recommend me menacing music

i'm not explaining this well, but what i want are songs that are intense and dark but not cartoonishly so (like, perhaps, big black). not fastest or hardest but . . . menacing.

examples:
junior kimbrough
drive like jehu
massive attack a la 'angel'
certain nick cave songs that aren't too over the top
pj harvey 'rub it til it bleeds' 'long snake moan'
stones 'gimme shelter' 'sympathy' at altamont
maybe 'when the levee breaks'
'can i get a . . .' minus ja rule's verse
muddy waters 'mannish boy'

The Wipers 'Over The Edge'

The only place I've heard this kind-of hip hop is blasting from these cars that drive down streets really slowly at night in Brooklyn just blasting this weird kind-of hip-hop. It's dark and slow-mid-tempo and kinda spooky, and talking about death and darkness and other night kinda shit. What is this?

― burt_stanton, Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:29 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

one just went by. "grim reapah!" burbbhrbhbbhbburbbb. and sometimes like there's this kinda reggae dub sorta beat

― burt_stanton, Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:30 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i wonder if burt_stanton watches live streams of music festivals on the internet

Clifton Chenier 'Black Snake Blues'
Wall of Voodoo 'Back in Flesh'
Jim White 'Static on the Radio'
Beasts of Bourbon 'The Hate Inside'

a few offhand trax - I tried to avoid more obvious things like metal, noise, industrial &, in general, overtly atonal/minor-key/*spooky* things & attempted, rather, to think of songs which I found darkly unnerving for subtler reasons.

crooked fingers - bad man coming
the icarus line - seasick
angelo badalamenti - the pink room
boards of canada - the devil is in the details
low - the lamb
fever ray - concrete walls
yo la tengo - flying lesson (hot chicken #1)
gorky's zygotic mynci - dark night
breeders - happiness is a warm gun

Got a playlist of sinister-sounding tracks, but ipod is borked so can only recall a few offhand.

Two Lone Swordsmen, Glenn Street Assault Squad
Coil, Dark River (Thread remix, maybe)
Lambchop, The Petrified Florist

Stina Nordenstam - Mary Bell

and why not

Stina Nordenstam - This Time, John

Was going to recommend Massive Attack's Angel. Always thought the whole Mezzanine album had a really dark atmosphere. It's been years since I last heard it thou, might be tamer than I remember.

Mmm a tad overplayed by now but Ok Computer has some unnerving songs. I remember listening to it for the first time at night and the sequence from fitter happier into climbing up the walls made me reach for the lights.

Also Aphex Twin. Some of his songs might fall into the cartoon-ish side (eg "come to daddy") but he does know how to make some menacing music.

I think I might have a list of this sort of thing at home.
Just remembered another one:

Tom Waits - What's he building?

The lyrics are fucked up and the delivery and mood of the whole thing is unsettling.

the entire "darkstep" genre

Ben Frost – By The Throat

the majority of Bardo Pond's discography. Ticket Crystals has a lot of nice, dark droney vibes.

I have no idea what you find cartoonish, but if you want an epic death march, you could do worse than this (make sure to listen past 2:35)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAGoWH_FX-o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z-6e3zIE2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-V2D2mQJEs&feature=artist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4LQSiSXsMw

basically all of mid to late 90s techstep D&B

autechre's "incabula" features like almost non-stop "bad-boy entrance music". which is more outwardly menacing than inwardly (are you trying to scare yourself?) but whatever.

Panacea - "I'm Losing U"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww1Fma7wPpo

(this might eventually violate your tempo rule)

Ministry - "The Angel"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEZ41hfDc_M

Skinny Puppy - The Choke

Sinead O'Connor - "Troy"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-zHwkPnr3c

Siouxsie & the Banshees - "Night Shift"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpzwVJHZxdU&feature=fvst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_9sUECjX_w

lol @ my terrible formatting

xpost

I always thought "Where's Jack the Ripper" was the most menacing of d&b songs. You can't beat those eerie electronic creaks, groans, wails that permeate the track.

Tom Waits - What's he building?

The lyrics are fucked up and the delivery and mood of the whole thing is unsettling.

― Moka, maandag 18 april 2011 11:08 (6 hours ago) Bookmark

Maybe it's just me, having heard it too often, but for me personally this is in the 'cartoonish' category. It makes me snicker and smile (esp. "I'll tell you one thing, He's not building a playhouse for the children" and "enough formaldehyde to choke a horse", it's delivered so coyly). I kinda wish it *was* unsettling, but it's not.

Panacea's Low Profile Darkness melted my face in 1998 and continues to do so

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - "Universal Blackness"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Hk9hSGZqk

Shriekback - "The Only Thing That Shines"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqy7SnE-i1c

(lol this entire thread topic is basically "DJP pillages his record collection)

GOD - "Fucked"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf5k8co1Bos

Doubting Thomas - "Father Don't Cry"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJEdx4TAv10

Severed Heads - "Legion"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEYs6UGwwGg

In the same vein as Panacea, search Heinrich At Hart's nihilistic, dystopian drum 'n bass/jungle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtyj-81mUcY

Troy by Sinead hmm..."menacing"? Meh.

Amon Tobin - 'People Like Frank'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8SDfOdfAvs

File under "excessive use of creepy samples:
Skinny Puppy - 'Rivers'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOlsp2kSSI

More creepy:
Psychic Tv - 'Unclean'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBzR0iIzMNU

Satanism may be crossing the line into farce but this song remains one of my favorites by Ministry - 'Golden Dawn'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnBs_hdK_c
You have been found guilty of commerce with the devil.

i saw Panacea DJ one time. he looks exactly like you imagine.

