This IS Halloween

So, a while ago Rob Liz had asked for some ideas on great Halloween Music. It took me long enough, but I had come to the realization that there's nothing better than Danny Elfman's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" Soundtrack. Now, for me, this is the epitome of what Halloween is about, and even the Christmas songs have been 'tricked' out with ghoulish imagery. I think, though, for That Devil Music, you have to keep that Metal attitude and throw the devil horns into the mix of those amazingly well-written songs.

Now, I've been a fan of Danny Elfman back from his Oingo Boingo days, and I'll always love his voice and the way he injects his wicked personality into each song, but for this post, I'm going to have to take advantage of a re-working of the NB4Xmas soundtrack with "Nightmare Revisited".





Now, die-hard fans of Danny as well as NB4Xmas well know that there's a special edition of the soundtrack out there with some gems on it, though there's only a couple. Marilyn Manson's "This is Halloween" makes an appearance on both, and there's also treats from She Wants Revenge and Fallout Boy. I even enjoyed Fiona Apple's version of "Sally's Song", but none of those RAWKED as hard as the masterful Metal versions on Nightmare Revisited. Here's some of my recommendations:

As I mentioned before, Manson's "This Is Halloween" appears on both discs, and for good reason. It's pure, unadulterated Manson. He creeps you out even MORE than the original does, adding that touch that only he could.



The next monster on NR that you have to hear is Korn's version of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws". Hearing Jonathan Davis saying such things as "Because Mr. Oogy Boogy Man's the meanest guy in town, if I were on his Boogie list; I'd get out of town" can sound out of place on paper, but to hear it is another story. The song comes across so strange, but it totally works with Davis' voice being the real draw here more than the music from the rest of Korn. Alltogether the song shines, but Davis's craziness makes this one a keeper.



I really dig Rise Against, first hearing about them thanks to Guitar Hero. Tim McIlrath is another vocalist with a truly distinctive voice. The music here, unlike the Korn version, is really rocking and seems to stand out more than Sandy Claws does. At least, I think it's definitely harder hitting. You be the judge.



Being both a HUGE Evanescence and Amy Lee fan, I can't not talk about "Sally's Song". No, it's not metal. It doesn't sound like metal and shouldn't. What it has is that signature Amy Lee, seething with longing and heartbreak vocals permeating this song, portraying Sally's fear and sadness for her friend Jack, perfectly. This, I think it probably my favourite song on the album and I think one of Amy's best performances.



The rest of the cd has some great tracks from Plain White T's, Rodrigo y Gabriel and Shiny Toy Guns, but I really wanted to focus on the bands that really rock out on this one, any Amy Lee. :) You should definitely check it out, and add it to your library. Even better if you play Manson's version of "This is Halloween" at YOUR haunted house or Halloween party. It's the perfect decoration.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

The Best of the Best

Ok, so a while ago, we here at TDM asked you about the worst metal and hard rock covers out there... I hate to say it, but I think the winner was Taylor Swift's collaboration with Def Leppard when they joined her on stage at CMT's Crossroads. It's bad enough having Taylor Swift singing one of your songs, it's worse when you join in on that unholy union. Burn in hell, Swift.

Aaaaaanyways. So, today whilst at work and listening to my iPod, I came across one of my favourite covers (and believe me, I have a lot). So I thought I'd go ahead and ask you out there what are YOUR favourite covers??? Let's keep this themed; I want to know about your fav covers BY metal and hard rock bands of songs that might not particularly be in that Genre. For example: Disturbed' cover of Tears For Fear's classic 80's smash hit "Shout".

So, here are a few of my personal favs. Please feel free to reply with a link to the song so we can hear it, just in case some of our readers don't know it.



It would be a sin if I didn't start this off with pretty much everything Metallica released on their cd "Garage, Inc.". Whether it's taking us back to our childhood and remember the giddiness and wrongness of hearing Metallica's cover of Misfit's sick and twisted song "Last Caress/Green Hell". Even better that than, another song released on Garage Inc., "Mercyful Fate", is probably the baddest mother on that CD, or at least, my personal favourite.





Another pretty amazing cover, for me, is (I've never heard of this band, and will probably never hear of them again) Spiderbait, covering Johnny Cash's "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (for the Ghost Rider soundtrack.)



Here's a gem for you. Korn's cover of Cameo and their Hit "Word Up" (which in itself is a bad-ass song), though I have to admit the video is shite.



Manson's cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" is pretty fuckin bad-ass, ya have to admit..




And last, but certainly not least, and I know I'm gonna get a LOT of shit for this, I absolutely love Limp Bizkit's cover of "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who. Yes, Fred Durst is a tool, and he's definitely NOT the greatest singer in the world, but for Limp Bizkit to take an amazing song, and still hold on to the beauty and melancholy of it, and add a little taste of LB's style, without ruining it, is a HUGE plus. I do have to admit that the Speak and Spell or Speak and Say (or whatever the fuck that is part) is fucking stupid. But not stupid enough to ruin the mood of the song.
Plus a Douche like Fred Durst gets to make out with Hallie Berry and it's on video?? That's awesome.



So there you have it! Go on and tell us your favs! Do it! Or I'll make you listen to Limp Bizkit again!