(Don't Fear) The Reaper / Tattoo Vampire

by Blue 脰yster Cult

(Don't Fear) The Reaper / Tattoo Vampire cover art
  • Type: Single
  • Released: June 1976
  • Label: Columbia
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 6:25
  • Community rating: 4.17/5 from 3 ratings

Artists on this release: Sandy Pearlman, David Lucas, Murray Krugman

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Written and sung by lead guitarist Buck Dharma, this track tempers the band's heavy-metal aesthetic with a gorgeous, jangling Byrds-esque guitar riff. The lyrics confront the inevitability of death and eternal love, achieving massive FM radio success despite its macabre undertones. The song's persistent, underlying percussion instrument famously inspired the iconic 'More Cowbell' Saturday Night Live sketch decades later.

Genres

Descriptors: death, existential, melodic, vampiric, occult

Tracklist

  1. (Don't Fear) The Reaper (3:45)
  2. Tattoo Vampire (2:40)

Credits

  • Blue 脰yster Cult - primary artist
  • Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - written-by
  • Albert Bouchard - written-by
  • Helen Robbins - written-by

More from Blue 脰yster Cult: full discography