Halloween is almost upon us, which of course means endless renditions of ‘The Monster Mash’, ‘Thriller’ and the theme from Ghostbusters. If you’re yearning for something a little more subtly spooky, a slow-building sense of creeping dread rather than a quick jump scare, might we point you in the direction of Dice Machine’s new single ‘Cerberus Is Waiting’, in which the hound at the gates of Hades is licking its three sets of lips in anticipation of your arrival, to the sound of ghostly wailing guitars, spine-chilling synths and a bassline that impels you to keep on stepping forward, despite knowing the terrors that lie ahead.
Continuing the theme of Hellenic horror, Drew Five (also of Joyzine faves Feral Five), one half of the duo alongside fashion photographer and guitarist Michael Daks, looks into the influence of Greek Mythology on modern music and picks out ten tracks for your Halloween playlist.
When we wrote ‘Cerberus’, a song quite literally about the guardian of the gates of hell, we didn’t realise that we were descending into an new/ancient musical tradition of Hellenic horror or more specifically, songs influenced by the darker side of Greek mythology. So what better time of year to ask the Muses, consult the Oracle and voyage further?
Before descending (or ascending if you will), we must decide what are we looking for in a mythically influenced Halloween playlist devoid of the usual crop of spooky pop tunes, the likes of ‘The Monster Mash’, ‘Fire’, ‘Bat Out Of Hell’, etc etc. If you want thrills, spills and chills turned all the way up to eleven, then of course heavy rock fits the bill. But if you’re looking for something with themes of ancient Hellas, dig deeper into that sonic underworld to uncover tracks and albums dedicated to the best (and worst) of the gods’ whims.
Any streaming oracle when searched for tracks named after Greek gods and myths and you get a wide range of styles emerge. Take a popular track name like ‘Persephone’, reluctant queen of the underworld. The bands are many, but examples of two with songs named after her show the contrasting styles. Compare the 2025 symphonic metal workings by Portuguese band Living Tales, to the Cocteau Twins offering of the same name and the difference is palpable but otherworldly none-the-less. Whilst Living Tales themes and styles clearly create an obvious connection when combining gods, monsters, mortal and metal – a sonic recipe worthy of the darker side of our modern take on Halloween, the Cocteau Twins does not conjure the same horrific scene. They do however, offer us an alluring otherworldly vision, beckoning us into the underworld; sounds that would not be out of place in our pantheon of myth-inspired tracks for Halloween.
Persephone was a victim of Hades, but in Euridice’s case we discover a victim of a snake bite (not the drink favoured by rockers), sent to the underworld for eternity. Her hopeful saviour was Orpheus, aptly placed as a musician, poet and prophet, to understand what the journey would both entail and where it would lead. His horrific travails are a tale of woe worthy of a Hellenic themed Halloween – don’t look back! And yet listen to David Sylvian’s ‘Orpheus’ and you can’t help but hear a calmer melancholy, an underworld away from themes of Halloween.
For a more majestic sweep, Anais Mitchell’s broadway smash ‘Hadestown’ started life as community folk opera which led to a prog folk album of the same name. It tells the story of the underworld as if Hades was a 1920s industrialist and blends the myths of Persephone and Euridice. The album immortalising Anais’ immortal and staggering feat, features a string of respected players including Justin Veron, Ani DiFranco and Greg Brown to name but three.
Another artist bringing Greek-myth-inspired lyrical horrors befitting of Halloween is Lillith Max. Her 3-minute epic ‘Circe’ rages against the powerful with a vocal range of which Kate Bush herself might approve: “No cuts and no kill can still my lips / I will never be carried across the Styx”.
For another epic polemic in compressed form, Peggy’s brilliant ‘Feminine Rage’ from her 2024 Dear Reader EP, namechecks Circe, Persephone, Hades and Medusa in one fell swoop. It questions the patriarchal power structures that still exist: “Persephone was forced to go to live with Hades down below / And in the end it’s her who took the blame”. We learn in short order how Medusa was “cursed to a life of taming snakes with her hair”. And if dark pop is your thing, look no further than Kailee Morgue’s eerie ‘Medusa’ and prepare to be sonically smitten and proverbially bitten by a battle with internal demons. Don’t forget Florence and the Machine’s ‘Cassandra’, which reminds us of the horrific disaster that befalls us when those best qualified to guide us are silenced.
Sometimes we might encounter these gods and monsters in the most unlikely of places, which brings this Hellenic Halloween even closer home. Listening to Aurora’s magical, mystical and sonorous declarations on ‘Artemis’ from her 2022 album The Gods We Can Touch, one might almost be sitting in a quiet French cafe when the unexpected happens. Such thoughts of mythological apparitions on the streets of an imaged and yet somehow familiar town make the impending emergence of gods and monsters all more the more unsettling. Isn’t the uncannily familiar part of the recipe for the success of Stranger Things? Sometimes monsters creep into the world without us noticing when it all started. To avoid these horrors, humans are constantly searching for ways to navigate this tumultuous world; a world that can sometimes seem like hell. The battle against the powers that render us all powerless can make us feel like we’ve been here before.
After only scratching the surface so to speak, we can reveal the even deeper influence of Greek myths on musical culture. It may or may not be reassuring to find that this has all happened before, but along the way we can find many musical companions. So to lift your spirits and bring on the All Hallow’s Evening mythical musings, allow me to present my personal favourites.
Hellenic Mythos – Drew’s Haunting Halloween Playlist
Cocteau Twins: ‘Persephone’ from Treasure
David Sylvian: ‘Orpheus’ from Secrets Of The Beehive
Aurora: ‘Artemis’ from The Gods We Can Touch
Kailee Morgue: ‘Medusa’ from Medusa EP
Living Tales: ‘Persephone’ from Hades
Peggy: ‘Feminine Rage’ from Dear Reader EP
Ash: ‘Orpheus’ from Meltdown
Anais Mitchell: ‘Road To Hell’ from Hadestown
Florence and The Machine: ‘Cassandra’ from Dance Fever
Lilleth Max: ‘Circe’ (single)
Drew Five is a composer, producer and researcher known for his Feral Five MPG-longlisted album Truth Is The New Gold. He also makes music with fashion photographer and guitarist Michael Daks under the name Dice Machine. Drew’s solo work features on the BBC’s The Sleeping Forecast available on BBC Sounds. He is also a guest curator for Resonance FM’s Sound & Music show.
‘Cerberus Is Waiting’ will be released on 31st October.
Dice Machine: Instagram / Facebook
Drew Five: Website
Introduction by Paul Maps
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