Now, now, don't cower underneath your bedsheets, lest the Sandman drag you into his portal of ungodly existence - unless, you've always dreamed of being in that situation, that is.
We have always been attracted and fascinated with the outer realm of the supernatural and the beautifully grotesque (pardon the oxymoron), and have always experimented and endeavoured at the suggested manifestations of such entities.
Early examples would include the Magi of Zoroastrianism - early priests who are widely believed to have been one of the pioneers in indulging in such magical practices.
But of course, Modern Science & laws of the natural world have often been lost for substantial proof to dispel or make sense of such a phenomenon.
We at HOOKED, however, may have the solutions to all these questions with the existence of these bands below! All hail the aural sorcerers!
Name: The Misfits
Genre: Horror Punk
Girls love to parade in T-shirts bearing their logo of a Skull (my sister has one). Such is my conviction that I'd happily wager a tenner on spotting at least one punk chick walking along Orchard road in this top.
Jokes aside, the band is widely credited to being the founders of the horror punk movement, in which band members wore corpse paint onstage in order to mimic ghouls and zombies.
This was in part due to lead singer, Glenn Danzig's inclination to write songs inspired by low-grade horror movies. They were, and still are, a big hit with punk listeners, and have influenced a whole slew of punk bands loyal to this side of genre.
One obvious legacy of The Misfits involves a certain hairstyle invented by the bassist, Jerry Only, called "The Devilock" where every other part of the hair is kept short, save for the front which is long and combed forward.
AFI and My Chemical Romance, anyone?
Name: Cradle Of Filth
Genre: Extreme Metal
A disclaimer: They claim to be not Satanic. Even though their look may scare the teeth out of a toddler. And even if there are rumours of having a "satanic advisor" in Andrea Meyer, former vocalist.
Nevertheless, the sound, lyrics and imagery they convey successfully depict the callousness of the dead in one minute, and the shrill urgency of the devil's cries the next (if viewed from a purely artistic standpoint).
With album titles ranging from "Lovecraft to Witch Hearts" to "Live Bait for the Dead", it pretty much tells the story of their kind of music, which they describe as extreme metal with symphonic sensibilities.
2005's Nymphetamine was nominated for a Grammy Award, and they have achieved a certain degree of success in capturing the imagination of the mainstream by satisfying the public's curiosity in the grotesqueness of the other realm through the depiction of their albums.
It is strongly recommended to not take their lyrics and music seriously, and just appreciate it for its Art.
Not for the faint hearted though.
Name: Lordi
Genre: Hard Rock
Oh Lordi! Sorry - couldn't resist the pun. These guys are the ones your grandmother told you about, just to scare you breathless whenever you wanted to run around that creepy little garden near your place at night.
Hailing from Finland, this hard rock band infuses a heavy dose of costume visuals depicting monsters of Scandinavian folklore, as well as that extremely creepy lady who seems to cross all cultural barriers. You know... the one who floats.
Interestingly enough, the visuals they offer in their shows, replete with colourful pyrotechnics mind you, are in large contrast to the actual music that they play - generally rock instead of black or death metal commonly associated with bands of similar dress code.
They have also proven to have substance on top of their macabre style, as attested through them gaining worldwide recognition through winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, a competition pitting artistes from all over Europe.
This was significantly surprising, considering that it is mostly a pop contest, but the band managed to plunder their fellow competitors, winning by a considerably large margin of votes.
Their appeal seems to gaining momentum, and are slated to be playing at the main stage of the popular Ozzfest 2007 , as they try to break into the American market with their version of glam rock.
Allusions to the supernatural and those not of the waking world have been tossed around much in music, what with the underlying "Satanic" nature of the lyrics of the seemingly innocuous Hotel California by the Eagles (The Church of Satan happens to be located in a converted hotel on California Street) and such.
This, however, comes down to the basic human nature of curiosity, and for performers like Marilyn Manson, it has much to do with putting up a persona to intrigue the listeners/viewers, much like an enchanting spell engulfing them.
Are you for real, Mary?
The persona is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual.
"The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious" (1928). In CW 7: Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. P.305
Guess he is human after all. HOOKED
Pictures courtesy of:
Misfits: http://system.bloger.cz/img/users/boblucan/misfits.jpg
Lordi: http://www.backstage089.de/presse_files/24/Lordi.jpg
Marilyn Manson: http://images.ibox.bg/2007/04/24/33/519x382.jpg
Cradle of Filth: http://www.metalzone.biz/rest/Tapiz/Cradle%20of%20Filth/cradle.jpg
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