Here's another great new Halloween release, "Hell's Harvest."
The idea in my head for this song was a possessed scarecrow that comes to life to slaughter farm residents. Very Midwest. It's also a different style for me with the strings. I've been open to more experimentation. A little snake charmer sexy vibe, too?
Cool! I really dig this new track. Enjoy!
Last Sunday, I posted an incredible dark ambient compilation from Cryo Chamber that included many lesser-known artists, entitled Tomb Of Iconoclasts. As I listened to the entire compilation, one track really stood out to me, and that was the second track Threading The Needle by the artist Envenomist (who I had never heard before).
This track had a darker, dystopian and more sinister feel than the rest and it really got my attention. After hearing it, I immediately researched Envenomist and I couldn't believe what I found.
I'm not sure how I hadn't found this artist before now, as this style of dark ambient is right up my alley. I have since added his work to all of my Halloween playlists, and if you're like me, you should too. Really great work here with a truly dark, industrial sci-fi/horror atmosphere.
No, this isn't an unexpected Freebie Friday post, but are you a fan of all of those old "spooky sounds" releases filled with the glorious Halloween sounds of howling winds, cackling witches, bubbling cauldrons, rattling chains, and snarling werewolves? And did you know that there are still artists out there who are keeping the tradition alive today??
The Watcher Presents "Scary Sounds"
Hear the murky and haunting atmosphere of the graveyard from inside your home...
Three great tracks of old school Halloween fun! From the cover art to the sounds contained within, this is something straight out of a 90's drug store Halloween aisle. But no silly sounds here. Creepy audio on all three tracks makes this a modern must-have.
Halloween Sound Effects
WARNING: This Cassette Is NOT For Minors And Is NOT To Be Listened To Alone In The Dark! LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Challenge accepted! You just know it's going to be great with that "warning" label! Another three tracks of spooky sound effects perfect for a Halloween night. A continuous collection of darker, creepy sounds that should most definitely be listened to alone in the dark! Another must-have companion piece to The Watcher Presents Scary Sounds Cassette.
Do yourself a favor and pick up both cassettes. They are a great addition to any "spooky sounds" collection from an artist who really knows Halloween nostalgia! Enjoy!
Here's a great one for the long weekend. Lustmord's 2024 release, Much Unseen Is Also Here, is an absolute dark ambient standout in a catalog full of incredible releases in his long and storied career. Oozing with lush, dense atmosphere with an overarching sense of darkness and subtle uneasiness, it will serve as a perfect soundtrack to a long weekend of getting those props and projects done! The clock is ticking...
Enjoy!
The Halloween display is all put away. The golden, orange, and brown leaves have all fallen from the trees. The last of the sun-warmed days of Autumn are gone. We now look ahead to the desolation of winter.
Enjoy.
Look, it grows dark! The positive peace of everything fills me with rage, with something that is the bitter aftertaste of the air I breathe. My soul aches... In the distance a slow ribbon of smoke rises and disperses... A restless tedium blocks all further thoughts of you...
— Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
Enjoy.
Slasher Dave does it again with a brand new release, "deadicated" to people just like you and me! Home Haunter drops just in time for the Halloween season, featuring 12 new tracks of synthwave/horror/ambient audio goodness. And this time, he has even named tracks after a collection of inspiring and incredible home haunts throughout the country. (I guess Highbury Cemetery will be featured on Volume 2, eh Dave?) :)
We have one week to go, and this one has been powering me through some late nights in the garage. Rocket fuel for home haunters!! Let's go!!
Enjoy!
One part surf rock, one part retro film score, one part sound effects record: This is Bradley Thomas Turner’s recipe for a perfect Halloween party soundtrack.
Haunted House Party plays like a walking tour through the All Hallow’s Eve soiree of your dreams (or is it nightmares?). This record will make you feel like you’re in an episode of Scooby-Doo, but this time … the monsters are real.
Library of the Occult Records brings a release of a different vibe in Bradley Thomas Turner's Haunted House Party. A totally swinging set of tracks that would be right at home in your local haunted tiki bar. A perfect release for a chill Saturday morning during an otherwise hectic and dark October season. The full release of this groovy set drops on Halloween!
Enjoy this one!
SAY NO MORE! Really great discordant, black ambient audio (with just the right amount of Halloween spookiness added in!) from the also really great Black Mountain Transmitter. Here is your instant cemetery haunt soundtrack! Just press play and enjoy!!
So I woke up late today to a cold, rainy, miserable day, still completely exhausted from a fun night of guest acting at the Akron Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory. With the late start, crummy weather, and a tired, depleted body, I quickly realized that everything I had planned for the day just went right out the window...
But I did want to drop this one for today. I originally posted this back in March, but I have been revisiting this release by Lords Of Infinity again lately, and I still find it to be an exceptional track to listen to during the Halloween season. Perfectly dark and creepy.
And how could you NOT love a track with THAT title!?
