‘The City of the Dead’ (1960) – A film with a surprising punk and metal legacy

Released in 1960 and starring Christoper Lee, “The City of the Dead” is a sleepy little horror film with a surprising history in punk and metal music.

City of the Dead isn’t a bad movie. In fact, most older movies about burning witches and Satanism have something going for them. They tell us something about the past. Because they look old, black and white movies are easier to consider “classic,” even if they’re not so great. They seem more like historical documents — things that shouldn’t get lost with time.

All this seems to be true of The City of the Dead. It has that classic movie feel, which people either love or hate. It’s not very fast paced. Despite its energetic intro, the film quickly starts to slow down and become dreamlike (well, kind of anyway).

Sure, it is a bit clunky, but it has some elegant aspects, too, and not just because of Christopher Lee. Certain names for places add to the “old school horror” vibe, making things more memorable. Examples? The creepy town that the characters visit is called Whitewood, and their hotel is The Raven’s Inn. Classic horror stuff! Add some consistent rolling fog, strange characters and events, and an evil cult and you really have something.

Interestingly enough, certain metal and punk bands have seen this something, and wanted pieces of it for themselves. It doesn’t hurt that the movie is in public domain (at least right now). Let’s look at what they’ve done!

Iron Maiden’s “Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter”

As anyone can see, The City of the Dead figures quite prominently in this Iron Maiden music video. That being said, it almost seems out of place paired with the song and the concert footage. Frankly, this music video wasn’t bound to win any awards.

Interestingly, this song has obvious ties to another horror film: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Apparently it was written and recorded for that film, and appears on the soundtrack. Curious then that they didn’t include Freddy footage in the video, and instead opted for a relatively obscure film about witches (although, of course, The City of the Dead does involve human sacrifice themes).

Also, as silly as it sounds now, the BBC actually banned the song on Radio 1 — being a bunch of absolute wusses, concerned over “video nasties” and anything even vaguely hinting at violence in media.

King Diamond’s “Sleepless Nights”

King Diamond also ventured into The City of the Dead. Be warned: King Diamond features some high-pitched vocals. It will not be everybody’s style, but that’s just how they roll!

UFX’s “Bitch”

Although UFX is apaprently a “punk” band, they definitely have a punk-meets-metal sound. Either way, the lyrics to the song definitely match the video — perhaps better than the previous two videos. This may be the best example of The City of the Dead images working in a music vid.

Rob Zombie’s “Dragula”

Rob Zombie used a sample of Christopher Lee for his track “Dragula,” which includes lines about witches and ditches and whatnot. This is a track many have heard, as RZ is one of the front-runners of modern horror metal, and a famous horror movie director himself.

There’s a very good chance you’ve heard this on a modern rock radio station. Also, this is definitely one of the better examples on the list from a purely musical standpoint — although the City of the Dead sample is fairly brief.

Misfits’ “Horror Hotel”

This song is said to be inspired by The City of the Dead, which is also called Horror Hotel. While the lyrics don’t seem that connected, it sort of doesn’t matter. It’s a nice, catchy little punk song. So what if Christopher Lee’s not popping up anywhere in it? Just crank it up and go about your day.

In This Moment’s “The Witching Hour”

In This Moment’s “The Witching Hour” uses sampled lines by Christopher Lee’s character. If you’re into poppy sounding industrial metal, you’ll probably dig this track.  Seriously, it’s almost more of a straightforward pop sound than industrial or metal.  Nevertheless, it still counts!

Well, those are all the musical homages to The City of the Dead we could find. Did we miss any? Also, are there any other horror and music crossovers you’d like us to discuss? Let us know in the comments!