Real Gone Music has a reputation for releasing cult classic albums, but this October, they'll take "cult" a step further.  The label's eclectic lineup of Halloween-themed releases for October 11 includes early satanic/occult rock by Coven, a collection of ghoulish TV classics by Milton Delugg and His Orchestra, and a Wrecking Crew-backed tie-in album by everyone's favorite family of monsters, The Munsters.

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First up is a delightfully strange pair of albums by the early occult rock band Coven, whose 1969 debut Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls and 1974 effort Blood on the Snow are due out on October 11.  Coven is credited as the first band to introduce satanic themes into rock music, and no holds were barred in their exploration of the topic.  In the height of the satanism hysteria of the late-'60s, Coven released Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls.  It only included a track called "Black Sabbath" and a recording of a satanic mass, but also featured a gatefold spread that displayed lead singer Jinx Dawson splayed nude across an altar surrounded by bandmates in hoods.  The album caused a stir in the aftermath of the Manson murders and was withdrawn after a photograph surfaced of Manson holding a copy.  Fifty years on, the one-of-a-kind album gets the vinyl reissue treatment with faithfully reproduced original packaging and limited-edition hellfire red-colored wax.

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Coven's 1974 album Blood on the Snow will see a limited-edition color vinyl reissue on the same day.  Five years after their controversial debut, Coven released the toned-down Blood on the Snow on Buddah after the success of their worldwide hit, "One Tin Soldier," as featured in the film Billy Jack.  Sure, the sleeve displays a fiddle-wielding devil and the inner spread shows yet another ritual, but the music was far more reined-in thanks to the sonic fingerprint of renowned producer Shel Talmy.  On Blood on the Snow, Coven embraced varied sounds, from the punk riffs of "Don't Call Me" to the almost Fleetwood Mac-like "This Songs' for All You Children."  Forty-five years on, Blood on the Snow will receive its first vinyl reissue, complete with replicated inner sleeves and gatefold art and 'blood on the snow'-colored vinyl.

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On the same day, Real Gone will reissue a classic 1964 collection of TV themes by Milton DeLugg and His Orchestra, entitled Music for Monsters, Munsters, Mummies & Other TV Fiends.  In 1964, the horror and the supernatural played a part in no less than three popular comedy programs - The Munsters, The Addams Family, and Bewitched.  Epic Records were intent to cash in on the craze with a hastily made collection.  But the man commissioned for the job - Milton DeLugg, producer of Buddy Holly, orchestrator, TV theme song composer, and future Gong Show bandleader -  took the project a few steps further, delivering a "wild, wonderful" and delightfully kitschy compilation of reinvented spooky TV themes and seven catchy original tunes.  Among those originals are the Batman-like "Theme for Frankenstein," the Mancini-inspired "Ghost Meets Ghoul," and the samba-inflected "Theme for a Mummy."  Mastered at 45rpm, pressed on ghoulish green vinyl, and housed in a sleeve designed by Jack Davis of Mad Magazine, this limited edition reissue is a must for any fan of '60s kitsch.

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Speaking of '60s kitsch, CBS-TV was also quick to hop onto the spooky soundtrack bandwagon with their spin-off album The Munsters.  Recorded in 1964, the light-hearted and surf-styled songs feature the famous Wrecking Crew on back-up, including Leon Russell and Glen Campbell, who would go on to find fame with entirely different music.  Original pressings of this oddity command three-digit prices on the secondary market these days, but the album can be yours - newly remastered by Aaron Kannowski and pressed onto ghastly grey vinyl - for a fraction of that price on October 11.  (The album was also released on CD and vinyl by Real Gone last year, but that vinyl edition quickly sold out.)

With Real Gone's releases on your turntable, your Halloween party is sure to be a hit.  You can pre-order all the  ghoulish, spooky, and flat-out satanic music with the links below!

Coven, Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls (Real Gone Music, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1:

Side 2:

1. Wicked Woman
2. Dignitaries of Hell
3. Portrait
4. Satanic Mass

Coven, Blood on the Snow (Real Gone Music, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1:

1. Don't Call Me
2. This Song's For All You Children
3. Lady-O
4. Blue, Blue Ships

Side 2:

1. I Need a Hundred of You
2. Hide Your Daughters
3. Lost Without a Trace
4. Easy Evil
5. Blood on the Snow

Milton Delugg & His Orchestra, Music for Monsters, Munsters, Mummies & Other TV Fiends (Real Gone Music, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)