Back in the 80’s I used to make jokes about all my pals and classmates who were obsessed with Duran Duran, but the older I get the more I realize these dudes were groundbreaking 80s pop and rock leaders — and now they have their own Halloween concept album.

Danse Macabre was released last year just before Halloween, so it sort of flew under the radar with a lot of listeners, but this year it is getting attention again with an extended release, and well deserved. There’s not one cringy song on it.

The members of Duran Duran love Halloween, and after a special Halloween-themed performance in Vegas in 2022, they came up with idea of a concept album. Danse Macabre was the result. It is filled with both original and cover songs, as well as some darker remixes of earlier hits, but nothing too cutesy or novelty. Keyboardist Nick Rhodes told Billboard Magazine in summer of 2023, when the albums pre-orders were out, it would be the “the soundtrack to their ultimate Halloween party” and he was right.

The album has been out since last year, but this year in September they released an expanded version Danse Macabre: De Luxe with three more tracks, including a straight-forward, cool cover of ELO’s “Evil Woman:”

This Halloween put on some Duran Duran, not just for Gen-X memories, but for a solid album for the season.

Happy Halloween week, everyone, stay hungry like the wolf all week, because there’s a new moon on Monday.