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Lovecraftian Music
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Although many would say that the following bands were influenced by Lovecraft, it is probably more accurate to say that many of them were influenced more by the “Simon” edition of the Necronomicon. This list includes both individual artists and collections. NOTE: If you have an entry to contribute to this page, please provide the name of the band, the name of the song, the title of the album on which the song appears, and a web page that supports your claim that the song has Lovecraftian lyrics.

Individual Artists
Arzachel
  • Arzachel (1969)
    • “Azathoth”: Electric guitar, a church organ, and sound effects.
Azathoth
Doom/black metal band from Slovakia.
  • Artless Puppet Show (1998)
    • “The Haunter of the Dark”
Babyland
  • You Suck Crap
    • “Arthur Jermyn”
Bal-Sagoth
Although this band has some Lovecraft references, like that to “Hatheg-Kla,” it takes much more inspiration from Robert E. Howard.
  • Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria (1994)
    • “Hatheg Kla”: Keyboard Instrumental
Bethzaida
The Bevis Frond
  • The Auntie Winnie Album (1988)
    • “The Miskatonic Variations”: 15 minutes of monotonous, psychedelic guitar.
  • New River Head (1991)
    • “The Miskatonic Variations II”
Black Sabbath
  • Black Sabbath (1970)
    • “Behind the Wall of Sleep”
Blood Ritual
Death/black metal band.
  • At the Mountains of Madness
Blue Oyster Cult
Much of the following information can be found in The Blue Oyster Cult FAQ.
Caravan
  • For girls who grow plump in the night
    • “C’Thlu Thlu”
Cassandra Complex
  • Satan, Bugs Bunny, and Me
    • “E.O.D.” (Esoteric Order of Dagon): Makes direct references to Cthulhu and mentions that “he sleeps beneath the waves.”
Celtic Frost
  • Morbid Tales (1984)
    • “Morbid Tales”: Mentions Yog-Sothoth.
    • “Nocturnal Fear”: Mentions “Azag-thoth.”
Children of the Monkey Machine
  • R’lyeh
    • “The Dreamer Awakens”: “The ancient one awakens in the ageless R’lyeh.”
    • “Awaken and Rebirth”: “The Elder One has arisen.”
    • “Mindflare”: “The Elder One unleashes his wrath on the minds of man.”
    • “Desolate”: “The final chapter. A desolate nightfall.”
Cradle of Filth
  • Midian (2000)
    • “Cthulhu Dawn”
The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
A Vancouver “punky surf” band whose lyrics don’t just make passing mention to Lovecraft—their entire existence seems to revolve around him. Their name is taken from a sentence near the beginning of Lovecraft’s “The Tomb”: “I will tell only of the lone tomb in the darkest of the hillside thickets...”
  • Gurgle, Gurgle, Gurgle (demo)
    • “Cthulhu Dreams”
  • Hurts Like Hell (demo)
    • “Screams From R’lyeh”
    • “One-Gilled Girl”: Innsmouth is mentioned.
    • “Chunk”: References to Cthulhu, the Mi-Go, and Azathoth.
  • Cthulhuriffomania!
    • “Colour Me Green”
    • “Flee!”: Cthulhu is mentioned.
    • “Yog Sothoth”
  • Cthulhu Strikes Back (1995)
    • “Goin’ Down to Dunwich”
    • “Shoggoths Away”
    • “Unstoppable”: References to the Necronomicon.
    • “Yig Snake Daddy”
    • “Hookworm”: References to Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer in Darkness.”
    • “Protein”: References to Nyarlathotep.
    • “Cthulhu Dream”
  • Great Old Ones: A compilation of most of the tracks from Hurts Like Hell and Cthulhuriffomania!, plus some additional tracks.
    • “One-Gilled Girl”: Innsmouth is mentioned.
    • “Chunk”: References to Cthulhu, the Mi-Go, and Azathoth.
    • “Colour Me Green”
    • “Flee!”: Cthulhu is mentioned.
    • “Yog-Sothoth”
    • “Hookworm”: References to Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer in Darkness.”
