Originally, this article was one of those ranked-worst-to-best things, but that shit is tired. Instead I'm going to go year by year and talk about what makes these good or not so good.
Hallowicked had its start in 1994 as the Hallowicked Clown Show, put on by the Insane Clown Posse on Halloween night. Every year, ICP gives away an exclusive single, or sometimes an EP, to the show's attendees. This event has been going on for over 25 years now, and in honor of over a quarter century of this event, I will give a critique of all of these releases so far, and I might throw in a little history, too.
I have never attended one of these events. They usually happen in Detroit while I lived all the way down in Florida. I have to obtain one of these CDs second hand if I want to hear it, so I always get to hear these a little after the fact. These critiques are purely my opinion as to what makes for a "good" Hallowicked song. As an audio engineer, I might get picky about some of the production, but mostly it will be from a listener perspective, or at least that is my intent. Elements that I am looking for include the song actually being Halloween related, the quality of the lyrics, the "wickedness" of the beats, and the overall quality of the song.
Most of these releases are singles, with each cassette or CD containing only one song. Several of them contain more than one song, usually an ICP song followed by one or two from other Psychopathic artists. A couple of them contain the back catalog of Hallowicked songs up to that point. One is almost a full length album of songs from the Psychopathic roster.
Starting at the beginning...
Dead Pumpkins (1994)
This was the first ever Hallowicked single. As this was the first, it established the basic elements that a Hallowicked song should contain; it's set during Halloween, the lyrics are horror-themed, and the music has a slow, dirge-like quality. The premise of the song is a man making Halloween jack-o-lanterns out of severed human heads. The lyrics are good, but there is no hook or chorus, just "Dead Pumpkin Halloween" repeated at the end of each of the two verses. It's a good start, but thankfully they developed the Hallowicked sound more in the coming years.
Mr. Rotten Treats (1995)
This one is about a Freddy Krueger type of character — a child murderer killed by some concerned parents who comes back for his revenge on their children. It was the second Hallowicked single and picks up right after the first one. In fact, you hear the end of Dead Pumpkins fade out at the beginning. and the framing narrative of Halloween stories being told at school continues. It makes for some nice continuity, but unfortunately, this is the last time that happens. There are other similarities between this and the previous year's single. Obviously, its lyrics are Halloween related. The music has that same dirge-like feel. What sets this apart from Dead Pumpkins, though, is the song has some hooks and a chorus to make it more memorable, making me like this more than its predecessor.
Witches and Warlocks EP (1996)
For the third Hallowicked, attendees received a cassette EP titled Witches and Warlocks. This one contained the songs from the two previous years, a new song for that year, plus an interview. The new song "Halloween On Military Street" I would have to say is my favorite from the early era songs. Musically, it is similar to the two previous years, but lyrically the subject matter eschews murder in favor of a series of weird and gross occurrences, among other indignities, while trick-or-treating on the titular street. The lyrics are funny and well written (the part about the crackhead makes me think of Smokey from The PJs) and ends on a somewhat positive note. Basically, this is a great Halloween song, especially for anyone who had to go trick-or-treating in sketchy neighborhoods.
Mr. Johnson's Head - Remix (1997)
The fourth Hallowicked single kind of breaks the mold a little bit, and not necessarily in good ways. First, it's a remix of an existing song; the original version appears on The Ringmaster, ICP's second full length album. I like the remix better than the original, but not enough that I needed it to be a Hallowicked single. Second, as it states on the label on the front of the cassette case, this song was intended to be included on their upcoming album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers. It did not make the final cut of that album, but it's telling the attendees that this is not really a special song, you're just getting it before everyone else does. Of course, this and the previous three songs would appear on several different compilations later on, but that's beside the point. This was also the first year the song was not Halloween related, it's just a kid in school that beheads his racist teacher and keeps the head in his book bag. Otherwise, it's a fine song, but that fact alone lowers its standing for me considerably. By this point, everyone should be expecting a song explicitly about Halloween. As a side note, this was the last year that the Hallowicked giveaway was in cassette format.
