As the Summer weather begins to adopt a chill, the holidays of Samhain and Halloween no sooner follow. With this darker season may come an even darker atmosphere — and an appropriate soundtrack to go with it.
As “witchy season” comes to fruition, the music must follow suit. After all, witchcraft has always played a role in music, and modern music would not be what it is today without genres such as rock ‘n’ roll, indie and pop taking influence from witch-inspired themes and the occult. While this combination of witchcraft and popular music has historically garnered controversy (think: the PMRC’s “filthy fifteen”), witchcraft is something that has seen widespread acceptance in recent years, and many musical artists have incorporated the coinciding aesthetics, topics and sounds within their work. However, while a large number of musicians have taken on witchy vibes, there are some names who are truly recognized as the witchiest of all.
Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)
Regarded as one of the most famous women in rock ‘n’ roll, Stevie Nicks has become a definitive name in rock due to her solo work as well as her work with the rock group Fleetwood Mac. With her folk-inspired aesthetics and musicality as well as her intense witchy vibes, music fans may regard Nicks as the witchiest artist of them all. (After all, her nickname is the “White Witch.”) With heavily emotional songs such as “Leather and Lace,” “Rhiannon” and “Silver Springs,” Nicks is not only one of the most spellbinding artists in history, but Rolling Stone has labeled her as one of the greatest songwriters and singers of all time. Additionally, Nicks was equally praised for her music as she was for her sense of bohemian fashion which included lots of jewelry and long, flowy skirts. Nicks perhaps achieved peak witchiness when she played herself on “American Horror Story: Coven.”
Kate Bush
Also known as one of the most famous artists within the art rock genre, Kate Bush was most known for her work during the 1980s with hits such as “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and “Babooshka.” Thanks to Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things, which featured “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” in its fourth season, Bush saw herself make an intense comeback in 2022, with a new generation of music fans enthralled by her hypnotic soundscapes. The following year she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With an inimitable vocal style and intensely dreamy artistry, Bush effortlessly brings listeners into a different realm as they listen to her work.
Lana Del Rey
With an enchanting artistry that defined a generation, Lana Del Rey is a spellbinding songwriter, singer and performer. Writing songs that capture heartbreak, the sunny highways of the West Coast and dreams beyond measure, Del Rey’s otherworldly melodies and haunting vocals bring comfort and inspiration to her devout following. With her covers of “Season of the Witch” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” as well as her famous hits “Ride” and “Salvatore,” she brings a haunting glamor and a doomed Old Hollywood charm to her iconic musicality.
Alice Cooper
With the moniker of the “Godfather of Shock Rock,” there’s no doubt Alice Cooper may be considered one of rock’s witchiest artists. In the 1970s Cooper garnered buzz by carrying boa constrictor onstage, performing in a straight jacket and running around with Frankenstein’s monster and cutting his head off with a guillotine. Cooper has transcended across decades with hit albums such as Billion Dollar Babies (1973), Welcome to My Nightmare (1975) and Trash (1989). Performing alongside Vincent Price and drawing song inspiration from horror films and vaudeville, Cooper is a witchy artist in his own right, and can be summed up in simple words: an entertainer.
Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie and the Banshees)
Frontwoman of the rock group Siouxsie and the Banshees, Siouxsie Sioux is most famed for establishing the definitive traditional goth look with her all-black clothing and sharp makeup. Through haunting songs like “Spellbound” and “Cities in Dust,” Sioux’s songwriting with the Banshees’ defined the post-punk era and went on to influence a wide variety of modern rock and female artists. With a revolutionary sound and look, Sioux has left the entirety of modern music bewitched.
Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine)
Known for her passionate vocals and ethereal presence, many fans regard Florence + the Machine frontwoman Florence Welch as an incredibly witchy icon. Embodying intense emotion and spirituality within her work, Welch conveys themes of witchcraft within her music. Songs such as “Dream Girl Evil,” “Seven Devils” and “Which Witch” are definitive examples of Welch’s evocative and otherworldly artistry. Welch is said to have started a coven with her friends while in high school, marking her as not only a witchy musical artist but a legitimate witch herself.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
While Alice Cooper is the godfather of shock rock, the genre would not have come into fruition without the contributions of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Most famous for his then-controversial 1956 hit song “I Put a Spell On You,” Hawkins was renowned for his extreme stage presence and theatrics. Performing on stage with a smoking skull on a stick and emerging from a coffin, Hawkins incorporated several voodoo-themed props into his musical act and his overall shock value established him as an icon within goth and rock genres.
Coven
While themes of witchcraft have spanned across many genres, it shares no closer bond than with that of rock ‘n’ roll, and fans may say that this relationship began with one band: Coven. Pioneers within occult rock and the originators of the “sign of the horns,” Coven made their musical debut in 1969 with Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls. Originally formed in Chicago, Coven went on to gather much controversy during the 1970s amid the era of cult leader Charles Manson. An Esquire magazine issue titled “Evil Lurks in California” (March, 1970) mentioned both Manson and Coven’s debut album, and this bad publicity ultimately led to the band breaking up in 1975. Despite their short-lived career, Coven were significant pioneers within occult rock and went on to inspire many big names in heavy metal such as King Diamond and Black Sabbath (though their influence on the latter has been a decades-long debate).
Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
An original member of Metallica and the founder of Megadeth, Dave Mustaine has become a household name as one of the most iconic heavy metal musicians of all time over the last 40 years. After forming thrash metal outfit Megadeth in 1983, Mustaine has delivered a discography nothing short of hard-hitting, resonating and unforgettable in terms of modern metal music. Additionally, Mustaine is one of the few rock musicians who has admitted to practicing witchcraft himself. The “Peace Sells” singer has admitted to casting spells on a few classmates while in high school, but swore off of it after witnessing the aftermath. Although Mustaine no longer practices the craft, his everlasting discography and hit 1986 album Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? featuring songs such as “The Conjuring” and “Bad Omen” has defined Mustaine as a prominent artist on this list.
Black Sabbath
Considered by many to be the greatest heavy metal band of all time, Black Sabbath is credited as the first band to bring the words “heavy metal” into pop culture’s dictionary. With frontman Ozzy Osbourne going on to define a genre, an era and an image with his controversial antics both on and off stage, Black Sabbath has made a mark on modern music like no other. Their name alone, defined as what you would call a meeting of people practicing witchcraft, might have been all it took to label them as one of music’s most witchy musical artists. By combining a dooming name, music containing themes of the occult and imagery heavily influenced by religion, Black Sabbath has gone down in history as pioneers in heavy metal music.
