Songs For Future SCREAM Soundtracks
My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a playlist around some theme. This week, Amber R.W. Knapp assembles 13 tracks to accompany future entries in the SCREAM franchise. Read Amber’s thoughts on each song and listen along to the Spotify and YouTube playlists below.
The SCREAM movies came to us with a prime time revitalization of revitalizing the slasher genre and took part in one of the best eras for movie soundtracks. It launched a hayday for teen horror and their soundtracks with THE CRAFT (1996), THE FACULTY (1998), and IDLE HANDS (1999), just to name a few.
The soundtrack for the first SCREAM had the perfect needle drop feature of “Youth Of America” by Birdbrain and featured covers of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” by The Last Hard Men and Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Gus Black. SCREAM 2 added in more radio-played pop rock bands like Sugar Ray and some hip-hop like Kottonmouth Kings for a good change up.
The SCREAM 3’s music was in a class all its own. Bookending with Creed and featuring the nu-metal sounds of Slipknot, Static-X, Powerman 5000, and others, the SCREAM 3 soundtrack was a textbook example of the metal horror soundtracks of the millennium. SCREAM 4 strayed from the metal and ska of soundtracks past and worked more with alternative rock bands, such as The Sounds, who are featured twice on that soundtrack.
As I was thinking of songs for this list, I was looking back on the track lists of the previous soundtracks while thinking of what modern songs could bring to the table. The embracing of the past while looking towards the future potential. What genres have been featured over the years? What songs could the fifth movie showcase in the soundtrack? What about the potential sixth movie? Hell, the seventh movie? If they keep making them then I’ll keep seeing them…and keep making these lists.
1. “Your Number’s Up” by Ice Nine Kills
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Frontman Spencer Charnas is a huge SCREAM fanboy, from speeding to an event to get Wes Craven to sign his Ghostface mask to his band hosting a weekend at Stu’s house topped off with an acoustic show in the garage as a part of Scream Comes Home.
“Your Number’s Up” was released as a secondary single behind the release of their 2018 smash horror-themed album, The Silver Scream. The lyrics are full of nods to the franchise, such as the deepcut of the address on the 911 call being “1220 Craven Lane” in reference to the December 20th release date of the original movie and its director, Wes Craven.
2. “Spiders” by Slipknot
Slipknot was one of the defining metal bands of the millennium and their song “Wait and Bleed” was featured on the SCREAM 3 soundtrack. Why not bring them back?
3. “Tomorrow’s Grave” by Sleater-Kinney
Coming out of the Riot Grrrl punk scene of the ‘90s, Sleater-Kinney maintains their distorted alternative sound to this day. Their most recent album, released in 2021, features the song “Tomorrow’s Grave”:
Before the night I saw the setting sun
One lullaby for all we should have done
As the earth went dry my heart was filled with shame
Today a home and tomorrow a grave
4. “White Bat” by He Is Legend
He Is Legend is a criminally underrated band especially among horror fans and I could go on and on about that but that’s a soapbox for a different day.
“White Bat” is a song about the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, who operated between the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and wasn’t captured until 2018. But the lyrics work for almost any serial killer/iconic slasher.
I'm the reason this got started
Devil's work dearly departed
You'll never catch me in the light
I'm why you lock your doors at night
5. “I Want To Kill You” by Citizen
There’s some songs on this list that I’ve added simply because I fell down a rabbithole on Spotify and there’s no special reason why they’re on here other than that the sound vibes with songs from past soundtracks.
This is one of those songs.
6. “Party At The Cemetery” by POORSTACY
Yup. Here we have another one that’s just a good vibe.
7. “Man Vs Magnet” The Distillers
Another product of late-’90s punk still keeping true to their roots, Brody Dalle’s voice has always had an edge that fits the toughness of our Final Girls Sidney and Gale.
Everybody knows your name
You leave a lasting impression
No one will hide, don't love your imperfections
You left to wake up in some dark dimension
8. “THE DRAKE” by cleopatrick
More straight-up vibes.
9. “Shoulders” (acoustic) by Coheed and Cambria
The acoustic version of Coheed and Cambria’s single features some of the western/bad ass country twang we usually hear in “Dewey’s Theme”. Which was taken from BROKEN ARROW (1996), but still part of SCREAM now.
10. “Scarier Than Jason Voorhees At A Campfire” by New Found Glory
Pop-punk powerhouse New Found Glory are mostly known for singing about love, loss, and the love they have for their friends. “Scarier Than Jason Voorhees At A Campfire” uses horror movies as a metaphor for how scary it can be to open yourself up and fall in love again. It’s a song that the Randy or the Charlie or the Robbie of the movie would put on a playlist for the girl they like.
I can feel you scoot closer, my blood pressure is up
So I change another channel and I stop on FRIDAY THE 13TH
You cover up your eyes with your hair
You say it gives you nightmares
11. “Let’s Get This Party Started” Tom Morello featuring Bring Me The Horizon
You have the old school rap/metal sound with Morello plus the young guns of Bring Me The Horizon. A song with such hard and distorted music behind it could fit well over a badass, unexpected scene. Like that trailer shot with a metallic Ghostface mask…and a damn flamethrower?!
12. “Edge Of Seventeen” by Lilith Czar
I’ve discovered a lot of artists through hearing covers that they’ve done and that’s how I came across Lilith Czar. The early SCREAM soundtracks had a handful of cover songs between them. SCREAM 2 has the Less Than Jake cover of The Partridge Family’s “I Think I Love You” so why not have another edgy cover to the fray?
13. “Red Right Hand” Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
ALWAYS. ALWAYS. ALWAYS.
