The 11 Best Metal Songs In 90’s Horror Movies
After assembling a list of the best 80’s heavy metal songs in horror movies, my brain was still swimming with more questionable horror movie metal. To alleviate it, I decided to write the next chronological entry in my quest to document metal songs in the consecutive decades of horror. Enjoy!
11) Soak – Me Compassionate (An American Werewolf in Paris)
Barely metal, but it was pretty sinister in the context of the movie (werewolf rave scene) than it’s actual execution. Overshadowed on the soundtrack by Bush’s best song ever, ‘Mouth,’ but that one’s even less metal, so Soak gets the mention. Congrats, I guess?
10) Judas Priest – Bloodstained (Bride of Chucky)
Bride of Chucky’s soundtrack reads like a who’s-who of 90s metal, but this Priest song is the only listenable song for me anymore. “But SLAYER!” you say… Well, I’ve never liked their slower stuff and South of Heaven bores me to tears. Marilyn Manson? Never been a fan. Coal Chamber! Meh. Process of elimination leaves us with Tim “Ripper” Owens screaming for someone to clean! this! carpet!
9) Stabbing Westward – Save Yourself (Urban Legend)
I know, I know, it’s technically industrial and not metal, but I feel like the two were close enough in the 90s to warrant a slot on this list. It’s also a fitting song for a slasher flick, though of course the original subtext was drug addiction, since what industrial song wasn’t about drugs?
8) Fear Factory – Scumgrief (Hideaway)
You knew Fear Factory would eventually show up on this list somewhere. Dean Koontz hated this movie so much that he begged Tristar to take his name out of the opening credits. It was so bad, he only allowed Phantoms to be released after he saw the final version. I’ve seen Hideaway, and can back up Mr. Koontz’s assertion that this is indeed total crap.
7) Type O Negative – Summer Breeze (I Know What You Did Last Summer)
Another movie with a great soundtrack from start to finish, I Know What You Did Last Summer inspired me to get my hair cut exactly like Freddie Prinze Jr. Don’t say anything, it was the 90s. I’m sure my parents were first delighted I was learning a Seals & Croft song, then immediately disappointed when I cranked the distortion and added my best Peter Steele impression.
6) Two – I Am a Pig (Idle Hands)
I always loved this song but never knew who it was by until compiling this list, so I was pretty excited to find that Rob Halford sang it. The entire Idle Hands soundtrack was killer, but as with I Know What You Did Last Summer, the songs were all over the place and I’d say this is the best metal song from the movie. That said, ‘Beheaded’ by The Offspring is the overall best track. And best band cameo ever. Hands down.
I can’t take any more of these puns, I’ll try to contain myself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFr53FLotRE
5) System of a Down – Marmalade (Strangeland)
No list of 90s metal would be complete without SOAD. I may take heat for not putting Anthrax or Pantera here instead, but I prefer Marmalade to anything else from Strangeland. This movie basically felt like a soundtrack vehicle, with songs from most of the big nu-metal bands of the late 90s (and a bunch of nobodies). I have no desire to revisit most of it, so let’s just stick with SOAD. I broke Dee Snider’s heart by not picking the Twisted Sister song. I hope he understands.
4) Triumph – Troublemaker (Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth)
It’s 1991, you’re a big-time movie executive at Dimension Films, wearing a suit with huge shoulderpads, smoking a cigar and propping your crocodile-skin shoes up on the boardroom table. “We need more Cenobites for a new Hellraiser movie. How about one with CDs impaled in its head?” Applause, tears of joy, gnashing of teeth; Hellraiser 3 gets made.
3) House of Lords – O Father (Dr. Giggles)
I was only recently exposed to the spectacle of Dr. Giggles by my friend and podcast co-host Matt Saintmort when I visited him this spring. I didn’t catch this song in my first viewing, but came across it looking for the soundtrack from the film. While not as shred-tastic as most other entries here, it’s length and power metal vibes cement its #3 slot. Bonus points for parallelling the daddy issues which lead to Dr. Giggles’ rampage. Giggling intensifies!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teJ7W6FwIHI
2) Laaz Rockit – Leatherface (TCM3)
This one didn’t make the cut in my first list, mainly because it’s a thrash song, but I couldn’t exclude it here. TCM3 is almost a complete waste of time, unless you want to see Viggo Mortensen act kind of weird and (another) chainsaw duel. Skip the movie and go straight for the soundtrack, chocked full of thrash songs from Death Angel, Sacred Reich, and Wrath, as well as the custom-written title track. The stupid chorus gets stuck in my head constantly and I love it.
1) Morbid Angel – Rapture (Night of the Demons 2)
Who would’ve thought a death metal song would top this list? Aside from being a hearty slice of Florida DM, Rapture was featured in arguably one of the most awkward dance sequences I’ve seen on film. Angela somehow survived the first film and decides to table-dance to Morbid Angel in hopes of luring boys into her demonic bosom. Or something. There’s also a Super Soaker full of holy water involved, which is pretty much the most 90s thing I can imagine.
\m/
Non-metal honorable mention:
Birdbrain – Youth of America (Scream)
Gob – Paint It Black (Stir of Echoes)
Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta (Disturbing Behavior)
The Offspring – Beheaded (Idle Hands)
Goo Goo Dolls – I’m Awake Now (Freddy’s Dead)
Letters to Cleo – Dangerous Type (The Craft)
Brother Cane – And Fools Shine On (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers)
