Bauhaus “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” 1979. Small Wonder Records. 12″ single b/w “Boys” and “Dark Entries (demo).” I had every intention of pulling this from the vault for this past weekend’s Halloween and Day of the Dead but the weekend’s festivities got in the way.

“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” is the epitome of goth rock and many consider it the first true goth release. It’s 9+ minutes of pulse-like rhythm punctuated with haunting bass strums and eery guitar squeals, the words “dead” and “undead” appearing 48 times painted with visions of bats, dead flowers and red-velvet lined coffins.

The b-side track “Boys” is another one of my favorites by Bauhaus. Peter Murphy’s voice is gloriously pained and the music sparsely and desperately sad. The teaser “Dark Entries (demo)” hints at the glorious full recording to come in its 1980 release.