As the logo tells you, Halloween is a theatrical horror metal band. They started out in 1984, and are still active to this day. Hailing from Detroit, MI, they enjoy cult status, and are a part of the US metal scene.

DON'T METAL WITH EVIL (1984, 1998) MOTOR CITY METAL

There were a lot of metal bands in the US that escaped me during the 80's. Detroit's horror metal band, Halloween, were one of those bands. Mind you, I was always aware of the band, as I was with all the other bands named after this holiday. I just never got around to hear any of their albums. So now, with internet being the new marketplace, and places like MySpace making it easier to look up such obscure bands, I finally got to order some of their CD's. 'Don't Metal With Evil' was the first one to enter my player. At first I thought this was sub par, both production wise, and in musical delivery. But upon repeated listens I got to change my mind quite a bit. You see the kind of music this band play was never meant to sound pristine and over produced. This is molten metal, raw and untamed. Brian Thomas' falsetto voice has got plenty more charm that any real vocal know-how. To top it all of, this band has some of the cheesiest lyrics ever. Mostly every song is about Halloween, or any other horror-related stuff. This all ads up to a package that more then makes this metal heart pound faster! This was the original power metal, and it has a lot more staying power than most of the new stuff out there in this new millennium! "What A Nice Place" is a killer cover of a Salty Dog song (Originally entitled "Nice Place"). I own a remixed and remastered reissue of this cult classic.

Killer tracks: Scared To Death, Trick Or Treat, The Wicked Witch, What A Nice Place, Haunted, Tales From The Crypt

NO ONE GETS OUT! (1991, 2001) MOLTEN METAL USA

It seems that Halloween never got a real break back in the 80's. And even though a live album, and 2 demos were recorded in between, this their sophomore album wasn't released until 1991. With an all new line-up, Brian Thomas continues to deliver some stellar underground power metal! The album starts with the speedy title track, with Brian's falsetto screams sounding like it was still 1986! "If I Die You Die" continues, and this is a mid-paced classic! But there are not only speedy numbers here. There are also plenty of mid-paced power metal delight, and even some ballads. So the album has a great balance and variety. I don't find 'No One Gets Out!' to be quite as horror influenced as it predecessor. But there is still this ever-present creepy feeling through this album as well. "Detroit Rock City" is of course a cover of the Kiss classic. I can certainly see the appeal of this song, seeing that Halloween are from Detroit and all. But it sticks out as a turd in the punchbowl on this album.

I own the 2001 reissue of this album, released on Molten Metal USA. It came with 5 bonus tracks, all from the 1990 'Vicious Demo'. This was recorded with a different line-up, and might be the bands most vicious effort (pun intended). These 5 songs sounds like something Savatage would write during their 'Sirens'/'Dungeons Are Calling' era! This is pure American power metal supreme. I cannot believe that this band is forever banished to the obscurity of the metal underground. They deserve so much better. If you like your metal real, and without any commercial tinges at all, Halloween is the band for you.

I've included both the original artwork for the album, as well as the cover art from the demo.

Killer tracks: No One Gets Out, If I Die You Die!, 7 Years, Kings, Vicious Lies, Black Skies