Mix Tape of the Day: April 25, 2015 - Songs for Cthulhu

Well, after attending CthulhuCon, I felt it was only fitting to gather up as many songs related to Lovecraft's Mythos as I could.  Unfortunately, many of them were death metal songs and I just don't find death metal enjoyable to listen to.  Fortunately, there were some enjoyable gems waiting to be unearthed.

1. Necronomicon - Nox Arcana (2004) This mix is going to be a little different as some of these entries will actually be full albums.  A lot of metal bands have done Cthulhu Mythos concept albums, but I was a fan of the atmospheric Nox Arcana take on the stories.  It felt truer to the horror nature of the originals.  It seems to be a complete Lovecraft experience set to music.

2. Cacophony - Rudimentary Peni (1988) However, if you want more weirdness in your Lovecraft album, here's a punk rock version of Cthulhu.

3. A Very Scary Solstice - H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (2003) But what I like most about the Cthulhu fandom is that they won't shy away from humor.  There are so many Cthulhu parodies out there and there exist two Christmas albums where the lyrics have all been replaced by Mythos related death and destruction.  It's super cheesy, which makes me happy.

4. Cthulhu - Iced Earth (2014) This is what your traditional Cthulhu song is going to sound like, only with more screaming.  I felt I had to include one song like this on this mix.

5. The Call of Ktulu - Metallica (1984) And of course I had to include a Metallica Cthulhu song.  I went with their first one, an instrumental piece which avoids a lot that I dislike about metal music.

6. Last Exit for the Lost - Fields of the Nephilim (1988) After this point, the songs get a lot quicker.  But I do so like that slow build to epicness that this one provides.

7. Kutulu! - The Vision Bleak (2005) Everyone spells Cthulhu differently, you'll notice.

8. C'thlu Thlu - Caravan (1973) Before the '80s, there weren't many Cthulhu songs.  This is what they sounded like before metal.

9. We Are the Gothic Archies - The Gothic Archies (2006) While this song only briefly alludes to the Mythos, I was just excited to find a concept album based on A Series of Unfortunate Events.  I'll probably be revisiting this full album later.

10. The Old Gods Return - Blue Oyster Cult (2001) I honestly didn't think I'd see Blue Oyster Cult again on this blog but here they are again!

11. The White Ship - H.P. Lovecraft (1967) Surprisingly, the earliest music I found that was associated with Lovecraft was a band in the '60s that borrowed his name.  It would have been interesting had all Lovecraft music followed this genre.

12. Margate Fhgtan - The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing (2012) This steampunk band plays with the conventions of a Cthulhu song by starting with a simple folk-song that is interrupted by the appearance of the Old One.

13. My Neighbor Cthulhu - South Park (2010) It's not available on a soundtrack, but when the Cthulhu Mythos came to South Park, it played with the idea of two magnificently evil creatures (Cthulhu and Cartman) bonding, a la My Neighbor Totoro.