Chances are if you’re a fan of heavy metal music, you’re also a fan of the Halloween season. While the hallowed holiday itself is always a blast, the days leading up to it are equally if not more exciting. The best way to maximize your macabre month of madness is to have the perfect soundtrack playing throughout the spooky days and haunted nights. These are just a few of my personal favorites which make up the Ultimate Halloween Heavy Metal Playlist.

Arcturus

Master of Disguise

The voice of Garm is much like the mayor of all things spooky, and the mad circus style keyboards compliment him perfectly.

Cradle of Filth

The Twisted Nails of Faith

With all the elements of a creepy gothic horror movie, this track is sure to get the blood flowing. Into your glass that is.

Dimmu Borgir

Spellbound (by the Devil)

Leave it to the Norwegian black metal musicians to churn up some diabolical devil chants.

Goblin

Zombi: L’Alba Dei Morti Viventi

Anything Goblin will do here since they have scored some of the most memorable horror movies of all time.

Hole

Gold Dust Woman

Taken from the soundtrack for an awful sequel to The Crow, this song is actually pretty fucking bad ass and seems to fit the holiday quite well.

King Diamond

The Exorcist

This song comes off the album Voodoo, which is a concept album with an amazing story that is worth checking out some time before or on Halloween.

Moonspell

Everything Invaded

Not only is the song amazing, but the video is just as inspiring with its vampiric themed imagery.

My Dying Bride

Here In The Throat

This band makes some of the best gothic metal ever recorded, and its completely saturated with raw horrific emotion.

Opeth

Nectar

While their newer material is extremely polarizing, you can’t go wrong with Opeth’s back catalogue of brilliant song writing.

Satyricon

The Pentagram Burns

This list needs more Satan, so who better than Satyricon to fill that void!

Type O Negative

Wolf Moon

As if there would be a Halloween playlist and not feature the masters of all things hallowed?

The Cure

Burn

The opening track from one of the greatest soundtracks in movie and music history.

Nine Inch Nails

Dead Souls

Just when you thought a Joy Division song couldn’t get any more goth, the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails takes it a few steps deeper and darker.

Danny Elfman

Beetlejuice: Main Titles

Its nice to let your ears have a break from all the distorted guitars here and there, so let the master of spooky soundtracks take the spotlight for a while.