Vinyl Review: Halloween (2018)

Album: Halloween (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies
Label: Sacred Bones Records
Released: October 19, 2018

So you may be asking yourself, why are we looking at the Halloween soundtrack in March? We still have six months to go before Halloween season begins.  That's a great question, and the answer is simple... The music is amazing and should be played year round.  Also, I finally bought my copy last month, so I am a little late to the party.

Halloween is the soundtrack to the 2018 sequel of the original Halloween (1978) movie.  For more takes on that, head over to Timeout, Need More Popcorn and request the archived reviews of the whole franchise of movies I did with my buddy Jay on Continuous Play Podcast.  Today though, we are looking at the vinyl package that was released in October of 2018.


The original movie's soundtrack was composed by its writer and director, John Carpenter.  With John's return to the franchise for this most recent addition, he joined up with his son, Cody, and Daniel Davies to give a fresh take on not just the iconic theme song, but the score of the movie as well.  The result is stunning, and the vinyl package is as well.

The album comes in a stunning, shiny gatefold cover with the movie artwork gracing the front.  Sacred Bones Records went with a nice glossy cover for this and it really makes it pop.  Plus, the cover is stunning in its own right.  Inside the fold, you will find a cool picture of Michael Myers, and on the back side, we get a blurred photo of Myers as we focus on Laurie Strode gun in hand.  A very cool cover to say the least.  Inside the jacket, we have a custom sleeve featuring another photo of Michael Myers on the front, and the tracklisting, credits, and photos of the composers on the back.  I, of course, removed the vinyl from the sleeve and put it in a better sleeve to protect the record from scratches or damage.

Let's talk about the record.  As you can see by my picture, I was able to get a limited edition pumpkin orange copy.  The orange is awesome, bright, and pops out at you.  It looks very cool.  The album also comes in the standard black version for those that don't like colored vinyl.

Sonically, the album is a stunner.  Carpenter's theme song is updated for 2018 but still keeps that haunting melody screaming from the speakers.  The orchestration throughout is fantastic, and the ambiance created by the music is bone-chilling at times.  I first heard the soundtrack digitally, and the vinyl blows it away.  You can feel the songs.  It's a great experience if you like Carpenter's style.  I do and enjoy listening to this very much.

One of the fun things that many independent stores did for the release of this album was to offer some fun extras with purchase.  I was fortunate enough that my local store still had some of the extras left over from the initial release, so I was able to procure them for my good friend Jay who is a huge fan of the Halloween franchise.  They included two stickers, a pin, and a trick-or-treat bag.  They are very cool extras for fans and a fun way to get people into the stores on release day.

Overall, I think the packaging and presentation of the album are fantastic.  I am very happy with my purchase and look forward to spinning this one multiple times over the year.  If you like the music from the movie Halloween, you will love this album.  I can't recommend it enough.  As always, check out the gallery below for the rest of the album artwork.  Thanks again for reading, and until next time, keep on spinning.

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Front Cover

Rear cover

Custom Sleeve Front

Custom Sleeve Rear

Inside the gatefold