When Sean Keller first shared on Twitter that he was working on a follow up to his 2019 original Halloween mixtape “The Killer Sounds of Halloween,” I was both elated and wary. “The Killer Sounds of Halloween” was a quick personal favorite, for both concept and execution, and while I welcomed more original Halloween music, could he pull it off twice?
“Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween” drops today, and with it comes 19 new Halloween-themed tracks from an all-new group of fictitious bands. For this sophomore effort, Keller again tapped the talents of Jesse Merlin and Graham Skipper from “Re-Animator: The Musical” and his “Slashed! The Musical” castmates Mary O’Neil and Fayna Sanchez, along with A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Amanda Wyss. But the guest appearances don’t end there; Keller tapped into the vocal talents of other Hollywood cohorts Liesel Hanson, Elissa Wagner, Ryan Wilkins, Graham Denman, and Matthew Currie Holmes, with Michael Varrati, Chelsea Stardust, and Katy Davis providing voice work on some of the albums non-musical tracks.
Like the first album, “Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween,” mixes genres and styles to make the album feel like an authentic mixtape or Halloween music compilation. Peppered with fictitious Halloween ads for places like Wishbone Willy’s, Keller Family Farms Haunted Hayride, and Zombina’s Boneyard, the album brings a sense of nostalgia even though you’ve never heard any of it.
With his second effort, Keller proves his Halloween mixtape formula will likely work for years to come (which is good considering he is already working on a third). While there are no bad songs on the album, there are definitely some standout tracks in the mix. The Depeche Mode meets Siouxsie and the Banshees track “Never Be Your Bride,” the Ozzy-Esque “Undead,” “My Evil Eye,” which Keller describes as if Nancy from The Craft sang for a Concrete Blonde-style band, and my personal favorite off the album “You Won’t See Me.” Inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and with vocals that remind me a lot of early 80s David Bowie, the song is sure to get you moving this Halloween season.
Keller captured the essence of “The Killer Sounds of Halloween” in his latest effort while expanding its potential with the addition of new talent. My only complaint about “Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween” is that the latter part of the album can feel like it hits a bit of a lull. The collection of stylistically similar songs that round out the album with a spoken word track “The Banshee’s Wail” and the acoustic ballad “Renfield’s Lament” sandwiched between took me out of the experience a bit on subsequent listens.
If you were a fan of “The Killer Sounds of Halloween” or just a fan of Halloween music in general, you’re definitely going to want to pick this up and add it to your Halloween music collection. You can pick up “Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween” for the devilishly low price of $6.66 on Bandcamp starting today.
Also, be sure to check out my Instagram Live interview with Keller, where he talks about the making of the second album and performs stripped-down versions of the “Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween” track “Cannibal Stomp” and “The Killer Sounds of Halloween” closing track “Don’t Forget My Ghost.”
*I was provided a free advanced digital copy of “Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween” by Sean Keller for this review.