    • “Please God, No”: References from “The Haunter of the Dark.”
    • “Six-Gun Gorgon Dynamo”: References to Shub-Niggurath.
  • Spaceship Zero (2000)
    • “The Innsmouth Look”
    • “The Chosen One”: References to Yog-Sothoth, Zoth-Ommog, and others.
    • “The Sounds of Tindalos”
Darklands
A Swedish doom metal band.
  • Chronicles (1996)
    • “Dead But Dreaming”: The reference to “The Absu” make it clear that the inspiration is the “Simon” Necronomicon.
Dayglo Abortions
  • Here Today, Guano Tomorrow (1988)
    • “Spawn of Yog-Sothoth”
Dead Voices on Air Versus Not Breathing
  • A Fire in the Bronx Zoo (26 August 1997)
    • “Unknown Kadath”
    • “Azathoth Venom”
Deicide
  • Deicide (1990)
    • “Dead by Dawn”: Contains a reference to the Necronomicon. The title suggests this is a reference to the “Evil Dead” films rather than to Lovecraft.
  • Legion
    • “Dead but Dreaming”: Mentions the “elder gods,” but nothing else explicit.
  • Amon: Feasting the Beast
    • “Dead by Dawn”
Disincarnate
  • Dreams of the Carrion Kind
    • “Entranced”: Quotes heavily from Lovecraft’s “The Tomb.”
Djam Karet
California progressive band. Contact ranjit@netcom.com to obtain their album.
  • Burning the Hard City
    • “At the Mountains of Madness”
Dream Death
Some claim that Dream Death was America’s first death metal band.
  • Journey Into Mystery
    • “The Elder Race”
Endura
  • Dreams Of Dark Waters (1994)
    • “R’lyeh Awakens”
    • “Black Eidolon”
  • The Dark Is Light Enough (1996)
    • “The Stars Are Right”
    • “Ubbo-Sathla”
    • “He Knows The Gate”
  • Liber Leviathan (1996)
    • “Dagon Is My Weapon”
    • “Cthulhu Fhtagn”
  • Elder Signs (1999)
Entombed
  • Clandestine (November 1991)
    • “Stranger Aeons”: Lyrics mention “dreamquest,” include “lurking at the threshold/you’re lost between the gates,” and “Stranger things that eternal lie/awaiting beyond the time to die.”
  • Stranger Aeons (August 1992, EP)
    • “Stranger Aeons“
  • Entombed (1997)
    • “Stranger Aeons”
Equomanthorn
  • Nindinugga Nimshimshargal Enllilara (1994): Lyrics have been borrowed from the Simon edition of the Necronomicon.
Eterne
“Ethereal gothic metal with heavy riffs.”
  • The Endless (1993, demo)
    • ”The Crawling Chaos”
  • Still Dreaming (1994)
    • “The Crawling Chaos”
    • “Still Dreaming”
Evils Toy
A German band whose lyricist, Oliver Taranczewski, is apparently a Lovecraft fan.
  • Illusion
    • “Co-existence”
    • “Prevision”
  • Angels Only (1998)
    • “Back on Earth”
    • “From Above Comes Sleep”
    • “Colours Out of Space”
The Fall
  • Dragnet
    • “Spectre vs. Rector”: The possessing demon in this song is called Yog-Sothoth.
Famlende Forsøk
Fields of the Nephilim
Dark, brooding, Gothic music. References to Sumer in several songs indicate they were inspired by the Simon Necronomicon.
  • Dawnrazor (1987)
    • “Reanimator”
  • Nephilim (1988)
    • “The Watchman”: Includes the lines “Kthulhu calls” and “Kthulhu I am calling for you.”
    • “Last Exit for the Lost”: Includes the line “Closer and closer Kthulhu calls.”
  • Earth Inferno (1990)
    • “Intro (Dead but Dreaming)”
Fireaxe
A one-man metal band.