Pumpkin Carver (1998)
There were a lot of firsts with the 1998 giveaway. For the first time a Hallowicked single was released on CD, the CD sleeve was given fully illustrated artwork, and the song featured guest appearances in the form of Twiztid and the Kottonmouth Kings. The song "Pumpkin Carver" expands on the concept introduced on the first Hallowicked single "Dead Pumpkins". The lyrics are pretty clever, describing carving up a head as if it was a pumpkin. The music is alright, but not quite as grim sounding as the previous years' efforts — the verse done by Twiztid changes the beat up a little bit though, that's the highlight of the song. The chorus is mediocre, and the Kottonmouth Kings verse at the end adds nothing, really. The CD has an interview track too, if anyone cares.
Sleepwalker (1999)
There's not a whole lot to say about this one. It sounds like an album outtake rather than a Hallowicked single. It's not Halloween related. The lyrics have their moments but are nothing special. The music is not terribly interesting. It's not a bad song, just unremarkable.
Hallowicked 2000 (2000)
Here we get our second EP/compilation. Attendees not only got this CD but a box with special editions of ICP's Bizaar/Bizzar CDs and a special edition of Twiztid's Freekshow CD, along with a t-shirt and some other odds and ends. The Hallowicked CD contained all the previous Hallowicked songs, plus a new ICP song called "Toxic Love" as well as a Twiztid song called "Juggalo Party". "Toxic Love" is not a Halloween song, it's not even an exclusive song. Technically, none of these end up being exclusive, they often later appear on compilations, but "Toxic Love" was also released as a single included with an ICP comic book that came out around that same time. The lyrics are amusing but not one of their better efforts, and the music sounds like a drum and bass remix of the X-files song. Twiztid's contribution is just a better song; it's Halloween related, the lyrics are stronger, and the music is better. The title "Juggalo Party" almost seems like a misdirection, making you think this is some light, feel-good kind of song. It would have been better if ICP jumped on the wagon with this song and left "Toxic Love" off entirely.
Hallowicked 2001 (2001)
In 2001, Hallowicked attendees were given a CD with not one, not two, but THREE new songs, all of them Halloween related. The Hallowicked 2001 EP was definitely a winner, and fortunately, there were a lot of them pressed. The ICP song "Every Halloween" starts off the CD, it combines elements of the classic Hallowicked tracks with ICP's current sound at the time, along with great lyrics. Blaze Ya Dead Homie is next with the solid "Children of the Wasteland", which is better than his entire debut EP. The CD closes with "Waited til Halloween" from Twiztid, which is arguably the strongest of the three songs, with even better lyrics than ICP's contribution with a musical bed that takes some of the better elements of their songs from the Mirror Mirror and The Green Book era songs.
Hallowicked 2002 (2002)
I'm not sure if you'd call this a single or an EP. The title on the disc is Hallowicked 2002 but there are only two songs. The first song, which sometimes gets attributed to Soopa Villainz but is really just ICP featuring Esham, is called "Silence of the Hams". It's not really a Halloween song, though it does mention the holiday, it's an anti-cop song. There is nothing dark or spooky about the music, it sounds more like a filler track on an Esham album than a Hallowicked single. What saves this release is the second track, "Dead Body Man 2002", a cover by Blaze Ya Dead Homie of the original version from ICP. It's not a Halloween song, but it's good. Blaze's delivery and the chill backing music make this my favorite version of this song. The CD is worth tracking down for that song alone.
Thug Pit (2003)
After a few years of multiple songs on each release, we're back to a single track, "Thug Pit". It's not particularly good. Lots of guests, we have Kottonmouth Kings and Esham again, Tech N9ne, and Bone Thugs and Harmony. Halloween gets mentioned a few times, but there is little about this song that makes you feel like it's Halloween. Not a fan.
Murda Cloak (2004)
Here we have another unremarkable song. Nothing new or exciting lyrically, just murder on Halloween. The music isn't memorable. The highlight is the guest feature with Anybody Killa, but it's still just mediocre at best.
