| Shock rock | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1950s–1970s,United Kingdom andUnited States |
| Derivative forms | Horror punk |
| Local scenes | |
| United Kingdom,United States | |
| Other topics | |
Shock rock is the combination ofrock music orheavy metal music with highly theatrical live performances emphasizingshock value. Performances may include violent or provocative behavior from the artists, the use of attention-grabbing imagery such as costumes, masks, or face paint, orspecial effects such aspyrotechnics orfake blood. Shock rock also often includes elements ofhorror.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins has been seen as a pioneer for shock rock. After the success of his 1956 hit "I Put a Spell on You", Hawkins began to perform a recurring stunt at many of his live shows: he would emerge from acoffin, sing into askull-shapedmicrophone and set offsmoke bombs.[1] Another artist who performed similar stunts was the British singer-songwriterScreaming Lord Sutch.
The 1960s brought several proto-shock rock artists. In the UK,the Who oftendestroyed their instruments,the Move did the same to television sets, andArthur Brown wore vivid makeup and a flaming headpiece.[3] In the US,Jimi Hendrix set his guitar alight at theMonterey Pop Festival in 1967.Detroit musicianIggy Pop ofthe Stooges adopted a violent, erratic onstage persona which drew influence fromJim Morrison ofthe Doors. Pop would often throw his body around the stage and was known to wear a dog collar during some performances, along with arm length silver lamé gloves, exemplifying both shock andglam rock sensibilities.[4] At one show in 1970, Pop smeared peanut butter on his body and threw it into the crowd.[4] In 1973, Pop committedself-mutilation on stage with a knife and at a later showexposed himself.[5]
On seeing Arthur Brown,Alice Cooper, often described as 'The Godfather of Shock rock',[6] stated, "Can you imagine the young Alice Cooper watching that with all his make-up and hellish performance? It was like all my Halloweens came at once!"[7]
Subsequently,Roky Erickson coined the term "horror rock"[8] in 1980, when describing the music of his bandRoky Erickson and the Aliens, whose music influenced byhorror movies was retroactively noted byCompass News,[8] as influential to the development of shock rock.[9][10][11][12]
The Plasmatics were an Americanpunk rock band formed byYale University art school graduate Rod Swenson withWendy O. Williams. The band was a controversial group known for wild live shows. In addition to chainsawing guitars, blowing up speaker cabinets and sledgehammering television sets, Williams and the Plasmatics blew up automobiles live on stage. Williams was arrested inMilwaukee by the Milwaukee police before being charged withpublic indecency.[13][citation not found] Jim Farber ofSounds described the show: "Lead singer/ex-porn star/current weight lifter Wendy Orleans Williams (W.O.W. for short) spends most of the Plasmatics' show fondling her family size breasts, scratching her sweaty snatch and eating the drum kit, among other playful events".[14][citation not found]
From the late 1970s to his death in 1993,GG Allin was known less for his music than for his wildlytransgressive antics, which included indecent exposure (stripping and performing naked was one of Allin's most common rituals), on-stagedefecation,coprophagia,self-mutilation, and attacking audience members.[15]
In the 1980s in Richmond, Virginia,Gwar formed as a collaboration of artists and musicians, and since 2024, has been touring consistently for over forty years.[16] The band members make their own lavish monster costumes, which they claim are inspired by many of the creatures fromH. P. Lovecraft's literary multiverse, theCthulhu Mythos. Gwar frequently incorporates extravagant theatrics into their shows, such as mockjousts and pretending to murder each other.
TheMentors cultivated a shock-rock image by wearing executioners' hoods in concert and making deliberately outlandish statements to the press. In the 1990s, vocalistEldon Hoke also began incorporating onstage sex acts into the band's repertoire.[17]
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In the 1990s and 2000s,Marilyn Manson became perhaps the most notable and well known act in shock rock.His band was once dubbed by formerUS SenatorJoseph Lieberman (D-Conn) as "perhaps the sickest group ever promoted by a mainstream record company." Manson's stage antics, such as burning theAmerican flag and ripping pages out of theBible, have been the focus of protests throughout his career.[18] Manson argued that every artist has their means of presentation and that his visual and vocal styles are merely a way for him to control the angle that his audience and the general public view and interpret what he is trying to convey artistically.[19]
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