Horror punk
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies.[1][2] The genre was pioneered by the Misfits in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[3] Subsequent bands formed in the Misfits' wake like Mourning Noise, the Undead and Samhain, solidifying horror punk's first wave. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the genre gained attention through the reunion of the Misfits and success of groups like AFI, Son of Sam and the Murderdolls. This popularity continued to the modern day with Blitzkid, Calabrese and Creeper.
Horror punk
Late 1970s, New Jersey, U.S.
Characteristics[edit]
Horror punk is defined by its fusion of punk rock music with the imagery and lyrical topics common in the horror film genre. Typically it references B movies,[1] doing so in a way that emphasises cheesiness.[2] However, some artists and songs in the genre also discuss events of real life horror.[4] Due to this, horror punk generally eschews the political lyrics found in conventional punk rock.[1] The genre also asserts the influence of 1950s–inspired doo-wop and rockabilly sounds.[1]
During the earliest stages of the gothic rock genre, "horror punk" was one term often misapplied to the genre.[5] While both horror punk and gothic rock pull from many of the same points of reference,[6] and sometimes early horror punk groups, particularly the Misfits, are themselves cited as being "proto-gothic", the two genres are distinctly separate by modern definitions.[7] However, the gothic rock genre death rock, with its emphasis on influence from punk rock, contains significant overlap with horror punk. Although, death rock lacks horror punk's rockabilly and doo-wop influences, instead paying a greater attention to musical atmospheres.[1] Psychobilly is also a closely related style to horror punk, particularly during the 2000s when the genres became increasingly intertwined. In an article by Kerrang!, writer Chris Krovatin stated that "the two [genres] have become so accepting of one another, that to make the distinction feels like splitting hairs". Some psychobilly groups even take influence from horror punk imagery, notably Tiger Army.[8]