Wicked Hellaween (2005)
After a couple disappointing years, "Wicked Hellaween" is something of a return to form. It's more Halloween murder, which is fine, but against a nice funky beat. It's not very reminiscent of Halloween by itself, but it fits the lyrics quite well. If this were a movie, you could picture a Halloween murder montage with this beat in the background.
Blood Redrum (2006)
Another Halloween murder song here. The lyrics are nothing special but it has a pretty chill music bed. It's kind of lounge drum and bass influenced. The single includes an instrumental version of the song, which makes sense, as the music can stand on its own here.
Evil Is Afraid (2007)
I can't pick out much that's wrong with this song, but nothing really stands out either. The subject matter is better than the usual fare, but it's not quite memorable. A similar critique could be given for the music. An accurate, concise description would be something like "yeah... it's a Hallowicked song" and leave it at that.
I'm Your Killer (2008)
This is yet another take on the Halloween murder angle, but from a bit of a different perspective. It's basically a conversation between a murderer and his victim. Lyrically the song is pretty solid. Musically it has a similar feel to the early Hallowicked songs but makes better use of dynamics to build the song up to a plateau.
If I Ate Your Brains (2009)
2009 brings us a non-Halloween song about eating brains. It's not a bad song, but I think it loses a lot in context. This came out less than two months after ICP's Bang Pow Boom album, which was solid from beginning to end. In comparison, this sounds like a song that got cut from the album because it wasn't as good as the rest. The word "bland" comes to mind.
Hallowicked 2010 (2010)
Another three-song EP but... meh. The first song "This Halloween is Crazy" is, for the most part, lyrically interesting, but the music feels like a get-up-and-dance party anthem. I'm all for bands trying something different, but this didn't work out so well. If you want an ICP Halloween party song, this is it, but if you want Hallowicked, jump ahead to the next song. Track two is called "Scary Kidz" and is much closer to what I think of when I think Hallowicked, with a slower pace and a mournful piano loop. As a special treat for the die hard ICP fans, there's a nod back to Carnival Of Carnage with the phrase "never had it made" incorporated into the lyrics. The EP ends with "My House" by the Axe Murder Boyz. I'm not much of an AMB fan, and all I can say is this song sounds like all the rest of their stuff to me. AMB fans might dig it, though. Unfortunately, track one is the "official" Hallowicked song for 2010 and that's what makes it on to the compilations. As a side note, this is one of the handful of Hallowicked CDs with an illustrated sleeve.
I Saw A Monster (2011)
This year we got a story song about the time Violent J supposedly encountered a monster when he was out alone one night. It's an interesting story but not one of the better singles. It feels like this was made to tell the story rather than to make a great track. It's cool though.
Amber Alert (2012)
For the 2012 single, we get a non-Halloween song about abducted kids. While the lyrics are okay, and the music is decent, I think this would have been better as an album track than a Hallowicked single. It's more depressing than "wicked".
Hallowicked 2013 (2013)
Now we've got something. Here we have a 2 song EP with cover art, and two excellent songs. First, ICP gives us "Halloween Head" with some great, sometimes humorous lyrics dealing with Halloween and an urban legend, over some equally top notch music. The hooks are there, the Halloween feeling is there, it's all there. As if that wasn't enough, we get another killer track with "Devil's Night" by Boondox. This song is basically the icing on a giant pumpkin flavored cookie, and the samples from the film Halloween are the pieces of candy corn placed on top. If you don't have this CD, bookmark this page and get your ass over to ebay and find yourself one.
Red Moon Howl (2014)
For this year attendees got another picture sleeve with a pretty good song inside. It's not as good as the previous year, but it'll do. There's a decent hook and chorus; the lyrics and music are high quality. It's not their best work but thoroughly enjoyable.
Haunted By The Devil (2015)
Despite the cool picture sleeve with the Missing Link character in Halloween colors, this isn't a Halloween song. It's a good song though. Lyrically it sounds like it could have been on the Missing Link: Lost album. The music has an Exorcist feel to it. All Hallowickedness aside, this is a good, modern ICP song, but that's not what this list is for. The non-Halloween nature hurts its standing a bit.
