10 Best Horror Albums/Soundtracks

Crafting a horror song is no easy task; instrumentation and/or lyrics must be on point to convey the message and make the listener feel what you intended.

It goes without saying that crafting a whole album is even more challenging. These are the best horror-themed albums and horror soundtracks out there.

Album: The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery & Imagination 

Yes, the recording engineer behind the game-changing The Dark Side of the Moon has one of the coolest horror-themed albums under his sleeve. Tales of Mystery & Imagination is based on the ever present and beloved Edgar Allan Poe and his legendary body of work.

With The Alan Parsons Project's approach towards progressive territory, this album is an unique sonic experience that, despite not being as scary and not reaching the impact of Poe's pieces of work, still is very immersive and offers a proper homage to horror's greatest mastermind.

Highlights: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Raven, (The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether 

Soundtrack: It Follows - Disasterpeace

It Follows' soundtrack is to modern horror cinema what Suspiria's used to be back then: the best soundtrack from its generation in a decent movie to hurl it to the forefront of horror.

This synthesizer-driven masterpiece (by no other than Disasterpeace), is an accomplishment in conveying different emotions in a convincing way. It gets moody, it gets nasty, it gets ominous, it gets laid-back and it gets creepy. Sometimes, all of that in just one song.

Highlights: Title, Detroit, Old Maid

Album: Them - King Diamond

King Diamond is the Pink Floyd of metal. Well, to be fair, he is the equivalent of Roger Waters; both masterminds in conceptualizing and depicting horror.

Nonetheless, whereas Waters' approach is more human and grounded (up to a certain extent), King Diamond's is more surreal, paranormal and movie-oriented. It was incredibly difficult to choose one effort from his immaculate discography filled with horror concept albums, but Them wound up triumphant (Abigail was a worthy contender, but Them got the edge). If you want to get a movie experience just by listening to an album, Them will do the trick for you.

Highlights: Welcome Home, The Invisible Guests, Mother's Getting Weaker.

Soundtrack: Suspiria - Goblin

A lot has been written and spoken about Suspiria; its gorgeous and vibrant cinematography, it being the best movie out of Argento's The Three Mothers, it being the last great movie processed in Technicolor, or its poor acting.

However, its soundtrack (though often brought up) is not mentioned nearly as half as its other aspects. Moreover, without it, the film would not be what it is today: a cult classic and one of the greatest horror movies of all time.

Highlights: Suspiria, Witch, Sighs

Album: Diamanda Galás - The Litanies of Satan 

Diamanda Galás is stranger to neither the world of musical horror nor this website (one of her songs was mentioned in the list of The 10 Spookiest Songs Ever). 

Extremely avant-garde even for avant-garde standards, The Litanies of Satan suceeds in showcasing Diamanda's vocal abilities and particular imagery. Considered a progressive album (it includes only two songs and its run-time is half an hour), this album shows no mercy on the listener and strikes as hard in the very first minute as in the last one.

Highlights: The two songs the album features.

Soundtrack: Resident Evil: Code Veronica - Hijiri Anze

Let's be honest; regardless of how much hyped-up I am (or we are) for Resident Evil 4: Remake, I cannot deny that a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake was more necessary and fitting for the franchise.

This game has been criminally placed aside and overlooked by both, fans and Capcom themselves (more by Capcom, obviously). It was the last game from the first generation of tank controls (not taking into account the REmake), but it was immensely different from the other three; it had 3D backgrounds (instead of the pre-rendered ones), a more mature story and the soundtrack was a thing of beatuy. I dare to say the best soundtrack in any horror game.

Highlights: The Palace Of Insane, The Suspended Doll, A Moment Of Relief

Album: Welcome To My Nightmare - Alice Cooper

It's no coincidence that the best Alice Cooper album is the best horror album ever as well. It had to be, honestly; nothing less could bee expected when two of the all-time greats as Alice himself and Bob Ezrin teamed up.

The concept itself is very good, but its execution is nothing but some of the best music ever put on record. Do not expect the scariest songs of all time, but the best and most magisterial ones in the horror field. Yes, Steven, I am talking about you.

Highlights: Steven, Welcome To My Nightmare, The Black Widow

Soundtrack: Sinister - Christopher Young

There are better horror soundtracks than Sinister's. That's out of question. But, I've had a hard time trying to find one that is more frightening. This set of songs seems like something out of a gruesome nightmare and, without trying to be pretentious, I can assure you that it is even more important than the movie itself.

The movie without the soundtrack is barely more than just a regular Goosebumps episode. The soundtrack without the movie is still one of the scariest experiences you can go through.

Highlights: BBQ '79 (Silence Teaches You How), Pool Party '66 (A Body Of Water), Family Hangin' Out '11

Link for the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4hljsftdhISxCTTCBKsjGynbNceH_gaF

Album: Evil Sound Screamers - Acid Witch

If 80's horror cinema had a metal soundtrack, it would be Evil Sound Screamers. Acid Witch is known for their virtuosity and for being more Doom metal than anything else. Yet, this album here is extremely accessible even for non-metal listeners.

However, do not let that fool you; you can expect the usual galloping and heavy riffs, the grunting vocals and the shadowy atmosphere. But be prepared to have fun with amusing skits, sound effects thrown here and there, and, of course, a cool horror imagery as well.

Highlights: Mutilation Mansion, Cheap Gore, Nightmare In A Damaged Brain

Soundtrack: Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Mikko Termia

Amnesia: The Dark Descent has to be the scariest game of all time (If I ever create a list for that matter this title will top the list), and an underrated aspect of this masterpiece is its spine-chilling soundtrack.

During my first playthrough I had a really bad time, and a very disconcerting feature within this game was feeling unsafe even during the parts when I knew there was safety (even Menu Theme is scary). While playing this game after your first playthrough, you start noticing and realizing the ominous presence and impact the music has. This score plays a primal role in making you feel hopeless, overwhelmed and stalked in a world where you get nothing but that.

Highlights: Darkness, Suitor Attacks, Grunt's Appearance

Honorable mentions:

Silent Hill 2 OST-Akira Yamaoka

Hell Awaits-Slayer

Dead Space OST-Jason Graves

Halloween-John Carpenter

Halloween III: Season of the Witch-John Carpenter & Alan Howarth

The Thing- Ennio Morricone

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