Audio

The Devil Rides Out

TRACK #319:

The Devil Rides Out by Icarus

So here’s a curious situation that I’m not sure we’ve encounter thus far on The Shindig.

On the surface, this song (the debut release from British rocker’s Icarus) is a full blown Title Track. Now, that’s what I like to hear!

But wait a sec, this song doesn’t appear anywhere in 1968’s The Devil Rides Out.

That can probably be attributed to the fact this song wasn’t written for the film at all, but rather after the film was made. Turns out Icarus was inspired by the pre-release marketing for The Devil Rides Out to write this song. That’s a little weird.

However, it was totally released in tandem with the premiere of the film and the band themselves were even invited to the shindig. What’s goin on here?

So, written because of and about, and is named after the movie? So, is this a Title Track or not?

I say no. If anything it’s a Title Track After the Fact, but even that’s a stretch. It appears in no film that I’m aware of, sequel or otherwise, relegating it the land of Referential, I’d say. But it’s so close, so very damn close to being a Title Track.

But enough about that business, let’s talk The Devil Rides Out, Hammer’s straight-faced, Christopher Lee anchored, Christianity-conquers-all, Satan-banger.

Just check out this French Grande:

I have this thing, and it rules. Unfortunately, it’s goddamn giant and I don’t have any more wall space in The Hole for shit this big. Sorry also to my giant-ass Videodrome and Dracula AD posters.

Hey, check out this sweet Baphomet, which Christoper Lee calls The Goat of Mendes, which is what artist Éliphas Lévi was known to refer to his famous Sabbatic Goat image. He rules too.In fact, just check out The Devil Rides Out, cause it rules.

Shindig, ridin’ out!

 

Audio

To The Devil a Daughter

TRACK #303:

To the Devil a Daughter by Incubus

Bet you never thought you’d see Incubus on The Shindig, huh? Well, I certainly wouldn’t have ever added them, because I don’t like Incubus.

And if you don’t like Incubus either, then you’re in luck, because this isn’t that Incubus.

Nope. Just like any band post-1990, there’s probably 4 other bands that already held that name in the past. And such is the case for, the perhaps inappropriately named, Incubus.

No, this one comes from New Wave of British Heavy Metal outfit Incubus, and their sound is much more aligned with what you might expect from a band named Incubus. Not wholly, but certainly closer.

Now I’ll admit, this isn’t strictly a referential track, I don’t think. But what few lyrics we are given don’t not conjure images of the film.

Should it be added? I dunno. I like the tune, and since To The Devil a Daughter is technically a Halloween movie, we’re pickin’ em up!

I would also like to add that there is no shortage of metal songs called To The Devil a Daughter. In fact, Shindig-adjacent Wytchfynde actually have one as well. I say adjacent because that’s not a typo, as Wytchfynde with two Y’s was an offshoot of Witchfynde (with an I) vocalist Luther Beltz when he left the band in 1999. However, Luther Beltz didn’t join Witchfynde until 1983’s Cloak and Dagger, the album after Stagefright from which the Shindigger Trick or Treat appears.

However, Luther’s era of Witchfynde sounds pretty different from our Witchfynde, which kinda make’s Luther’s Witchfynde a completely different band altogether than our Witchfynde, which would then make Wytchfynde with two Y’s even more different still. So much so that I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned them at all, but here we are.

Are any of those other To the Devil a Daughter songs more aligned to the film? Not sure. I didn’t really like any of them very much, or at least enough to really cross reference the lyrics. Wytchfynde’s didn’t seem particularly referential, and it was a newer cut, so I wasn’t too keen on the sound. So Incubus it is, names be damned.

We kinda blew our To the Daughter a Devil sample load on the Hallo’s Eve track, but we’ll still pepper in some here, cause hey, it seems a bit more appropriate than maybe it was there.

 

Audio

Horror Hotel

TRACK #185:

Horror Hotel by The Misfits

Here’s another classic example of referencing a horror classic without actually talking about the movie at all, from Shindig All-Stars and referential magicians, The Misfits.

Sure, it might be called a Horror Hotel, but God knows what Danzig’s actually talking about here, because it’s not the 1963 Christopher Lee film.

What we do know is that it’s definitely about a hotel and some bad shit’s going down there, maybe even some horror. Particularly in Room 21, where all the underworld scum seem to congregate. Can’t say I know of any specific Room 21s from horror lore, but I’d be open to suggestions about what other references Glenn might be bandying about. Though I’ll wager it’s probably used simply because “Room 36” doesn’t rhyme with “scum.”

