Collegiate Times

“If I Had A Heart” — Fever Ray (“Fever Ray,” 2009)

If there’s anyone who exudes the absolute spirit of the Halloween season, it’s Fever Ray. The track opens with a rumbling bass that immediately sets an extremely foreboding mood. Pair it with Karin Dreijer Andersson’s vocals, which have been electronically lowered to a deep, menacing growl, and you have the soundtrack to your most frightening nightmares.

“Adult Goth” — Gang Gang Dance (“Eye Contact,” 2011)

Lead singer Lizzie Bougatsos’ high-pitched, otherworldly vocals on “Adult Goth” are really what create the creepy atmosphere on this track. However, the strange synth tones and eerie samples that swirl around in the background are equally responsible for the nerve-racking mood of “Adult Goth.”

“Die Slow” — Health (“Get Color,” 2009)

Health, a Californian noise rock band, makes music that is highly aggressive. “Die Slow” opens with a wash of guitar and synth, working together to build a wall-of-sound of atonal noise. The vocals creep in, spectral and haunting, adding a sense of tension to the already uneasy aura of the track.

“The Captain” — The Knife (“Silent Shout,” 2006)

Karin Dreijer Andersson is back again, this time with her brother Olof, to makeup the band The Knife. On “The Captain,” a string of cold synth tones hang in the air before Andersson’s ghostly, piercing vocals crawl into the mix. Most of the creepiness that The Knife embodies can be credited to Karin’s vocals. They’re almost always pitch-shifted down or up a few octaves, creating a voice that’s sometimes masculine, sometimes feminine but always terrifying.

“Welcome” — Balam Acab (“Wander/Wonder,” 2011)

“Wander/Wonder” album opener “Welcome” starts with the thick sound of water bubbling up, wrapping around and drowning you, before being seared through with an equally terrifying thunder of a beat. The spookiness is taken to a higher level, with the ethereal operatic vocal sample that lingers in the background.

“Kindle Song” — Animal Collective (“Oddsac,” 2010)

Animal Collective isn’t usually known for making music that could be described as “scary.” However, their 2010 visual album, “Oddsac,” took many cues from classic horror films. The music the band made for the album reflects those influences. “Kindle Song” features a flurry of chilling noises, while Avey Tare’s vocals sound strained and shadowy. The thunderous bass adds to the sense of overwhelming fear.

“King Night” — Salem (“King Night,” 2010)

Salem has come to really define what it means to be “witch house.” Complete with religious imagery, slowed down hip-hop samples and an obsession with all things occult, Salem fits the witch house mold perfectly. Their track “King Night” is a classic example of witch house music (also called “drag” or “haunted house”), in that it’s meant to induce terror and discomfort. And in that pursuit, it succeeds.

“The Killing Moon” —  Echo & The Bunnymen (“Ocean Rain,” 1984)

There’s something very dark about “The Killing Moon” by Echo & The Bunnymen, a British post-punk band. The song was very prominently used in the film “Donnie Darko,” which perhaps adds a dimension of mystery and gloom. The overall theme of the song is pretty sinister, with lyrics like “Too late to beg you or cancel it /” “Though I know it must be the killing time” and “Unwillingly mine.”

“Fright Night (Nevermore)” — Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (“Before Today,” 2010)

Ariel Pink is known for his oddball personality and his extremely lo-fi home recording techniques, both of which are present on “Fright Night (Nevermore).” The song is almost like an ’80s-style tribute to all things Halloween — mentions of demons, Ouija boards, Freddy Krueger and black cats abound. It’s a slightly kitschy play on ’80s horror themes, but it will sound perfectly ghoulish for Halloween 2011.

“Chains” — Gatekeeper (“Giza,” 2011)

Gatekeeper is a duo that splits its time between Brooklyn, N.Y. and Chicago, Ill., making extremely dark synth-based dance music that is drenched in more ’80s horror film aesthetics. Album opener “Chains” is pure terror with its samples of people screaming, animals growling and motorcycle engines roaring. 

Think of any low-budget, amateur horror film from the 1980s, and chances are Gatekeeper’s music will synchronize perfectly with it. One of the nice things about Gatekeeper’s music is that it’s all very much rooted in dance music, so it’s something you could put on at a Halloween party if you need something a little spookier to dance to.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 25 issue of the Collegiate Times.