With Halloween around the corner and October often seen as the unofficial month for celebrating rock music, the season naturally brings to mind scary movies, eerie TV shows, and ghost stories.
Yet, beyond film and fiction, one art form has long carried its own share of darkness, music.
Some rock bands, in particular, have shocked audiences with unsettling performances and disturbing antics, blurring the line between art and the macabre, and leaving many to wonder whether their power comes from pure theatrics or something far darker.
Rockbitch
They were a British metal band that performed nude and incorporated sexual acts and pagan rituals into their performances. Their performances were never censored, and they made the whole experience as real as it could be.
During their performances, they would project art videos of female genital mutilation, eating disorders, body dysmorphia and menstruation taboos.
As if that was not enough, they also added in an occasional pagan ritual, just to spice things up further.
Sometimes they would toss a condom to the crowd and whoever caught it (male or female) was taken backstage for sexual acts with band members.
NME
This pioneering punk-metal band from Seattle was one of the first “extreme metal” bands in the US, and not just because of their music.
Frontman Kurt Struebing was convicted of murder in 1986 when he chopped his own mother into pieces with a hatchet. When he was released, he got the band back together. He committed suicide in 2005.
Murder Junkies
The Murder Junkies band is known for its lewd lyrics about drugs, rape and serial killers. Dino, the group’s drummer, is famous for drumming naked.
GG Allin was the most notorious and controversial member of the group. He regularly stripped naked on stage to defecate, and he would then fling his faeces into the audience.
Later on, GG planned to commit suicide during one of his shows. On the day of his death, he was midway through a show when the power was cut.
Covered in faeces and blood, he trashed the venue and left for a friend’s house, where he died of a heroin overdose. Before his death, he ordered that he should be buried unwashed, with the blood and faeces on his body.
Mayhem
Mayhem is a black metal band from Norway. The group used to be notorious and controversial during its early days.
Their shows were full of violence, thanks to their lewd lyrics in support of drugs, suicide and Satan.
In 1991, the singer, Per “Dead” Ohlin committed suicide. Guitarist Oystein “Euronymous” Aarseth, who had started the band, found Dead’s corpse. He did not call the police right away but proceeded to take part of Dead’s brain and skull, which he sent to several other metal musicians.
There are also reports that Euronymous put part of Dead’s brain in his stew and made a necklace with parts of the skull.
This has never been confirmed since Euronymous was stabbed to death by a former bandmate in 1993. The killer, Varg Vikernes, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder and the burning of several churches.
Electric Eels
The Electric Eels were a proto-punk music band that was formed and disbanded in the 1970s. The band lasted for three years before it broke up in 1976.
During that time, they never released a single album and only managed five shows, which often ended prematurely because club owners sent them packing mid-performance. The reason was that the band’s guitarist, John Morton, was fond of fighting with the audience and other band members while on stage.
Besides fighting the audience, the Electric eels are also known for going onstage with chainsaws and lawnmowers, which they used to amplify their sound.
Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza
These were a hardcore metal band from Philadelphia. Although never gaining an impressive amount of popularity, Bad Luck 13 (as they are commonly nicknamed) was notorious for their live shows.
The 13-member band had the most absurd, brutal, and dangerous stage shows in history. They were known for beating themselves and their audiences to a pulp.
Their brawls were known for going out of hand a couple of times and they incorporated the use of fireworks, smoke bombs and use of sawblades.
They once smashed a huge jar of live bees to the crowd and threw rotting livestock carcasses into the crowd.