Enjoy!
Last month, I had posted about my discovery of Library Of The Occult Records, a label out of the UK that describes itself as "Esoteric Electronics, Dungeon Jazz and Wizard Psych sounds on limited vinyl releases."
And since that initial discovery, I have been grabbing releases left and right. Really great modern interpretations of 70s folk/horror/occult sounds on everything they put out!
But on this release, Boström forgoes the usual dark, droning atmospherics in favor of a rather unique, synth-based occult/horror soundtrack sound. Much more upbeat (yet still maintaining a dark essence) than any of his other projects. An unexpected treat for fans of both dark synth wave and dark ambient.
Another fantastic release from Library Of The Occult Records. Enjoy!
So while I took the last few months off from any and all haunt projects, I did keep one toe in the water, and that was with music. My unending quest to find the best dark, horror, and ritual ambient audio will always be my 365-day-a-year connection to all things Halloween. I've long championed the use of this genre as the perfect background audio for haunt displays. The perfect amount of creepiness to set a truly menacing and dark tone.
One recent discovery is Blackpool, UK's The Night Monitor. "Soundtracking unexplained phenomena." Can there be a cooler description than that?? I perused their entire catalog and picked out quite a few ambient gems that have gone into the standard rotation here at the Cemetery. Tunes to really get the black-and-orange blood pumping.
I'll share a few more tracks in the near future, but I figured I'd start with my favorite of the bunch. An unsettling homage to the famous English cryptid, Owlman of Mawnan...
From The Night Monitor Bandcamp page:
Cover story: 3rd July 1976. Cornwall, England. During a period of strange happenings in the area (including a sighting of local sea monster Morgawr on the same day) the mysterious winged cryptid known as Owlman makes its second appearance of the year, when two girls are startled by the bizarre bird monster while camping in the woods near Mawnan church.
Sally Chapman - "It was like a big owl with pointed ears, as big as a man. The eyes were red and glowing. At first, I thought it was someone dressed up, playing a joke, trying to scare us. I laughed at it, we both did, then it went up in the air and we both screamed. When it went up, you could see its feet were pincers."
Barbara Perry - "It's true. It was horrible, a nasty owl-face with big ears and big red eyes. It was covered in grey feathers. The claws on its feet were black. It just flew straight up and disappeared in the treetops."
Brand new ritual/horror ambient track released by Lords Of Infinity. So dark, grating and haunting. Another fantastic release from the Black Mara label out of Georgia (the country, not the state).
Grab the entire release, Lost Sense Of The Old Times, here.
Enjoy!
A hundred years of WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES: In 1922 Benjamin Christensen’s film HÄXAN was unleashed and left a significant mark in history of film to this day. This psychological portrayal of occultism and inquisition combined a critical perspective on religion and patriarchy with stunning visions of possession, sabbath rituals, torture, and demons.
In celebration of this 100th anniversary, German ritual formation VORTEX has developed a brooding, percussive and complex musical work evoking hidden energies and abyssal spirituality...HÄXAN represents an epic new level for VORTEX's energetic ritual sound, based on drones, gongs, throat singing, percussion, strings, guitars, horns, and processed field recordings.
Fantastic dark ambient from Caldon Glover's brand new release, Labyrintia. So dark and grinding, but so, so good! Envelope yourself within the darkness...
Fantastic ritual dark ambient from Slovakian artist, Asath Reon. This release has become one of my favorites and I'm 93.6% certain that this track will be used as the main soundtrack in my Cemetery display.
Enjoy!
John Carpenter's iconic theme song to his 1983 hit, Christine, still stands as one of my personal favorites. But Simulakrum Lab's 2021 cover really offers a nice refresh on the original, giving it a cool, modern synthwave feel. Enjoy!
Thematically "Labyrintia" was imagined as a structure in space older than humanity that runs sideways to our own universe, connecting physical and temporal spaces in our universe and the ur-universe alike that would otherwise be impossible to reach. Sonically it uses a blend of primitive acoustic folk instruments, as well as organic and electronic sound sources to create an ancient and timeless sound that evokes feelings of the rituals of a cthonic cults lost in other realms, as they worked tirelessly to open a door into this endless maze, to find their way home or to further their journey.
Another fantastic upcoming dark ambient release from Cyclic Law, perfectly setting the tone for another weekend of work in the Cemetery.
Enjoy.
ABSOLUTELY fantastic ritual dark ambient from Russian artist Asath Reon. So much atmospheric darkness in each track... I just stumbled upon this artist recently, but Underworld Narrations has been on a constant rotation here at the Cemetery.
I have already decided that the track Three Times Burned and Three Times Born will be the soundtrack to this year's Halloween display. It will be the PERFECT creepy supporting soundscape to give my display that extra punch. Completely haunting and horrifying, but unbelievably atmospheric and flowing.
Do yourself a favor and check out the works of Asath Reon. Enjoy!!
