Bethan Williams,

Editor (Music)

 

Halloween, a time for what we believe to be musical classics and themes that bring our fancy dress  parties to life. ‘The Time Warp’ and ‘Thriller’ make up just some of the well known choices. However, looking in more depth at the main idea of Halloween, there are many bands that document a more supernatural approach to this time of trick and treating, candy canes and toffee apples.

New York originated band Blue Oyster Cult have been together since 1971. With a career spanning over 4 decades and a line-up of over 20 members over the forty years of service to the music industry, the band’s sound has been described as heavy metal with a clear context and great interest in the supernatural. This is evident in song titles such as ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’, ‘Black Blade’, ‘Fire of Unknown Origin’ and ‘ETI – Extra Terrestrial Intelligence’.

Their catchy and well known track ‘Don’t fear the Reaper’ (1976) sings of the journey of life through an almost obscure and unheard psychology which differs from the mainstream music we are accustomed to. The lyrics “seasons don’t fear the reaper’ suggest that as seasons, death is also a part of life and is inevitable. The repetitive guitar riffs coupled with the echoic drums signal the repetitive cycle of life and death as something rigid, brutal, yet totally natural. The band work within an occult culture and thus, they are concerned with aspects that are hidden and somehow above our general understanding. This track alongside many others led Blue Oyster Cult to feature heavily in Supernatural – an American TV Series first aired in 2005, as the opening titles and screen music for many episodes. The eerie, off balance and atmospheric tracks prove to be an alternative to the generic soundtracks for Halloween.

On reflection, this Halloween I decided to listen to something different and Blue Oyster Cult proved to be music to my ears for this self assigned challenge. I even caught myself watching the Supernatural, and getting in the spirit of it all.