Musical Tales of Lovecraftian Lore
Cthulhu
If you found your way here there’s a chance you’re a fan of H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), writer of many weird tales of horror and the macabre.
Although movies based on Lovecraft’s stories are almost always abysmal, the opposite is true of songs inspired by his work. Truth is, they hella rock.
Five in particular stand out as fitting musical monuments to Lovecraft’s nightmarish visions. Three of the five draw upon the author’s best-known story, The Call of Cthulhu.
They are:
- The Call of Ktulu — Metallica, from Ride The Lightning
- The Thing That Should Not Be — Metallica, from Master of Puppets
- Cthulhu Dawn — Cradle of Filth, from Midian
- Lovecraft’s Death — Septicflesh, from Communion
- Behind The Wall of Sleep — Black Sabbath, from their self-titled first album
No doubt more Lovecraft-inspired masterworks are lurking out there; I just haven’t found them. If you have, please comment and bring these dark, brooding tunes to light.
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portal – outre
3 pc from australia, outre is a concept album of the lovecraft mythos. very creepy,doomy.
Thanks for the tip. I checked them out. Doomy indeed. If you like that band you might also like one called Wolves In The Throne Room. They’re kind of a New Age-y black metal band. I know that sounds strange, but somehow it works. I’ll probably do a blog post about them down the road.
What kind of monster is Cthulhu? Looks close to an alien species i have read about.
Cthulhu is one of the Great Old Ones who came from the stars to rule the world in ages past.
From Wikipedia:
The most detailed descriptions of Cthulhu in “The Call of Cthulhu” are based on statues of the creature. One, constructed by an artist after a series of baleful dreams, is said to have “yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature…. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings.”[6] Another, recovered by police from a raid on a murderous cult, “represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind.”[7]
When the creature finally appears, the story says that the “thing cannot be described,” but it is called “the green, sticky spawn of the stars”, with “flabby claws” and an “awful squid-head with writhing feelers.” The phrase “a mountain walked or stumbled” gives a sense of the creature’s scale.[8]
Metallica had it right when they described him in “The Thing That Should Not Be”…
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great old one
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell.
check thergoton
Cool stuff. Thanks!
Necronomicon is an album by gothic horror musical group Nox Arcana published by Monolith Graphics in 2004. The music is inspired by the stories of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and is a tribute to the Cthulhu Mythos.
Orchestra strings, drums, pipes, guitars and choirs are accented by ominous chanting, strange sound effects and brief narratives that combine to tell the story of an alchemist who dares to raise an ancient race of otherworldly beings.[1]
The “language of the Old Ones” developed by Lovecraft as a literary plot element but considered by many to be unpronouncable, is effectively spoken aloud by Joseph Vargo on several of the tracks. Vargo, who is a huge fan of Lovecraft’s work, also illustrated the CD packaging to appear as he imagined the famed fictional book to be from Lovecraft’s descriptions. [2]
A hidden track on the CD also contains a backward masking of the phrase “Klaatu barada nikto,” a well-known quote from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still and Army of Darkness, which in turn borrowed thematic elements from Lovecraft.
Some of the songs titles are also titles of Lovecraft stories, such as “The Nameless City” and “The Haunter of the Dark”, while others song titles such as Azathoth, Dagon, Nyarlathotep, Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones are the names of gods, demons or other supernatural entities from Lovecraft’s fiction.
Track listing
Music composed and performed by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski.
1. “Mythos” — 1:58
2. “The Nameless City” — 3:38
3. “Alhazred’s Vision” — 2:55
4. “Necronomicon” — 2:03
5. “Ancient Shadows” — 2:28
6. “Azathoth” — :28
7. “The Black Throne” — 2:01
8. “Nyarlathotep” — :40
9. “Temple of The Black Pharaoh 3:50
10. “Eldritch Rites” — 1:33
11. “The Haunter of The Dark” — 2:38
12. “The Awakening” — 2:59
13. “Yog-sothoth” — 1:00
14. “Guardian of The Gate” — 3:26
15. “Lords of Darkness” — 2:08
16. “Dagon” — :35
17. “The Stars Align” — 1:57
18. “Cthulhu” — :55
19. “Ritual Of Summoning” — 1:21
20. “Cthulhu Rising” — 2:38
21. “The Great Old Ones” — 4:06 *hidden track
The Challenge From Beyond: A Tribute To H.P. Lovecraft
Label: Dion Fortune
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: Germany
Released: 2000
Genre: Electronic
Style: EBM, Techno, Electro, Experimental
Credits: Artwork By – Soulman
Tracklisting:
1 Decoded Feedback – Re-Animation (4:03)
Music By – Marco Biagiotti , Yone Dudas
2 Hexedene – Dreams In The Witchhouse (3:44)
Music By – Jonathan Sharp , T. Kennedy*
3 Society Burning – Hold Your Breath (Dreams 1 And 2) (5:19)
Music By – Boom chr Paige
4 Xol Dog 400 – C`thulhu (5:56)
Music By – Christian Müller (4)
5 New Mind – Fading Giant (4:21)
Music By – Jonathan Sharp
6 Burning Blue – To Ramble In The Hills (4:35)
Music By – Eric Knitter , Scott Martin (2)
7 Suspicion Breeds Confidence – Thaumaturgos (3:42)
Music By – Tobias Schmitt
8 Seven Trees – Fallen Idols (Legends Speak Mix) (4:55)
Music By – Henrik Karlsson , Johan Kronberg
9 Oneiroid Psychosis – Nightgaunts (5:27)
Music By – Lars Hansen , Leif Hansen
10 Inertia (4) – Sectorial (5:43)
Music By – Reza Udhin
11 Stone 588 – Conversations With Chaos (2:58)
Music By – David Rhine* , Eileen Bowe , Terri Kennedy
12 D-Drik & Iktus – Tok’! (2:56)
Music By – C-drik*
13 Railgun – The Whisperer In The Darkness (5:55)
Music By – Nathan S. Moody*
14 Haujobb – Pulsar (5:38)
Music By – Myer* , Samardzic*
15 Forma Tadre – Corona Mundi (4:23)
Music By – Tehanu
Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll be sure to check that stuff out.