Plenty of songs have been repurposed for Halloween use. "Thriller," "Monster Mash," and Rebecca Black's "Friday" (because that shit is scary) will all figure into this evening's festivities, but what about arguably the greatest song expressly written for the holiday, Danny Elfman's "This Is Halloween."
Featured in Tim Burton's 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas, the song leads a
haunting soundtrack that helped turn the movie into a cult classic. "This Is Halloween" has since been covered by Marilyn Manson, Panic at the Disco, and various metal bands. Elfman, a name familiar to Oingo Boingo fans, is also famous for themes from The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives.
Elfman's genius reaches across many platforms, and his work is deserving of the coverage it has received. So let's take a listen to the five most interesting covers of "This Is Halloween."
5. Sadie
Sadie is a rock band from Japan following the "visual kei" movement, evident by its use of flamboyant costumes, makeup, and hair. Given its choice look, many listeners would anticipate the sound of this cover to be on par with a Japanese Panic at the Disco.
That assumption is wrong. Click play on the video below to be assaulted with heavy guitar, thumping bass, and a whole lot of metal.
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4. Dot Dot Curve
It just dawned on us, soft, acoustic bands must be incapable of covering this song as Februus provides listeners with yet another rock/metal cover. Yes, the mood and lyrics are dark, but the movie itself is quite whimsical, which we thought would warrant a Dashboard Confessional cover at the very least.
Finally -- a cover that's not all metal all the time! Granted, we would have preferred any band over Panic at the Disco (except maybe My Chemical Romance). The sound of this song is nothing to write home about. In fact, the tones are so close to the original song that this can barely be called a cover. But alas, it made the list.
There's something mildly disturbing about an angry musician screaming the lyrics to a childhood favorite into your face. Dot Dot Curve managed to up the ante and beat out Sadie in the creepy department.
3. Februus
It just dawned on us, soft, acoustic bands must be incapable of covering this song as Februus provides listeners with yet another rock/metal cover. Yes, the mood and lyrics are dark, but the movie itself is quite whimsical, which we thought would warrant a Dashboard Confessional cover at the very least.
2. Panic at the Disco
Finally -- a cover that's not all metal all the time! Granted, we would have preferred any band over Panic at the Disco (except maybe My Chemical Romance). The sound of this song is nothing to write home about. In fact, the tones are so close to the original song that this can barely be called a cover. But alas, it made the list.
1. Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson's version of "This Is Halloween" is the only one we can get onboard with. Maybe it's because long, stringy hair or the serial killers attitude. Or maybe it's because Manson began his music career in South Florida. Either way, this cover deserved the number-one spot for many reasons. Have a listen!
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