Who U Know? (2016)
Well, it's a Halloween song. The lyrics are fine. The music puts me off a little, though. If not for the Halloween related lyrics, this would be something I expect to hear up in the club when people want to dance to something with a slower groove. Listen to it and tell me you can't see the flashing lights reflecting off the disco ball and people swaying and writhing on the dance floor with fruit flavored vape clouds rising in the air. But yeah, it's alright.
Bloody Screams Of 17 (2017)
For 2017, since 17 holds special meaning in juggalo numerology, attendees got a CD with 8 songs plus an intro. Sound cool? Well hold on just a minute. The first thing I notice is there is no ICP song; the closest you get is a collaboration between Violent J, Lyte, and Ouija Macc, and it's not a great song. The next 6 songs are from past and current members of the Psychopathic roster: Big Hoodoo, Zug Izland, Esham, Myzery, Motown Rage, and Mike E. Clark. None of those really stand out as anything special, though "Legacy" by Big Hoodoo and "Satan Is Her Name" by Mike E. Clark are two of the better songs out of those. Finally we get to the winner. The last song on the CD is a new version of "Dead Body Man" performed by Ouija Macc. This is the highlight of the EP. The song is completely reworked with new lyrics and a chill beat with a somber piano loop. I don't know what micro-genre you'd put this in, maybe horror-mumble-core rap or something, but it doesn't matter, it's good. So, it's not clear which is "the" Hallowicked song on this CD, if any. Unfortunately, there's a lot of filler so despite the great closing track, I skip over a lot until I get there.
Judgement Day (2018)
This is a cover of "Judgement Day", originally by Esham and also includes the original from 1992. The new version is absolutely amazing; it takes the song to a whole new level and still stays true to the original. All of the Black Sabbath samples are still there amidst a total audio onslaught aimed directly at your brain. This is the first Hallowicked single I immediately had to listen to again. The original sounds subdued in comparison. The only problem with this is that it's not a Halloween song, otherwise I would say this is the best Hallowicked single. It's definitely in the top three though.
The Dark (2019)
If you like the early Hallowicked songs, the sound of this one might bring you back to those days a little. The lyrics are kind of, well... dark, but not specifically Halloween related. It sets a mood rather than being directly about Halloween, which is fine. There's not much else to say, really. It's decent though not the most memorable of the Hallowicked songs.
Mr. Nothing Man (2020)
This sounds like a Halloween song but it's not, really. Lyrically it's not, anyway. This is the story of a man with no physical body who finds love with a woman who is somehow aware of his existence. So while not explicitly about Halloween, the lyrics evoke the feeling of a sort of psychological horror movie you might turn on when you get home on Halloween night. The music adds to that feeling. It's kind of a minimalist track, somewhat reminiscent of the early Hallowicked tracks, but it also sounds like the background music that might be in the sort of movie the lyrics call to mind. It's not my favorite but I like this one a lot.
Fun! (2021)
We come back to an actual Halloween themed single this year. Well, it's more of a Devil's Night theme but it's about Halloween too. This is about the variety of things that might happen on Devil's Night in Detroit. As the title suggests, it's specifically about the fun one might have participating in said antics. As the title also suggests, this is quite an upbeat song, no Halloween dirge here. I prefer the slower, creepier sounding songs, but these more lively ones are alright every once in a while. I like the cover on this one too. It comes in a cardboard sleeve with a Hallowickedized version of the cover from their latest album, Yum Yum Bedlam. They've done this in the past too, but this one really works well with the plant appearing to rise out of a pumpkin patch.
Most of these songs are available on compilation CDs released through the years. A 20 year Hallowicked collection was put out several years ago, though it only has one song from each year, so any of the additional songs aren't there. You can usually find the individual singles on ebay for $10 to $20 if you need any of those, though the early cassettes may go for more, especially if they're still sealed. Happy Hallowicked!