coming Undone." Regardless of what my friends usually listen to, I find that they'll usually head bang or thrash to this Korn hit with a devil horns raised all the while. It's a winner for my crowd, so I always add it.

13. "Jekyll and Hyde" by Five Finger Death Punch

Now that the real crowd pleasers are out of the way, I can sneak in more of my favorites. If you know me, then you'll know that I am a fan of Five Finger Death Punch. "Jekyll and Hyde" is perfect for this holiday mash up. Between the "oh, yo, yo" chanting that gets stuck in your head to the line "Everyone I know, they've got a demon inside," this song gets me every time! It definitely sets the Halloween mood, no pun intended Ivan Moody.

14. "Popular Monster" by Falling In Reverse

Every year I have to have a monster themed song on my Halloween list. Depending on who you are, you could say some of my teenage "emo" influence comes out in this next Hallows Eve pick, but this song is arguable much more metal than many of the band's others so it makes this list. It is also one of my newest additions. With all the pandemic angst we've all experienced and more mental health concerns the past couple years, I find this eerily appropriate. Plus, this music video is amazing.

Many years I have had Skillet's "Monster" on my Halloween playlist. That song, though not entirely metal, is still on my list. However, I am glad I have a new monster song to welcome home.

If you really want to call out my emo teenage heritage, I can confess that "Monsters" by Matchbook Romance was one of my Halloween picks back then. I even had their album cover shirt, and black wings to boot. If this pick is up your alley, feel free to add this recommendation and check out the video and song below.

Oh, the cringe and horror of reliving your past. That may be scarier than anything Halloween related. For more details and background on the emo topic, feel free to check out my article "Confessions of An Emo Kid" below. Now that we're done with the shameless self-promotion, please continue.

15. "The Ending" by Papa Roach

One artist I will NEVER regret from my teenage years is Papa Roach. My love for them is still going strong. My new favorite addition to this Halloween playlist is "The Ending." Jacoby Shaddix, the band's lead singer and my personal celebrity idol, actually stars in a new horror film yet to be released called The Retaliators. If you haven't heard the news about this yet, I'm happy to be the one who told you. In honor and celebration of Papa Roach fandom, I present to you this song.

Just because I add a song titled "The Ending" does not mean it is the end of this playlist. I know, "Erica, you're long-winded enough. Give us a break already", but no this is passion, my dears, passion.

16. "Voices" by Motionless In White

Did you hear something? How many times are we going to say that on a haunted hayride or in a haunted house? You know what I like to say, "Oh, never mind. It's just the voices."

"What voices?!"

"The ones in my head." then I add the creepiest laugh I can muster.

My friends just love that. Yes, I'm THAT person and I've been slugged and cussed at more than a few times for it. If I ever truly get possessed or am diagnosed with schizophrenia either they won't believe me or they'll think it explains a lot. But, anyway I add "Voices" to my playlist.

It cranks up the volume, alludes to an inside joke, and is partially in honor of my dad, and his similar behaviors and musical taste. Despite being a redneck and cowboy boot and hat wearing farmer, he was over his father's taste in Old Hank before he became a teenager. He found himself in heavy metal and passed it on to me. Motionless In White was one of the last CD's I bought him before he passed away, and he loved them. Crazy, but true.

17. "Loud (Fuck It)" by Motionless In White

In case Dad's ghost visits us on Halloween I'm adding his personal favorite song by Motionless In White for him to enjoy. This song encapsulated a lot of his philosophies, so it is perfectly commemorative and celebratory; plus it is bad-ass, and no nonsense. For what other reason does this one make the Halloween playlist? Their aesthetic fits the brief. I love watching their style, make-up, attitude, videos, and goth looks. Plus, these two Motionless In White songs are frankly some of the most party worthy!

Still not convinced? Fine, I'll give you number eighteen, and throw in number nineteen as well.

18. "Undead Ahead 2" by Motionless In White.

19. "Disguise" by Motionless In White

Now do you believe me that Motionless In White members are essentially the embodiment of Halloween true believers? Thank you! It doesn't get much creepier than this. Aside from Motionless In White's stage theatrics and aesthetics, I have one band I prefer that holds a similar goth metal style. This one, I personally adore more.

20. "Big Bad Wolf" by In This Moment

When I saw In This Moment live, I was completely blown away. Their aesthetic, stage theatrics, and overall performance made it a show like no other. I love these true gothic vibes, and if you are ever able to attend one of their concerts I 1,000% recommend it. Singer Maria Brink embodies girl power; strength, beauty, acting presence, and skilled performance. If you can take your eyes away from her mystifying presence, there is something wrong with you. I could not stop watching, and was not as impressed with the main act as I was with In This Moment. The first of their hits on my playlist is "Big Bad Wolf." You see a lot of "Little Red Riding Hood" and werewolf costumes on Halloween, so I had to add it to my queue.

21. "Roots" by In This Moment

This song is probably one of my favorites, if not my favorite In This Moment song. It has a Wiccan and witchcraft type vibe that make this one of the perfect songs for a Halloween playlist.

22. "Natural Born Sinner" by In This Moment

You probably noticed my shirt photo on this article. This is a sucker punch to stereotypical religion. While many of us don't hold some of these religious views or want to discuss those anti-Halloween people, it fun to spell, chant, and shout our S-I-N-N-E-R status. Halloween is one of those nights that makes us acknowledge it a little louder than usual.

23. "Sick Like Me" by In This Moment

Along with proclaiming our sinner status, I love inviting friends that are "Sick Like Me" to all of my events so we can celebrate them together. They're "beautiful." This song also gets me in the mood for something a little bubbly with a few of my closest beautiful and sick like me people.

24. "Sex Metal Barbie" by In This Moment

You know those stereotypical "plastics" on Halloween. You know the ones you can't recycle? I love protesting them with this song, and despite the goth vibes and sound I can't help but laugh and find it amusing.

25. "Sweet Dreams" by Marilyn Manson.

Ok, you all knew it was coming. When my party winds down, the playlist's final ending note is "Sweet Dreams" by Marilyn Manson. It isn't Halloween without Manson. For the guests returning to their homes, I wish them all safe travels, a good night, and "Sweet Dreams." Isn't there an unspoken rule or something about that?

So, there you have it folks. This is my top 25 playlist for Halloween, 29 if you added my other honorable mention videos in between my top playlist hits. I hope you enjoyed them. Have fun smashing those pumpkins, your liver, fake heads, or whatever it is you do. Maybe you're just eating cupcakes. That is fine too! Just whatever you do, enjoy! Happy Halloween everyone!