An Early All Hallows' Eve Extravaganza - It Came from the Desert! Vol. 1

I'm celebrating Halloween a little earlier than usual this year, due to a few weeks of planned travel. Still, in true Shangrila Towers tradition, we're going to feature the best the spooky season has to offer. Let's look at the latest additions to my Spotify Halloween playlist, "Mulliga's Halloween Horrorfest."

"All Hallows Eve" by Type O Negative

This is a heavy gothic metal jammer that closes Type O Negative's fifth album, "World Coming Down" (well, aside from a cover medley of Beatles songs). The album was reportedly written during a particularly dark period in frontman Peter Steele's life when some of his family members passed away, so the song's bleak subject matter is unsurprising (a depressed man makes a pact with Satan to bring back his dead love).

"Nosferatu" by Blue Öyster Cult

"Don't Fear the Reaper" is the Blue Öyster Cult song most people put on their Halloween playlists, but as much as I like cowbells, this track fits the season a whole lot better - dark echoing production, and a story inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula. 

"Hocus Pocus Voo Doo" by Big Bob Kornegay

I discovered this one from the soundtrack of the recently-released Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to the Disney cult classic. The song's title is obviously perfect for the movie and the season, but even more intriguing is the artist - Big Bob Kornegay, a little-known blues and doo wop singer sometimes called "the Mystery Man of R&B."

"They Are the Munsters" by Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie's remake of The Munsters has gotten mixed reviews (I loved the show as a kid and thought his version was absolutely terrible), but at least we got a good soundtrack out of it, including this midtempo number done up novelty-Halloween-song-style.

"The Demon," by Fever Dog

I found this one from a great new compilation album, It Came From the Desert!, Vol. 1, which collects Halloween-themed tracks from Coachella Valley artists. It comes from glam rock band Fever Dog, and if you're either (a) old enough to have lived through 60's and 70's bands like Led Zeppelin or (b) old enough to have lived through the turn-of-the-millennium 60's and 70's nostalgia wave that brought us Almost Famous (and the song by fictional band Stillwater that Fever Dog is named after), you'll probably like this one.