New Year's Evil (song)

New Year's Evil is a song written by Eddie del Barrio and Roxanne Seeman for the 1980 slasher film New Year's Evil (film), starring Kip Niven, Roz Kelly, and Chris Wallace. .[1][2][3] The song is the title track and featured theme, performed live by the rock band Shadow,[4][5][6][7][8] who appear in the film as a punk rock band.[9]

"New Year's Evil"
Single by Shadow
B-side"Simon Bar Sinister"
Released1980
Format7" vinyl
GenrePunk Rock, Metal Rock
Length2:32
LabelCannon Records
Songwriter(s)Roxanne Seeman, Eddie del Barrio
Producer(s)W. Michael Lewis & Laurin Rinder

The song New Year's Evil is performed live at the opening of the movie and repeatedly through the movie. It appears again at Gloria's party at The Holiday Inn and thematically throughout the film.

"New Year's Evil" by Shadow was pressed as a 7" vinyl 45 rpm single.[10][11][12] Promotional singles were sent to radio stations throughout the US. The recorded version also appears in the film.

An announced soundtrack for New Year's Evil (film) never materialized, despite statements in the closing credits of the film, as well as the promotional single of the "New Year's Evil" theme song sent to radio stations.[13] In March 2020, MGM released the song on digital streaming platforms.[14]

Over the years the title song New Year's Evil and the movie, in the horror genre where music is the driving force, have developed a cult following. New Year's Evil has appeared in horror movies "best songs of" playlists and the movie has been the topic of numerous podcasts in which the song New Year's Evil, as the signature theme, is a point of discussion.[15][16]

The plot follows the band Shadow, a Los Angeles punk rock band who are playing New Year's Evil in various scenes throughout the film. The movie takes place on New Year's Eve, during a new wave TV special. A deranged maniac makes obscene phone calls to the disc jockey host, threatening a murder as the clock hits twelve in each time zone. The hostess, played by Roz Kelly, is taking votes over the air for the new wave song of the year. The lyrics are reflective of the plot.

Quentin Tarantino announced the reopening of his New Beverly Cinema, Los Angeles, in December 2018 including New Year's Evil (film) in the slate of films in its New Beverly Midnights[17] schedule.[18] New Year's Evil (film) 35mm print played at midnight on December 29, 2018.[19][20]

Background and writing

The filmmakers wanted an original title and theme song to be played live by a punk band being featured in the film. Requests for the song were sent to several writers. The music supervisor was Rex Devereaux.[21]  

Eddie del Barrio and Roxanne Seeman were among the writers who wrote an original song for the spec submission. "New Year's Evil" by del Barrio and Seeman was the song chosen for the movie's title track and theme song.

Eddie del Barrio wrote chords and melody on a synthesizer, giving a rough mixdown to Roxanne Seeman[22][23] to write the lyrics.  Seeman wrote the lyrics to visually reflect the storyline:

Shining like the light that hits the knife at the stroke of midnight.

Quiet but so bright my heartbeat swells, oh can't you tell I'm in a fever

Tell me will it be sweet New Year's Eve or do I fear a New Year's Evil

The final demo recording with Seeman's lyrics was sung by Gary Falcone, a rock session singer,[24] recorded on del Barrio's 4-track machine.

Production

New Year's Evil was recorded by the Seattle rock band Shadow.[25] The members are Cliff White on guitar, Ray Leonard[26] on bass, David Kesterson vocals, Art Bennett on drums, and J.P Pakalenka vocals and guitar.[27]

W. Michael Lewis[28] & Laurin Rinder [29][30] are the composers of the film soundtrack[31] and the producers of the recording of the song "New Year's Evil".

It was recorded at Salty Dog Studios, Los Angeles.

Track listing

A      New Year's Evil          2:32

B      Simon Bar Sinister     2:50

TV shows

Other versions

Sister Midnight, a project by Steven Darrow of covers featuring different vocalists from all genres of rock from around the world, released a cover version of "New Year's Evil"[35] on December 31, 2017, as the first recording.[36] Derek "Dirty D" Christiansen is the vocalist.

The Angelas, an American alternative rock band from Nebraska formed by Alice Vitale and Natalie Regoli,[37] released an instrumental version of "New Year's Evil" on October 1, 1989 on their second album of horror movie soundtrack covers.[38][39]

Critical reception

Roger Ebert wrote in his review of the film:  ""New Year's Evil" has music as its gimmick. The movie takes place on New Year's Eve, during a national TV show obviously inspired by "Midnight Special." The bands are second-rate punk rock groups (Made In Japan, Shadow). The hostess (Roz Kelly) is taking votes over the air for the new wave song of the year."[40]

New Year's Evil (film) has become a cult horror film[41] with a preponderance of podcasts and reviews of the film, the song New Year's Evil and the music soundtrack:

Dreadcentral.com wrote "Much of the music comes from an actual band named Shadow. The odd thing about Shadow is that their music sounds far more like a Seventies metal band than the Eighties punk rock and new wave the film promotes. Ah, who cares? It's 1980 and the top act on a New Year's countdown show isn't Manilow, The Gap Band, or The Oak Ridge Boys. "New Year's Evil" by Shadow it is".[42]

dailydot.com wrote "First off, this movie features the best New Year's Eve song ever made. Like the opening to Friday the 13th Part III, it's just one of those rare original recordings for low-budget horror film that's a complete gem, and it should be an American staple of New Year's Eve celebrations."[43]

filmfracture.com wrote "Of course, no rock and roll horror movie is complete without the music.  The rock in New Year's Evil is supplied by two very real bands – Made in Japan and Shadow.  Neither could really be called new wave or punk bands (Made in Japan is more of a The Knack-y power pop band and Shadow borders on 70's heavy metal), but both are obviously from the time period in which the film takes place.  The theme song, done by Shadow and appropriately called "New Year's Evil," is incredibly infectious and plays over both the opening and closing credits as well as once during the course of the film.  As if the song wasn't catchy enough, hearing it three times in ninety minutes means that there is no way that this song will not get stuck in the viewer's head. The incidental and mood music (composed by W. Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder, who also scored a handful of episodes of “In Search Of…”) is fairly typical Moog synthesizer suspense and stinger fare, but it works well in the context of the new wave slasher film.  Between the rock and roll soundtrack and the electronic music score, New Year’s Evil’s music is one of the more memorable elements of the film."[44]  

crypticrock.com: "...Blaze starts answering phones to talk to people calling in to vote for their favorite Rock songs, and she gets a call from a Bruce Jenner-haired guy (Niven) calling himself Eeeeevil. He uses a voice disguiser that makes him sound like a Jim Henson creation, but seriously tells her he is going to kill a "Naughty Girl" every time the clock strikes midnight in the different times zones across the country. Blaze is freaked out but gains enough composure to introduce the live band, Shadow, who play the most annoying New Year's Eve song ever." [45]

geekscape.net: "The 12 Best Heavy Metal Songs From Horror Movies...I spent close to a decade playing in metal bands, but my earliest experiences with the genre were thanks to 80s horror movies. It was a golden age for both heavy metal and over-the-top horror cheese; I credit much of my personal growth to those countless nights watching people with questionable morals bleed out as some Aquanetted guy in pleather pants screeched on about how rock and roll will never die. If you're like me, horror and heavy metal are two sides of the same coin, so before you scream "Satanic Panic,"  let's burn through a definitive list of the very best heavy metal songs to slay to.

12) Shadow – New Years Evil theme (New Years Evil)[46]..."

Welcometomywritemare.blogspot.com: "If there's one thing to remember the film by, however, it's the title song; a damn catchy one, too. New Year's Evil, as performed by Roxanne Seeman and Eduardo del Barrio, spent four days blaring the opening lines in my head before I could get it out. It plays on the Blu-ray's menu, it opens the film and it may be used one other time; I'm not sure. It's one of those infectious tunes that are impossible to shake. With all these vinyl companies putting out obscure soundtracks these days, someone please get this on a 7"."[47]

liberaldead.com by Jimmy Terror It Came From 1980x New Year's Evil on New Year's Eve!!! 31 December 2012: "W. Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder created the original music for the picture. It's not punk. It's new wave...Still I love the soundtrack. I love it so much that I had the little collective known as Hacktivision of which I am a member create an 8 Bit version of the theme music to be used in a future 8 Bit faux video game (next year). The song itself will be available shortly on DOCTERROR.COM.  Here's a track listing:

  • "New Year's Evil"- Written by Roxanne Seeman & Eduardo del Barrio[48]
  • "When I Wake Up"- Written by John Pakalenka
  • "Simon Bar Sinister"- Written by Clifford White & Ray Leonard
  • "Temper Tantrum"- Written by Ray Leonard
  • "Headwind"- Written by Clifford White
  • "Cold Hearted Lover"- Written by Clifford White
  • "Auld Lang Syne"
  • "Dumb Blondes"
  • "The Cooler"
  • "Suicide Ways"

Podcasts

  • Stitcher.com - So That Happened!!! Episode 60 - New Year's Evil[49]
  • The Movie Review Podcast - New Year's Evil[50]
  • cultfilminreview.com - New Year's Evil[51]
  • Just Another Horror Podcast - New Year's Evil[52]
  • JumpScare! The Horror Podcast, Orlando Horror Society - New Year's Evil[53]
  • thatshelf.com - Loose Cannons Episode #52 – New Year's Evil[54]
  • Ghost Party Podcast - Episode 37 - New Year's Evil[55]
  • Bad Movie Night Podcast - New Year's Evil[56]
  • BlogTalkRadio - New Year's Evil[57]

References
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  13. "Episode #58: New Year's Evil with Made In Japan's Bobby Asea". From & Inspired By. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
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