  • Lovecraftian Nightmares
    • “Nemesis”
    • “The Ancient Track”
    • “Nathicana”
    • “Festival”
Forma Tadre
A German Industrial/Ambient band.
  • Navigator (17 February 1997)
    • “Date Unknown”: Based on one of the stories in The Starry Wisdom.
    • “Mesozoic Tree Ferns”: Lovecraft influenced.
    • “Gates”: Lovecraft influenced.
  • Automate (17 November 1998)
    • “Dagon”
Garden of Delight
A German gothic band whose influences include The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, and the Simon Necronomicon.
  • ENKI’S Temple (1992)
    • “Ancient God (but never gone)”
    • “Inanna”
    • “Sumerian Haze”
    • “ENKI’S Temple and the Gates of UR”
  • Epitaph (1992)
    • “The Epic of the Sumer Ziusudra”
  • Shared Creation (1993)
    • “Shared Creation (The Lovecraft Mix)”
  • Necromanteion IV (1994)
    • “Spirit Invocation -black book version-”
    • “Downwards to a Sea”
    • “Watchers out of Time”
  • Scheoul (1996)
    • “The Colour out of Space”
Gwar
The lead singer, Oderous Urungus, wears a spiked prosthetic appendage nicknamed “The Cuttlefish of Cthulhu.”
  • Scumdogs of the Universe (1990)
    • “Horror of Yig”
Halloween
  • Laz
    • “The Wood”: Lyrics are from Lovecraft’s poem of the same name.
    • “Waltz”: Lyrics are from Lovecraft’s “Clouds” and the first stanza of “Psychopompos: A Tale in Rhyme.”
    • “Yule Horror”: Lyrics are from Lovecraft’s “Festival.”
    • “Laz”: Lyrics are from Lovecraft’s “The Nightmare Lake.”
H.P. Zinker
  • Mountains of Madness (1994)
    • “Mountains of Madness”
H.P. Lovecraft
  • H.P. Lovecraft (1967)
    • “The White Ship”
  • H.P. Lovecraft II (1969)
    • “At the Mountains of Madness”
  • At the Mountains of Madness (1988): A compilation of the previous two albums, plus some additional tracks.
Hypocrisy
  • Osculum Obscenum (1993)
    • “Necronomicon”
    • “Necronomicon” (demo version)
  • Pleasure of Molestation (1994)
    • “Necronomicon”
Iron Maiden
  • Live After Death: Album cover has “That is not dead which can eternal lie/And with strange aeons even death may die” on a gravestone.
Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
  • Shape I’m In: Complete Anthology (9 May 2000)
    • “Cthulhu”
Kindred Idol
  • Conscious in the Mudvein
    • “By Erich Zahn” (sic)
    • “Sea of Gthey”: Mentions Innsmouth and “Mr. Ward.”
Ktulu
A Spanish hardcore band.
J.B. Lee
  • Necronomicon: “Four electronic pieces designed as ‘imaginary soundtracks’ for Lovecraft stories.”
    • “Strange Aeons”
    • “My Thousand Other Forms”
    • “The Neighboring Regions of Dream”
    • “Just a Colour”
Lovecraft
Founded in 1970 by members of the group H.P. Lovecraft, which broke up the previous year.
Lovecraft
This rock band hails from Argentina.
  • Medicine
Lurking Fear
  • “Innsmouth Bay”
  • “Something in the Basement”: “Based very loosely on Lovecraft’s ‘The Shunned House.’”
Yngwie Malmsteen
Lovecraft is mentioned in the “special thanks to” section of the liner notes of several of Malmsteen’s albums. They include Rising Force (1984), Odyssey (1988), Trial by Fire (1989), Eclipse (1990), and Magnum Opus (1995).
Manilla Road
Heavy metal with many Lovecraftian references throughout.
  • Mystification (1987)
    • “Children of the Night”: Mentions “Cthulu.”
  • Out of the Abyss (1988)
    • “Out of the Abyss”: Mentions “Cthulu.”
    • “Return of the Old Ones”: Mentions “Cthulu.”
