The favourite bands of infamous serial killers
For whatever reason, there has been a wild obsession with serial killers in recent years, which is likely what has spawned the several documentaries and drama series that have clogged up our favourite streaming services. I certainly hadn’t even heard of Jeffrey Dahmer until about three or four shows concerning him all lined up next to one another on Netflix.
Our recent obsession with such individuals comes from wanting to know more about the darkest recesses of the human consciousness, a far cry from our everyday waking lives. What’s more is that, ultimately, the acts of the most depraved human beings tend to make for great television, a break from the mundane.
Several infamous serial killers have cemented themselves into the public consciousness, and many appear to have had a profound love for music. Many killers admire a particular artist or group and have occasionally attributed their heinous deeds to the inspiration of a given band’s song.
So, from Dahmer to the Genesee River Killer Arthur Shawcross, let’s find out which bands some infamous serial killers couldn’t get enough of.
The favourite bands of infamous serial killers:
Jeffrey Dahmer – Black Sabbath
The subject of several recent documentary and drama series (or Dahmer series, if you will), Jeffrey Dahmer was known as the Milwaukee Cannibal because he murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys throughout the 1980s. Many of his later killings involved necrophilia and cannibalism, so Dahmer is one of the most messed up of his kind.
In that light, it makes sense that Dahmer liked to listen to the darkest music. He was a massive fan of heavy metal and early Black Sabbath. Reportedly, Dahmer’s favourite Sabbath tunes were ‘The Wizard’, ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man’, and he would listen to them whilst dismembering his victims.
John Wayne Gacy – REO Speedwagon
Known as the Killer Clown, John Wayne Gacy was a serial murderer who raped, tortured and killed as many as 33 boys and young men. Gacy earned his nickname as he had dressed up as a clown and performed at children’s hospitals and charities before committing any of his crimes.
Oddly enough, when interviewed just prior to his execution in 1994, Gacy claimed that his favourite band were REO Speedwagon, the group responsible for the rock ballads ‘Keep On Loving You’ and ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’, which in many ways makes his crimes all the more disturbing and contrapuntal.
Richard Ramirez – AC/DC
Richard Ramirez went by the nicknames’ Night Stalker’, ‘Valley Intruder’ and ‘Walk-in Killer’, although his victims’ families likely would call him something far worse. Ramirez went on a killing spree in California between 1984 and 1984 and would burst into his victims’ homes and kill them without warning.
Ramirez was also a Satanist, so it’s not too much of a surprise to learn that, like Dahmer, he loved the Devil’s music. He was said to be particularly fond of AC/DC, and some have even suggested that some of his killing methods had been inspired by the Australian rockers’ song ‘Night Prowler’.
Charles Manson – The Beatles
Charles Manson is probably the most notorious serial killer of all time. He was the head of the Manson family, a cultish group based in California in the 1960s. In the summer of 1969, several members of the family performed a series of nine murders across four locations, with Manson himself at the centre of their plotting.
It’s a highly-publicised fact that Manson was a mega-fan of the Beatles and was seemingly obsessed with their White Album record. In fact, ‘Helter Skelter’ had become something of an anthem for the family. Manson had also been known to be in admiration of the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas and Neil Young.
David Berkowitz – Hall & Oates
Known as Son of Sam or the .44 Caliber Killer, David Berkowitz killed six people and injured seven others by July 1977, having started his spree the year prior. Berkowitz wreaked havoc on New York City and eluded the NYPD during a widespread manhunt, in which he even left behind letters that mocked the police force.
Berkowitz said the Hall & Oates song ‘Rich Girl’ inspired him to commit his crimes. However, the problem with that alibi is that ‘Rich Girl’ was released after he had begun killing in 1976, and it contradicted his previous claims that a demon dog had possessed him. He probably just liked the song like the rest of us.
Arthur Shawcross – G.G. Allin
Arthur Shawcross may be better known by the name the Genesee River Killer, and he is a regretful instance of the criminal justice failing miserably. Shawcross had raped and killed a young boy and girl in 1972 and was initially charged with murder. However, he was convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter and was released from prison after just 14 years when he was considered no longer a threat to society.
How wrong the parole officers were because between 1988 and 1989, Shawcross killed a further 12 victims, who were primarily sex workers. Shawcross was evidently a sick individual, and he was said to have been a fan of G.G. Allin – the mad punk who was known to cut himself during performances, defecate onstage and hurl his faeces at the audience.
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