But that was sort of Glenn’s deal. Name a song after a classic movie and then whip up some lyrics that sort of jive with the mood that title conjured. Unless of course you’re talking about Return of the Fly, which basically reads like a Videohound entry of the film of the same name, right down to listing of its actors and characters.

None of that really matters though, does it? I mean, at least not where The Misfits are concerned. Personally, I rather like that these songs are less overt in their referential nature. Something like Blitzkid’s Candyman lacks any of that artistic (?) subtlety, opting to bludgeon you with lyrics so simple and childlike, it sort of takes something away.

You get none of that from Danzig and Co., and as such are gifted that wonderful space of ambiguity and interpretation.

Plus, it give us the opportunity to cram that space with plenty of samples from the song’s namesakes. Couldn’t do that if they just named the song Room 21, now could we?

You wanna start somethin’ with me…?

 

Audio

The Wicker Man

TRACK #102:

The Wicker Man by Iron Maiden

One of my favorite horror movies of all time is The Wicker Man. It’s awesome. If you’ve never seen The Wicker Man, it comes highly recommended from Halloween Shindig.

Being part of what was referred to in the 70’s as Folk Horror, The Wicker Man follows Police Sargent Neil Howie as he investigates an anonymous tip of a missing girl on Summerilse, a secluded island off the coast of Scotland.

There, a small but jovial group of Celtic pagans are free to practice their religion unfettered by the prying eyes of a judgmental society. That is until devout Christian Sargent Howie starts poking his disapproving nose around.

It is slow burn horror at its finest with an unsettling sense of dread which mounts to one of the great reveals in horror history.

With effective turns from horror vet Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle, Edward Woodward as Sargent Howie, plus a cast of creepsters as wide as the island, The Wicker Man isn’t your typical horror movie. Lacking gore, trite frights or largely any of the overt trapping of the genre, The Wicker Man‘s true horror is a psychological and social one that is both subtle and unnerving, and lingers long after the embers of its titular effigy fade.

It would double feature nicely with Dead and Buried, another creepfest about a small town of weirdos doing weird shit.

All that said, one of my favorite bands of all time is Iron Maiden. With Steve Harris’ unstoppable bass, the dueling harmonies of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray, Niko McBain’s thunderous percussion and Bruce Dickenson’s stainless steel vocals, they’re a heavy metal force for the ages.

So when these guys decided to cut a track about The Wicker Man, you know it’s a guaranteed Shindigger.

And though I like the studio version, it can’t hold a candle to the intensity of this opener from their Rock In Rio live album. Plus, it’s got that epic instrumental introduction, just perfect for overlaying this equally perfect sample.

So, come Weeners, it is time to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man.

 

Oct. 19th: To The Devil…A Daughter (1976)

Hammer’s last horror film may quite honestly be the least Halloweeny film on this list, but it takes place around and on Halloween, so dammit, that’s enough. Plus it’s all awesome and Satany. What more do you need on Halloween?

Christopher Lee stars as excommunicated priest Michael Rayner. Seems the Holy Roman Church didn’t cotton to all his Astaroth worship and told him to pack his shit. No matter, Rayner just sets up his own heretic order, The Children of The Lord (ambiguous) in the middle of some lake in Bavaria.

Prized amongst these children is one Catherine Beddows, played be a very young (perhaps too young, given the nudity) Natasha Kinski. Catherine is given the special privilege of traveling home once a year on her birthday to see her father Henry. Her birthday, as it happens, is All Hallo’s Eve, which we’re told is the most important date in the Satanist’s calendar.

This year, however, is her 18th birthday, and that’s got her pops all spooked. So, he contacts occult author John Verney to whisk her away for this particular visit. Seems strange, even to Verney, whom has only recently meet Beddows, and only for this specific reason.

See Beddows is a member of Rayner’s satanic order, and is anticipating a rather sinister 18th birthday for Catherine, should Rayner get his hands on her. So it’s up to Verney to deduce the plot and protect Rayner’s special child, before his evil designs can be fulfilled.

As I mentioned, the movie itself is not terribly Halloweeny, but it is jammed packed instead with tons of crazy Satanic rites and ritual, with Christopher Lee creepin’ up the whole damn screen any time he’s there.

It may flounder a bit in it’s 3rd act, but this critically maligned Hammer offering is an awesome addition to the Satanic 70’s catalog, and one of my favorites of the sub-genre.

If you’re into crazy Satan movies, enjoy weird scenes of strange rituals, love hearing blasphemous heretical dialogue and are looking to add a whole lot of that to your Halloween this year, than To The Devil…A Daughter is the one to do it with.