    • “Black Cauldron”: Mentions “Cthulu” and Yog-Sothoth.
    • “War in Heaven”: Mentions “Cthulu.”
  • The Courts of Chaos (1990)
    • “From Beyond”: The events described in the song seem to indicate it is based more on the Stuart Gordon film than the Lovecraft story.
    • “The Books of Skelos: I. The Book of Ancients”: Mentions “Cthulu” and the Necronomicon.
Marillion
Massacre
A death metal band from Florida.
  • From Beyond (1991)
Mekong Delta
  • The Music of Erich Zann
Mercyful Fate
  • Time (1994)
    • “The Mad Arab (Part One: The Vision)”
  • Into the Unknown (1996)
    • “Kutulu (The Mad Arab Part Two)”
Mercyless
  • Abject Offering (2 June 1992)
    • “Nyarlathotep (Intro)”
Metallica
  • Ride the Lightning (1984)
    • “The Call of Ktulu”: Instrumental
  • Master of Puppets (1986)
    • “The Thing That Should Not Be”
Morbid Angel
Lead guitarist and only remaining founding member, Trey Azagthoth, admits that most of their music is inspired by the Simon edition of the Necronomicon.
  • Abominations of Desolation (1986, demo)
    • “Azagthoth”
  • Altars of Madness (1989)
    • “Lord of All Fevers and Plague”: “Ia iak sakkakh ia sakkakth/Ia shaxul/Ia kingu ia cthulu ia azbul/Ia azabua”
  • Blessed are the Sick (1991)
    • “Unholy Blasphemies”: Mentions Yog-Sothoth.
    • “The Ancient Ones”: Lyrics mention “Come forth, Ancient Ones, Tiamat, Kutulu...”
  • Covenant (1993)
    • “Angel of Disease”: Lyrics mention “Shub Niggurath goat with one thousand young” and “Kutulu meets in the void.” References to Absu, Kingu, and Nammtar make the source of inspiration clear.
  • Formulas Fatal to the Flesh (1998): Several songs quote entire lines from the Simon Necronomicon.
    • “Heaving Earth”: “Chthhulhu” is mentioned.
    • “Prayer of Hatred”: Mentions the “Ancient Ones.”
    • “Umulamahri”: “Chthhulhu” is mentioned.
Morphine Angel
  • Project ISA
    • “Breakfast with Cthulu”
Nameless City
  • Whisperer in Darkness
Necronomicon
A German heavy metal band.
  • Necronomicon
NecronomicoN
A Canadian “Spiritual Occult Death Metal” band.
  • Morbid Ritual (1991, demo)
    • “Dark Young of Shub-Nygurath” [sic]
  • The Silver Key (1996)
    • “The Silver Key”
    • “The Asylum”
    • “Hunting Horror”
    • “Cthonians”
  • Pharaoh of Gods (1999)
    • “The Silver Key”
Necrophagia
  • Season of the Dead
    • “Ancient Slumber”: Mentions the Necronomicon, although the liner notes say the song was “inspired by the movie Evil Dead...”
Necrosanct
  • Equal in Death (1991)
    • “Necronomicon”
  • Incarnate (1992)
    • “Necronomicon”
Nile
A death metal band from South Carolina that claims to take its inspiration from Sumerian myth.
  • Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka
Non Serviam
  • Necrotical (1998)
    • “Which Eternal Lie”: Mentions “Ph’nglui Mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh Wgah’nagl Fhtagn,” “Yog-Sothoth,” “That is not dead which can eternal lie/And with strange aeons even death may die,” and “Call of Cthulhu.”
Not Breathing
An industrial band from Tucson, Arizona, most of their albums have been produced by “Instant Shoggoth Productions.”
Obituary
  • Cause of Death: The cover of this album uses Michael Whelan’s artwork from the Ballantine/Del Rey editions of Lovecraft’s fiction. However, none of the songs on this album appear to be Lovecraft-inspired.
Le Orme
An Italian progressive rock band.
  • Beyond Leng (1975)
Orphanage
A Dutch death-metal band.
  • Oblivion (March 1995)
    • “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”
  • By Time Alone (October 1996)
    • “At the Mountains of Madness”
  • At the Mountains of Madness (1997)
    • “At the Mountains of Madness”
Pain Teens
  • Pain Teens (7 April 1998)
    • “Unnamable”
    • “Brown Jenkin”
    • “Innsmouth”
Payne’s Gray
A German band that’s been around since 1989.
  • KADATH: decoded: Described as “the musical interpretation of H.P. Lovecraft’s masterpiece The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.”
Pestilence
  • Testimony of the Ancients
John Petrucci
Guitarist for Dream Theater, John played the music for KAZe’s Digital Pinball game for the Sega Saturn, Necronomicon (1996). An excerpt is available on John’s site.
Rage
  • Trapped! (1992)
    • “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”
  • Black in Mind (1995)
    • “The Crawling Chaos”
    • “Shadow out of Time”
    • “In a Nameless Time”: Inspired by Lovecraft’s “The Shadow out of Time.”
Rigor Mortis
  • Rigor Mortis (1988)
    • “Re-Animator”
Ripping Corpse
  • Dreaming with the Dead (1991): The lengthy “Ripping Corpse thanks...” section mentions Skull Comics, “HP Lovecraft,” Necronomicon, and “Evil Dead 1&2.”
    • “Dreaming with the Dead”: The word “Necronomic” is mentioned. Once.
    • “Anti-God”: Describes a ritual to Cthulhu and mentions “Ry’leh” (sic).
    • “Beyond Humanity”: The references to Crawford Tillingast (sic) and Benevolent Street would seem to indicate that Lovecraft’s “From Beyond” is the source of inspiration, but later references to Pretorious (sic) and “Humans are such easy prey” instead point to Stuart Gordon’s film of the same name.
Rudimentary Peni
Weird punk music.
  • Cacophany (1989): This entire album seems to be Lovecraft inspired, but only the following song titles have explicit Lovecraft references.
    • “Nightgaunts”
    • “The Horrors in the Museum”
    • “The Evil Clergyman”
    • “Brown Jenkin”
    • “Crazed Couplet”
    • “Lovecraft Baby”
    • “Beyond the Tanarian Hills”
    • “The Dead Loved”
    • “Kappa Alpha Tau”
    • “American Anglophile in the World Turned Upside Down”
    • “Arkham Hearse”
    • “The Old Man is not so Terribly Misanthropic”
    • “Sonia”
    • “The Day the Universe Ceased (March 15th 1937)”
    • “The Crime of the Century”
Sacrifice
  • Torment in Fire (1985)
    • “Necronomicon”: “Bound by human flesh” and “the evil dead” indicate that the source of inspiration is “The Evil Dead” films.
  • Forward to Termination (1987)
    • “Re-Animation”: Probably an homage to the film, ”Re-Animator.”
Samael
  • Worship Him (1990)
    • “The Rite of Cthulhu”: Two minutes long.
Joe Satriani
  • Time Machine (October 1993)
    • “Dweller on the Threshold”
Seance
  • Forever Laid to Rest (1992)
    • “Necronomicon”
Sentenced
A Finnish death metal band.
Sephiroth
  • The Absolute Supper (Various artists, 10 February 1998)
    • “R’lyeh”
Shub-Niggurath
A French band whose influences range from “electroacoustic and modern jazz to 17th century Italian and contemporary classical.”
  • Shub-Niggurath (1985)
    • “Yog-Sothoth”
  • Les morts vont vite (1987)
    • “Yog-Sothoth”
Shub-Niggurath
A Black/Death/Speed/Thrash Metal band from Mexico.
  • Evilness and Darkness Prevails: The Gigeresque cover shows the three separate sigils that are combined on the cover of the Simon Necronomicon.
Solitude Aeturnus
A doom metal band from Texas.
Solstice
  • New Dark Age (1998)
    • “New Dark Age”: The opening paragraph of Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” is read.