Satanism may be crossing the line into farce

lol I already mentioned TKK

Tom Waits - What's he building?

The lyrics are fucked up and the delivery and mood of the whole thing is unsettling.

― Moka, maandag 18 april 2011 11:08 (6 hours ago) Bookmark

Maybe it's just me, having heard it too often, but for me personally this is in the 'cartoonish' category. It makes me snicker and smile (esp. "I'll tell you one thing, He's not building a playhouse for the children" and "enough formaldehyde to choke a horse", it's delivered so coyly). I kinda wish it *was* unsettling, but it's not.

― Future Debts Collector (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, April 18, 2011 10:34 AM (16 minutes ago)

agreed -- this is pretty much where I got off the Tom Waits bus

I missed that Thrill Kill Kult song before sorry.

Einstürzende Neubauten - 'Fiat Lux'
Menacing starts around 4:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Up3ikwsY0I

Evil Nine - 'Devil Stuff'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4AZG2cXCGU
Yeah, I think that's farce.

Art of Noise - 'Instruments of Darkness' (FOR REAL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piQq7Xq2v7o

I'll stop now.

Suicide: "Frankie Teardrop"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5wJQkvSoOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPrTUC7BDn4

The latest Psychic Paramount is pretty menacing.

Meat Beat Manifesto - "She's Unreal"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGwDaUPwPtU

Renegade Soundwave - "Murder Music"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXzr4LVIHkE

Bauhaus - "Swing The Heartache"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_IMJMldp8s

Systema the Affliction - "Shouldn't Have Done That" (Depeche Mode cover)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va72-GnZaH0

Front 242 - "Moldavia"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4lpEm_Vja0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_idNE-oZBZA

I think this might fit, it's certainly dark and intense, hopefully not cartoonish? It's more like you are going to die yes it's tragic and there is a steel factory crumbling all over you so you can only watch in awe etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4u2jfppQ14

the john halvorsen side of bailter space 'we know', 'projects', 'ad man', 'control', etc...actually i am not sure these are all halvorsen songs but i always just assume that he does the menacing ones and alister parker the more atmospheric ones.

http://youtu.be/WkKhN8AYk8s

The Terminals had a few songs that would qualify as menacing, really, "Black Creek," "That Thing Upstairs Is Not My Mother," "Basket Case"...

i saw Panacea DJ one time. he looks exactly like you imagine.

Was this back when he was chubby?

Aw man fuck a youtube. WTF.

I reckon "Antonin Artaud" by Bauhaus mightb e more menacing than "Swing the Heartache". But come to think of it all of "burning from the inside" is pretty fucked up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCzSeeiAFqQ

throbbing gristle!! throbbing gristle!

/endthread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Vxi8CfA-4

repeating myself, but was listening to this just the other moment and it's just so totally the soundtrack for impending doom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eplM1QfyMsw

The Butthole Surfers 'Mark Says Alright' (or is it OK?)

Joy Division 'The Atrocity Exhibition'

Nitzer Ebb 'Getting Closer'

Aphex Twin 'Gwely Mernens'

I had mentally nixed all of my Nitzer Ebb suggestions for violating the "too cartoony" rule

Bohren & der Club of Gore

Dragged Into Sunlight 'Totem Of Skulls'

good call on the Buttholes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfEZOHCWuQQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7jy6e4HSb4

Was gonna post 22 Going on 23. Bummed a few people out by telling them I had a special song for their 23rd birthday (and then playing it of course). Got over that phase of my life quickly.

Many Wire tracks featuring Graham Lewis have a bit of latter day Scott Walker menace, this one in particular:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJp4wuDcZe4

For me, I don't think anything tops Dead Can Dance - The Protagonist. Feels like some massive army of the scariest things imaginable, marching slowly toward you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7A6Tqr8kK8&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoSbrTwA4ps

Fleetwood Mac - Green Manalishi. The most terrifying song I know and this clip only makes it worse.

glad someone mentioned Badalamenti's "The Pink Room."

Low- Do You Know How To Waltz?
Gang Gang Dance- Revival of the Shittest B1
A Broken Consort- The Shape Leaves (entire album)

and finally, stanning for my friends Buddy Bag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8mEqy9H8TU

most of Front 242's Tyranny for You album is menacing in a Mad Max kind of way.

oh also, great thread idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AcYsHkV6n4

Seconding the Ben Frost vote; also Third Eye Foundation's newest, 'The Dark', plus pretty much anything by Magazine

From a more earthly menance angle, I think the Stones "Memo from Turner" fits the bill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TLpvUg3a68&feature=fvwrel

Two related bands: Three Mile Pilot and The Black Heart Procession.

I don't think Nitzer Ebb make cartoony music. They used to look cartoony with their giant shorts etc but Getting Closer is insidious. Certainly compared to Ministry anyway.

Big Black 'Things To Do Today'
Ciccone Youth 'Macbeth'
Burial 'Night Bus'
Swans 'You Fucking People Make Me Sick'
Barry Adamson 'Business As Usual'
Rapeman 'Bud'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDcbpXwppU

didn't read the thread (apart from a cursory ctrl-f to see if my suggestion had been posted already), but this is the single most menacing piece of music ever imho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP0wsET8__Y

Argentinum Astrum

Prurient, Wolf Eyes, Demons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7HRIcCBw5U

Verdi - "Dies irae" from Requiem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW1Uc-grcMs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayAJ0j8QNmM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rSa8_UsBJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrvYJuDnm1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD3Y6qn_oOA

The Gutter Twins "Saturnalia" album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vB03XT5xEo

John Lee Hooker, "I'm Bad Like Jesse James":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMPKPyzlsOI