The Flop House’s Stuart Wellington Curated This Demon Rock Mixtape Just For You
On Friday, October 9 we will be celebrating the release of Deathgasm, a new horror film out of New Zealand about a pair of heavy metal wannabes who accidentally summon demons after shredding their guitars to sheet music tainted with black magic. To make it a night worthy of Satan himself, we're teaming the film with bonus 35mm screenings of The Gate and Trick or Treat for a downright blasphemy guaranteed to damn your soul and raise some hell.
The Gate is a near-perfect child in danger horror film from 1987 - an export from the wild tundra of Canada about a group of children who play a record backwards and accidentally open a gate to Hell in their backyard. This is a movie comprised of nearly wall-to-wall nightmare fuel. Trick or Treat features Marc Price as a put-upon rock geek who enlists the help of a slain heavy metal warlord - returned from the dead and in possession of all kinds of supernatural powers - to take revenge on the jocks and jerks who dared to exert their dominance over rock and roll. Combined with Deathgasm, this is a night of evil-incarnate and admission is only $10! Jesus wept, indeed!
Buy your tickets to the screening here!
To get audiences pumped, we asked Stuart Wellington, friend of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and co-host of The Flop House movie podcast, to curate the perfect "Demon Rock" mixtape. Raise your devil horns, pull out your cassette recorder and get to work assembling this perfect mix tape to get you in the spirit for raising evil spirits.
Side A:
"Trick or Treat" by Fast Way - The title track from the movie Trick or Treat is an obvious choice. A bit hard rock, a bit classic metal, and with a chorus that will be stuck in your head for days after watching Trick or Treat. The perfect anthem to sell your soul to rock and roll. (Stuart Wellington)
"A Dangerous Meeting" by Mercyful Fate - At once seductive and eerie, "A Dangerous Meeting" is one of my favorite Mercyful Fate tunes. The guitars pull you in with a slithering riff, then King Diamond sings you the story of a coven that meets a terrible end. The message is clear: be careful when you meddle with the powers of Hell. (Stuart Wellington)
"Bewitched" by Candlemass - A song about losing control of your body and soul to an infernal piper, "Bewitched" has a similar effect on the listener. When the chorus kicks in, it is almost impossible to stop your head from bobbing. Give in to the metal. (Stuart Wellington)
Side B:
"Deathgasm" by Bulletbelt - Bulletbelt's title track for the movie Deathgasm is special in many ways. For one, it is clearly an homage to the theme songs of '80s and '90s horror movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, Black Roses or Trick or Treat. It also features the director of the movie in the gang vocals of the chorus. Finally, it rips. "Deathgasm" goes right for the throat and never lets up. Meant to be played loud. (Stuart Wellington)
"Equimanthorn" by Bathory - This song is one of Bathory's classics that serves as a foundation for all black metal. It begins with the sound of something terrible approaching. Then the riffs and drums kick into high gear, all while the same ominous beat continues in the background. The song closes with the vocalist screaming to "Equimanthorn", a mysterious and terrible entity. The guitar spirals down into an abyss and the ritual is complete. (Stuart Wellington)
"Satanic Royalty" by Midnight - This song is the perfect mix of punky biker metal, and satan-worshiping black metal. It is ugly, fast and loud. The guitars squeal and the vocals snarl with a swagger that is hard to resist. I couldn't tell you what "Satanic Royalty" is about, but it rocks. (Stuart Wellington)
"Upon the Fire Winged Demon" by Inquisition - In the fevered imaginations of parents of the '80s, fully in the grips of the Satanic Panic, there was a fear that if a heavy metal record was played backwards it would cast a spell on the impressionable listener. "Upon the Fire Winged Demon" is what I would assume that backwards record would sound like. A wall of distorted guitars that lull the listener into a trance. Then the vocals come in as a monotone croak, alien and inhuman. This song is heavy, evil and oddly magical. (Stuart Wellington)
