Grave Diggler | L-R – Cubano Cortada, Shmuel Sugarman, Sonny Charnas, “Shreddie” Murphy Occhiuti, Miles Long
Their sons may have eclipsed them in the 21st Century, but for a sleazy moment, Grave Diggler left its stain on hard partying rock n’ roll with decadence, desecrations, and panty raids. The group once stood shoulder to shoulder with their eyeliner-and-excess peers in Poison, Mötley Crüe, and W.A.S.P., before bad business and even worse drugs dampened the fire in their loins. By the early ’90s, like many glam bands, Grave Diggler faded from the spotlight.
But history has a strange way of digglering up the past.
When the directing duo behind Scream (2022) and Scream VI, began work on the sequel to their 2019 black comedy horror hit Ready or Not, they desperately wanted to include one of Grave Diggler’s forgotten classic anthems. But even after Radio Silence Productions deduced the connection with Spencer Charnas, securing the rights was no mean feat.
The ensuing legal battle between fathers and sons resulted in Ice Nine Kills re-recording “Hell or High Slaughter (Grave Diggler: Pt. 2)” for Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and the long-banned 1987 music video for the song seeing the light of day.
“I’ve been estranged from my father for a long time,” Spencer explains. “But this movie, and this song, while bringing a lot of complicated feelings to the surface, also brought us back together.”
