There’s no denying the world has a profound fascination with serial killers and the world of metal is no exception. In wake of Halloween and the celebration of all things spooky, we’ve created a list of killer metal tracks inspired by some of history’s most notorious serial killers.
Judas Priest – The Ripper
Jack The Ripper, England
Apparently 1888 was the wrong year to be a prostitute. In the grimy streets of Whitechapel, five ladies of the night were found with their throats cut and abdominals carefully mutilated at the hands of Jack the Ripper. One of the longer standing unsolved murder cases, recent evidence suggests that Jack, might in fact have been Jill, a crazed midwife who had the anatomical knowledge to commit such crimes.
Ghost – Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bathory, Hungary
Fondly known as the ‘Blood Countess’, Elizabeth Bathory was the real live Dracula of the 16th century. It’s definitely no Twilight tale, this ‘vampire’ was labelled as the most prolific female murderer in history allegedly torturing and killing hundreds of young women between 1585 and 1610. Bathory‘s main claim to fame was bathing in the blood of virgins to retain her youth – sounds legit.
Slayer – Psychopathy Red
Andrei Chikatilo, Russia
There are not many things that could sound more frightening than a Soviet serial killer. The Red Ripper or Rostov Ripper murdered and mutilated a minimum of 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990. Apparently all the Russian vodka in the world couldn’t cover up the horrid scent that seeped through Chikatilo’s pores due to his mass consumption of human flesh.
The Black Dahlia Murder – Control
Jeffrey Dahmer , USA
The Milwaukee Cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer raped, murdered and dismembered seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991. His charges included necrophilia, cannibalism and the permanent preservation of body parts. In his quest for complete control over others, he attempted to create ‘zombie sex slaves’ by drilling holes in his victim’s foreheads and injecting hydrochloric acid into the frontal lobe of their brains.
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Three for Flinching (Revenge of the Porno Clowns)
John Wayne Gacy Junior, USA
John ‘Killer Clown’ Wayne Gacy sexually assaulted and murdered on record thirty-three boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. He devised the character ‘Pogo the Clown’ and would attend fundraisers and children’s parties dressed in a full clown costume. Because clowns weren’t creepy enough already.
Exodus – The Ballad of Leonard and Charles
Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, USA
Sometime before Youtube, Vlogging and Internet porn, Leonard Lake and Charles Ng created a series of disturbing videos documenting the rape and murder of up to twenty-five victims, mostly women and families. When Leonard Lake was arrested and placed into police custody, he swallowed a cyanide pill he had sewn into his jacket.
Suffocation – Bind Torture Kill
Dennis Rader, USA
The BTK Killer (Bind, Torture, Kill) killed ten people then sent disturbing letters to the police and media describing each act. Bearing an unsettling resemblance to former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, minus the eyebrows, we can somewhat understand the rage Rader might have felt.
Celtic Frost – Into the Crypts of Rays
Gilles de Rais, France
Gilles de Rais was one of the most infamous sexual criminals in history, before this he was a devout Christian and the lover and protector of Joan of Arc. Joan’s burning at the stake caused Rais to renounce God and take a casual turn from Christianity to Satanism. He was later charged with the rape, mutilation, and murder of more than 150 children. Because of his high power in the court he was granted the mercy of being strangled before being burned – thank God for that!
Mudvayne – Nothing to Gein
Ed Gein, USA
Not your everyday fresh food person, Ed Gein was a simple farmer who inspired the creation of Norman Bates (Psycho), Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs) and Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Guilty of a few Mummy issues, when his own mother passed Gein turned to necrophilia, human taxidermy and robbing graves - keeping body parts as trophies.
System of a Down – ATWA
Charles Manson, USA
A definite favourite among heavy musicians and a musician himself, Charles Manson still remains the most fascinating criminal mind in history. ATWA (an acronym for Air, Trees, Water, Animals and All The Ways Alive) is Charles Manson’s theory of the forces of life that hold the balance of the earth – very sixties. Charles Manson and a group of young, attractive girls formed the infamously sex-crazed hippy cult ‘The Manson Family’. It sounds all well and good until Manson ordered the girls to kill seven people, most famously actress Sharon Tate. Never actually committing murder himself, Manson spends his days in prison responding to thousands of fans who write to him each year and is due to be married to a twenty-seven year old woman named Star. Sounds like he’s living out his rockstar dream after all.
