Yet another form of art in which horror slips in and makes a home is music - especially when accompanied by music videos that reflect this. There are numerous singers and/or bands fully or partially devoted to the genre that have helped us relate or even cope with the horrors of life. Usually in rock music, but elsewhere too.
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| Poets of The Fall - Carnival of Rust (2006) |
One of the first pieces of that sort that had a significant impact on me was Korn - Falling Away From Me. I’d listen to it and rewatch it over and over again when it came out. I grew up without a father in the picture and was never physically abused by a parent. My older brother and I had sandals thrown at us a few times, when we misbehaved terribly, but so poorly that they never hit (and if they “did”, they did not hurt at all). Hence, what’s depicted there was foreign to me and made me wonder. A close neighbor I had, though, did not enjoy my same fate and I was a witness to that. Therefore, it proved to be something real and I did not have to doubt that.
Growing up and the teenage years are hard. There’s so much that we don’t know and so much that’s out of our hands. Naturally, we’d turn to music for perspective and so much more.
Not only can family be difficult, if even tolerable. There’s school, college, and academia in general too, which can be another type of hell. My Chemical Romance - I’m Not Okay was both a mess and straightforward about it. And was also what brought the band into my awareness so that I could immerse in more of their horror-fueled works, such as Helena. But let’s not forget Linkin Park - Numb, which resonated with many. Another band that dwelled in horror, bringing us spot-on descriptions of tormenting inner states such as what’s in Papercut. These two bands got so popular that you didn’t have to be a complete outcast to listen to them.
However, there are, of course, less popular bands that also speak right to our core, whether we’re on the same boat as what their stories are about or not. Because, regardless, they help paint a picture of true turmoil that’s experienced by people. Among my favorites in this regard, there is Eisley - Telescope Eyes, which speaks of ostracizing based on superficial criteria, and Circa Survive - The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is In The Dose, which speaks of, well, more bullshit.
If that’s too much, there’s tamer stuff. Paramore, for example, made it into the mainstream as a band that can be upbeat, upset, ironic, and dead-serious. Though their dynamism seems to keep them from turning darker, there’s Monster, with raw lines such as “I’ll stop the whole world from turning into a monster and eating us alive.” And there’s Playing God, with “Next time you point the finger, I might have to bend it back and break it off. Next time you point the finger, I’ll point you to the mirror.”
And although I cannot take them too seriously (because of reasons), we’ve also got “Goth Barbie”, straight from Gossip Girl, basically spitting on religious beliefs with the band The Pretty Reckless. Miss Nothing and Going to Hell being heavily themed around it.
Clearly, I cannot list everything that’s stood out for me in terms of horror in music. And some of it may be too heavy for me to bring up casually right now. But you get the gist of it. Horror is there, to some extent. Compressed and melodic. Quite epically and eerily, too, as Evanescence, Within Temptation, Nightwish often served it.
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| Poets of The Fall - Carnival Of Rust (2006) |
Music and music videos are a different form of art that comes with its own peculiarities. Music tends toward the abstract and, likewise, their music videos, albeit more concretely, follow. Although their duration sits on the linearity of time, they don’t proceed with the same order as other forms of art - or storytelling - tend to. More often than not, they’re a bunch of parts and layers jumbled together - and we love them for that.
This format also allows experimentation with code and symbolism, making for captivating and memorable works for the inquisitive souls. They may haunt us for years with the question of “What does it really mean?” If not just delight us with amazing riddles and imagery. The Used - All That I’ve Got still makes me ponder sometimes. And Poets of The Fall - Carnival of Rust leads me to consider again how rich the inner worlds of people can be.
As for what actually breaks my heart… the music video of Sunny Hill - Pray does. Where the monsters are not the "abominations", but the heartless humans. As an interesting contrast, though, this KPop band has the aforementioned music video, where the man imprisons, and another music video that came before it (Midnight Circus), where he instead liberates. Talk about duality and switching roles.
What music and music videos containing horror have stood out for you?