The Talisdream Mission
  • Mythos: H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Nightmares
Thergothon
  • Fhtagn-Nagh Yog-Sothoth (1991, demo)
  • Stream from the Heavens (1994)
    • “The Unknown Kadath-in-the-Cold-Waste”
Therion
  • Beyond Sanctorum (1991)
    • “Cthulhu”
Tiamat
  • Sumerian Cry (1990)
    • “Evilized”: Lyrics include, “When the stars are right/They will rise from the sea.”
  • A Winter Shadow (1990)
    • “A Winter Shadow”: Mentions “A shadow out of time....”
  • The Astral Sleep (1991)
    • “Sumerian Cry (part 3)”: Mentions “Arab’s wise words” and “the Ancient Ones.”
    • “A Winter Shadow”: Mentions “A shadow out of time...”
Twin Obscenity
  • Where Light Touches None (1996)
    • “Revelations of Glaaki”
Univers Zero
Belgian progressive band.
  • Ceux du Dehors
    • “La Musique D’Erich Zann”: The liner notes describe it as “a collective improvisation inspired by a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.” It’s actually a bit boring and monotonous when compared to the sort of music that story should inspire.
Vader
  • Morbid Reich (1990)
    • “From Beyond”
    • “Breath of Centuries”: Mentions the “That is not dead...” couplet.
  • The Ultimate Incantation (1992)
    • “Testimony”: Quotes from the Simon Necronomicon (“IA! KHTULU ZI KUR!”).
    • “Breath of Centuries”
  • The Darkest Age (1993, Live)
    • “From Beyond”
  • Sothis (1994)
    • “R’lyeh” (instrumental)
  • De Profundis (1995): It is clear from the lyric notes that the Lovecraftian references are related to the Simon Necronomicion.
  • Reborn in Chaos (1997)
    • “From Beyond”
Vangelis
  • The Dragon: The artwork on the cover of this album clearly depicts Cthulhu rising from R’lyeh.
The Vaselines
  • The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History (31 July 1992)
    • “Lovecraft”: The liner notes comment, “H.P. was a great writer I hope we’ve done him justice.”
La Voce de Cthulhu (The Voice of Cthulhu)
  • A Vision of Kadath
  • Dagon
  • The Shadow out of Time
  • The Sign of Shub-Niggurath
Les Wampas
A French rock band.
  • Chauds, sales et humides (1988)
    • “Quivoron”: Mentions the Nécromicon [sic], “les grands anciens” (“the great old ones”), Arkham, Chtulu [sic], and Yog-Sothot [sic].
White Flag
  • Feeding Frenzy (1986)
    • “Cthulhu Calling”
Yog-Sothoth
Insane, French, free-form Jazz band; similar to what one might expect from Erich Zann.

Collections
At the Mountains of Madness - International Doom Collection (1999)
A collection of 10 doom metal songs by Solstice, Burning Witch, Revelation, Blessed Realm, While Heaven Wept, Pale Divine, Eternal Elysium, Cold Mourning, Warning, and Millarca. Released on the UK’s Miskatonic Foundation label.
The Challenge from Beyond: A Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft (1999)
  • “Re-Animation” by Decoded Feedback
  • “Dreams In The Witchhouse” by Hexedene
  • “Hold Your Breath (Dreams 1 & 2)” by Society Burning
  • “C’thulhu” by Xol Dog 400
  • “Fading Giant” by New Mind
  • “To Ramble in the Hills” by Burning Blue
  • “Thaumaturgos” by Suspicion Breeds Confidence
  • “Fallen Idols (Legends Speak Mix)” by Seven Trees
  • “Nightgaunts” by Oneiroid Psychosis
  • “Sectorial” by Inertia
  • “Conversations With Chaos” by Stone 588
  • “Tok’!” by D-Drik & Iktus
  • “The Whisperer in the Darkness” by Railgun
  • “Pulsar” by Haujobb
  • “Corona Mundi” by Forma Tadre

Much thanks to Rich Kulawiec’s “SF-references-in-music List” for several of these references.

 
 
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