Horror punk (sometimes referred to ashorror rock) is a dark style of music mixinggothic andpunk rock sounds with morbid imagery. Often, song topics are taken fromhorror films, horror punk bands create an atmosphere by telling tales through their songs. It is closely related to an often overlaps with thedeath rock movement; while death rock tends to lean more towards the goth sound, horror punk leans towards adoo-wop sound.[1][2]
The Misfits are recognized as the first band of the horror punk subgenre. Misfits first horror punk recording sessions can be traced back to 1977. In 1982, the Misfits released their first full-length album,Walk Among Us. Influenced by the Misfits, another early punk bandTSOL released a horror punk album calledDance with Me in the early 1980s.
The genre, with the exception of artists likeJack Grisham (on theleft) andMichale Graves (on theright), is generallyapolitical.
Horror hardcore is a term coined byDwid Hellion that refers to a hybrid of horror punk andhardcore punk.[3] The Misfits' third album,Earth A.D., and the early work ofGlenn Danzig's subsequent bandSamhain inaugurated the style.Septic Death andIntegrity also performed this subgenre.
Horror metal is a term which originated in the 1980s to describeRipper's first album.[4] Since then, a number of bands playing several different styles of metal have fallen under this banner, includingNecrophagia andthe Vision Bleak.