Halloween season is upon us, making this the perfect time to figure out the spookiest song in rock history.
We’ve chosen the spookiest song from 16 of the most famous artists in classic rock history – and yes half that time was spent trying to figure out which of about 100 eligible Alice Cooper titles to include – and paired them off into eight first-round battles.
You’ll find witches and devils, spiders and murderers, werewolves and even the grim reaper himself, brought to life in classic tracks from AC/DC, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, Kiss, Led Zeppelin and many more.
Your mission is to select a winner in each of these eight face-off. Round one will conclude on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 11:59PM EST, with the next round kicking off the following morning. The final winner will be revealed on Halloween, assuming we all survive that long!
The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” vs. Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast”
Woe to you, oh Earth and sea, because Iron Maiden sends the beast with wrath. Can anybody compete with their tale of Lucifer and the evil he brings in his wake? Well, please allow us to introduce the Rolling Stones, with their own story about a man with wealth and taste…
Metallica, “Enter Sandman” vs. The Doors, “The End”
Deep-seeded psychological issues are on display in both of these songs. Will Jim Morrison’s exploration of the Oedipus complex send Metallica off to never never land, or will James Hetfield subject the Doors to the nightmare of a first-round defeat?
Kiss, “God of Thunder” vs. Pink Floyd, “One of These Days”
Gene Simmons is the lord of the wasteland, a modern day man of steel who gathers darkness to please him. But will he make Pink Floyd kneel, or will the prog-rock legends chop him and his Kiss bandmates into tiny little pieces?
AC/DC, “Night Prowler” vs. The Who, “Boris the Spider”
Even with Bon Scott doing his best Mork impression at the end, “Night Prowler” is one of the darkest, most menacing songs in AC/DC’s catalog – which is really saying something. But is that enough to send the Who on their creepy crawly, creepy creepy crawly crawly way home?
Alice Cooper, “Black Widow” vs. Talking Heads, “Psycho Killer”
In the Talking Heads’ defense, you’d have to be crazy and murderous to step into the ring with Alice Cooper…
Led Zeppelin, “Gallows Pole” vs. Ozzy Osbourne, “Bark at the Moon”
The Prince of Darkness inhabiting the role of a werewolf is pretty tough to top in terms of creepiness, but then again on Led Zeppelin’s “Gallows Pole” Robert Plant turns his own sister into a prostitute and still fails to save his own life…
Black Sabbath, “Black Sabbath” vs. Blue Oyster Cult, “Don’t Fear the Reaper”
What is this that stands before thee? A very difficult decision between the spooky, atmospheric song that basically invented heavy metal, or an incredibly catchy little number in which a guy tries to convince his girlfriend to join him in a romantic suicide?
Eagles, “Witchy Woman” vs. Motley Crue “Shout at the Devil”
This is definitely the oddest pairing of the first round, as the Eagles gently croon about a seductive, dangerous and destructive woman with the moon in her eyes, while Motley Crue, well.. shouts at the devil.
Classic Halloween TV Episodes
Halloween: a time for candy, costumes and binge-watching spooky special editions of your favorite TV shows.
Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin
