Universal City, CA, October 18, 2018 – The original score GRAMMY award-winning and Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame guitarist, SLASH, released the score composed and produced for Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” maze, “Universal Monsters,” which can now be heard around the world on Spotify, the free music streaming platform.
“Halloween Horror Nights” pays homage to iconic classic Monsters in this new maze by underscoring each of their unique attributes and reimagining them into terrifying modern day characters. The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Dracula’s Bride, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Bride of Frankenstein and The Mummy are among those featured in the maze, to which SLASH composed a unique, complex composition that added a haunting dimension to the experience.
“This maze is the ultimate melding of two great icons, the Universal Classic Monsters and one of the greatest guitarists of all time,” said John Murdy, Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood. “SLASH has great love and respect for these legendary characters, and we knew his unique musical genius would be the perfect ingredient to help bring the Universal Monsters to life as a ‘Living Horror Movie’ for modern day audiences.”
The six original tracks that SLASH composed for the “Universal Monsters” maze, as well as the original track he previously composed for the “Halloween Horror Nights” “Clowns 3D” maze, can be heard here on Spotify and include:
- “We Belong Dead” – inspired by Frankenstein Monster’s immortal line from the explosive finale of The Bride of Frankenstein, this track fuses Gothic themes with a contemporary EDM/Dubstep feel to set the tone for the horrific experience to come.
- “The Danse of the Dead” – inspired by “Danse Macabre,” the late medieval art movement that celebrated “the universality of death” and influenced the famous masquerade ball scene from The Phantom of the Opera, this track sets the stage for the Monster’s Masquerade sequence in the maze.
- “The Final Scare” – this guitar-driven, up-tempo track combines an old school Punk Rock feel with modern electronic sounds to drive the adrenaline-fueled finale of the maze, where multiple monsters attack.
- “Universal Monsters Rising” – SLASH’s signature lead guitar joins with the mournful sound of a tolling church and the sharp, staccato stabs of violins to call guests to the graveyard, where the Universal Monsters are waiting to rise again.
- “The Collection Room/Dracula’s Lair” – composed to accompany The Mummy and Dracula sections of the maze, this track transitions between Middle Eastern and Eastern European instrumentation to help bring to life these two Classic Monsters.
- “Monsters, Maniacs and Madmen (Universal Monsters Maze Medley)” – this compilation track, encompassing several scenes within the maze, takes a single haunting melody and transforms it throughout the arrangement, handing off from piano to guitar, violin, pipe organ and even the synthesized/sampled Opera singer’s voice to create a series of sinister moods.
- “Sweet Licks (music from “Clowns 3D”) – composed for 2014’s “Clowns 3D” maze, “Halloween Horror Night’s” first collaboration with SLASH, this track creates a creepy carnival vibe to help tell the story of a diabolical family of clowns who run a twisted ice cream factory.
“As a fan of horror movies and of ‘Halloween Horror Nights,’ I jumped at the chance to once again collaborate with Universal Studios Hollywood to produce what can be interpreted as a soundtrack for the maze,” said SLASH. “Similar to the way music affects a film, I wanted to compose a score for the legions of infamous characters featured in the maze to elicit a greater sense of terror for the guests. In the end, the goal was to ultimately make the guests feel as if they are playing an integral role in a classic Monster movie.”
SLASH and his band, SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS which features SLASH (guitars), MYLES KENNEDY (lead vocals), TODD KERNS (bass/backing vocals), drummer BRENT FITZ (drums) and rhythm guitarist FRANK SIDORIS (rhythm guitar)just wrapped a sold-out, nationwide, headlining tour in celebration of the release of their new album LIVING THE DREAM. The band’s third full-length release and first new music in over four years, LIVING THE DREAM (Snakepit Records/RoadRunner Records) is available for purchase or streaming: HERE. Fueled by the Top 10 rock song “Driving Rain,” its live-action, animated video as well as the best critical acclaim of their career, LIVING THE DREAM debuted with 10, Top 10 chart placements around the world. The first single “Driving Rain” jumped to #6 this week and climbing–marks the band’s 6th consecutive, Top 10 single at radio and SLASH’s fastest-rising single ever in his solo career. The LOS ANGELES TIMES described LIVING THE DREAM as “his best work since the demise of Velvet Revolver. …full of “unexpected funk, boogie, blues and garage rock influences.” While ROLLING STONE declared the album “a biting blues filigree at the end of a riff, weeping solos full of long notes, boogie-woogie riffs.” Elsewhere, CLASSIC ROCK hailed “the bands third and Best Album, ‘The Great Pretender’ is the album’s masterpiece and one of the best things Slash has ever done.”
At its core, “Halloween Horror Nights” is an extension of the horror film legacy originated by Universal Pictures and introduced to audiences in the 1920s…with a staple of classic Universal Monsters that dominated the silver screen, including Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein’s Monster and The Wolf Man.
To hear SLASH’s score in person as part of the “Universal Monsters maze, guest can purchase tickets to visit “Halloween Horror Nights at Hollywood.HalloweenHorrorNights.com. “Halloween Horror Nights” continues on October 4-7, 11-14, 18-21, 25-28, 31, and November 1-3, 2018.
“Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in a living, breathing, three-dimensional world of terror. Featuring an all-new slate of unrivaled film production quality mazes, frightful scare zones and a fully re-imagined “Terror Tram” experience uniquely themed to today’s most definitive horror properties, “Halloween Horror Nights” will taunt, terrorize and torment guests with spine-chilling haunted attractions as part of Southern California’s most extreme Halloween experience.
For exciting updates and exclusive “Halloween Horror Nights” content, visit Hollywood.HalloweenHorrorNights.com, like Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood on Facebook; follow @HorrorNights #UniversalHHN on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat; and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube.
