The original article was published for Bloody-Digusting.com on April 9, 2020.
Blood, Satan, the occult, fighting off zombies, social chaos, violence, death— on the surface, these descriptors sound like your average indicators of our favorite horror movies, however, they’re just as representative of horror’s musical cousin equivalent: heavy metal. Just like metal horns and concerts pair so perfectly, these misfit subgenres have been tied together for decades— even coming together as one in the form of “metalsploitation,” (yep, a real term) in which heavy metal music is exploited, satirized, and, most importantly, portrayed lovingly within its own, unique variety of horror films. In honor of the latest heavy metal-horror movie to join the subgenre’s slate, the Alexandra Daddario-starring We Summon the Darkness that’s arriving on VOD this week, we’re looking at each decade of heavy metal’s progression and relationship to the horror genre.