Bryan Reesman

Featuring famous musicians in advertising spots is nothing new, but the 21st century has seen a steady rise in hard rock and heavy metal musicians hawking everything from fast food to finance software. Insurance company Geico has used plenty of well-known names over the years—including Little Richard, Charlie Daniels, Salt-N-Pepa, Europe, and Idina Menzel—so it came as no big surprise that in April 2020 they enlisted glam metal band Ratt for an insurance bundle promo spot.

Here are eight creepy, heavy metal tracks that are perfect for any All Hallow's Eve party from bands including Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Cradle of Filth.

Heavy metal in particular faced a backlash by 1985, with most of the heavier bands being banished by MTV to late-night viewing or a weekend show called Heavy Metal Mania, hosted by Dee Snider, the frontman for Twisted Sister. His group drew some fire for their two big videos “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock,” both of which featured bandmembers engaging in cartoon violence against a blustery authority figure portrayed by Mark Metcalf of Animal House fame. It was appropriate that Snider would host the new show, and two years later Headbangers Ball was born.

Naturally, people want to throw fantastic spooky bashes to celebrate the season. Here are six music videos to consider playing in the background of a party, whether or not the sound is actually on. The imagery itself is perfectly suited to this time of year, although be advised that a couple of them are for mature eyes only because they're gory.

As his fans know and outsiders can glean, Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth is a big horror hound. He once starred as a ghoulish character in a creepy anthology film called Cradle of Fear in 2001. Halloween, and indeed the latter half of the year, is his favorite time of year. He loves the transitional feeling of it. Here are five pieces of music Dani recommends for Halloween 2024, including a plug for Cradle’s latest track “Malignant Perfection.” It’s the first single from their next studio album, which is due next spring.

In the new Peacock series Hysteria! , the suburban town of Happy Hollow, Michigan, is like many towns in the late 1980s, except it has a devil problem. Rumors of a Satanic cult prowling the area have some residents on edge, and after a popular jock is found dead in what seems to be a Satanic ritual, a local high school rock trio that exploits the imagery for popularity—they perform Iron Maiden's “Number of the Beast”—starts getting fingered as the main suspects. Things only go downhill from there—especially because real demonic activity does begin occurring—and the show serves up a great soundtrack to go along with it. Both mainstream and indie artists of the time are heard.

John Carpenter is one of the long acknowledged cinematic masters of horror. Everybody knows Halloween and the epic franchise it spawned, while classic movies like Escape from New York, The Thing, and They Live are still very relevant decades after their release. Carpenter is also known for his movie soundtracks that were initially created by the director himself for both creative reasons and out of financial necessity. He soon teamed up with composer/sound designer Alan Howarth who helped him further flesh out his film soundscapes. Here are seven memorable John Carpenter themes to accompany everyone’s favorite spooky season.

Emmy Award-winning composer Bear McCreary loves music that goes big. He certainly spans a wide range of dynamics and styles in the scoring work he does for film, TV, and video games, but he revels in compositions that are larger than life. His recent concept album/graphic novel The Singularity allowed him to dive deep into the world of heavy metal, mixing in orchestral sounds and embarking on musical adventures that were not tied into someone else's cinematic experience. Rather, it was a story created out of his music and the collaborative mind of comic book writer Mat Groom. It's his first solo album—one which features heavy rock luminaries like Slash, Joe Satriani, Corey Taylor, Buck Dharma, and Serj Tankian—and it reveals more about his musical personality and allows him to indulge in some metal euphoria.

The cast and creator of Cross discuss digging deep into the world of their characters

Peacock's new series Hysteria! takes a look at what might have happened if the Satanic panic of religious zealots in the 1980s was justified, and if there actually had been sinister cults proliferating across the country and cases of demonic possession that really happened. Beyond the show's cheek blend of satire and genuinely scary moments, the show's soundtrack is comprised of pop, rock, and metal tunes from the time period that are not only very true to the era but not obvious choices. Many old-school metal fans will be pleasantly surprised at the inclusion of groups like Mercyful Fate, Bathory, Omen, Cirith Ungol, and Bolt Thrower.