Horror Punk

Horror punk (sometimes called horror rock) is a music genre that mixes Gothic and punk rock sounds with morbid or violent imagery and lyrics, which are often influenced by horror films or science fiction B-movies. The genre is similar to and sometimes overlaps with deathrock, although deathrock leans more towards an atmospheric Gothic rock sound while horror punk leans towards a 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sound. Horrorpunk music is typically more aggressive and melodic than deathrock.

The Misfits are recognized as the progenitors of horror punk, releasing a series of singles and EPs beginning in 1977 before releasing their first full-length album Walk Among Us in 1982.

Along with The Misfits, horror punk musician Wednesday 13 has found mainstream success with his solo career and band Murderdolls. He has also played in other horror punk bands such as Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13.

Horror punk is generally apolitical in comparison to other punk rock subgenres, although some songs do refer to political events (e.g. the Misfits' "Bullet", which discusses the assassination of John F. Kennedy), and some artists like Jack Grisham (on the left) and Michale Graves (on the right) have espoused their own political views.

Musician Rob Zombie while not exactly horror punk, borrows very much from it by sharing the same influence and imagery styles as many horror punk bands such as the constant referencing of horror and Sci-fi in his songs, the dark imagery in live shows and music videos, using sound samples taken from horror and Sci-fi movies generally before the song starts and sometimes during the song among other similarities.

Horror hardcore, a term coined by Dwid Hellion, refers to a hybrid of horror punk and hardcore punk. The Misfits' 1983 album Earth A.D. inaugurated this style and the bands Septic Death, The Banner, and Integrity have also been categorized into this subgenre.