Dennis Nilsen | 5ive Songs

1. Swans, “Killing for Company”

💿 The Great Annihilator • 🏷 Young God • 📅 1995

“I couldn’t stop myself / I knew I’d do it again / But I could heal myself / If I could feel your skin.” Those lyrics, excerpted from the first verse of 🎵 “Killing for Company” (💿 The Great Annihilator) are disturbing 🎙 Swans – just saying. Nonetheless, disturbing is the right vibe for the serial killer at hand. Jeffrey Dahmer gets a hell of a lot of attention as he should – he was hellish to the nth degree. However, Dahmer had a disturbing British counterpart, Dennis Nilsen (1945 – 2018).

Like Dahmer, Dennis Nilsen was homosexual, targeting gay boys and men.  Also, like Dahmer, he enjoyed dismembering the corpses, necrophilia, and keeping trophies (aka “company”). As awful as Nilsen was to normal folks, he earned the nickname as “The Kindly Killer.” Don’t let the nickname fool you –  there’s very little “kindly” about killing between 12 and 15.

“And if I heal your wound
We will make love again...”

As for the lyrics featured above, arguably they seem to fit with Nilsen nearly killing Carl Stotter, but ultimately reviving him.  All for the sake of company?

“I know we'll never end
Now there is no beginning
And when it’s cold at night
I’ll kiss your velvet sleeve
I know we'll never end
I’ll keep you company.”

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 11 Unsettling Songs About Gay Serial Killers

2. Macabre, “You’re Dying to Be with Me”

💿 Murder Metal • 🏷 Nuclear Blast • 📅 2003

“Sitting at my table, having some tea / Chatting with a bloke who’s dead from strangling…” Um, WTF? “I’m a lonely man in need of company / I only have to kill men to make them stay with me.” Jesus! Who is best equipped to capture a notorious serial killer? That would be doom metal gods, 🎙 Macabre! This satirical band is awesome at narrativizing deplorables, so, Dennis Nilsen is in good hands. 🎵 “You’re Dying to Be with Me” (💿 Murder Metal) is the perfect title, given Nilsen’s desire to be close with dead men… HOLY S#!T!

“You’re Dying to Be with Me” clocks in under three minutes in duration.  That’s enough time to construct a totally [bleeped] up tale.  The record is characterized by quick tempo, jagged guitars, pummeling drums, and wild, idiosyncratic vocals.  #Bad Ass! Of course, the chorus is disturbing – that titular line. Macabre being the darlings that they are aren’t the least bit subtle regarding Dennis’ actions:

“I love to be with you, but you’re now decomposing
The bloody smell so putrid
We must soon part company
A fire in my backyard should work sufficiently
My toilet also used to flush away dead men rotting.”

3. ACE, “Dennis Nilsen”

💿 Daddy Luvs You • 🏷 Ace of Spades Music • 📅 2021

“Bodies piling up every time I fall in love.” OMFG!!! Dennis Nilsen really set himself up for ridicule postmortem.  His legacy is forever tarnished given his desire to be close with dead men (have I already mentioned that).  🎙 ACE takes this idea and runs with it on the rap song 🎵 “Dennis Nilsen.”

“Dennis Nilsen” runs less than two-minutes in duration.  That’s enough to construct a disturbing vibe and reminds of how horrible Mr. Nilsen was.  Besides the excerpted lyric, add “I need to squeeze you to death” to the mix.  Ooh wee! Furthermore, “Dennis Nilsen” contains eerie production work, set in a minor key, as well as samples of news regarding the horrid happenings.

4. Church of Misery, “Cranley Gardens (Dennis Andrew Nilsen)”

💿 Thy Kingdom Scum • 🏷 Rise Above • 📅 2013

🎵 “Cranley Gardens” is the title of 🎙 Church of Misery’s soundtrack to Dennis Nilsen.  So, what’s the significance? This is where Nilsen’s crimes came to an end – he was arrested following improper disposal of his victims’ bodies.  It’s gross, but even more troubling is the fact that this happened – it’s not fiction.

“Cranely Gardens” commences with clips of a reporter speaking about Nilsen, which is a common characteristic of Church of Misery serial/mass killer songs.  Bass appears as the first instrument, accompanying the news clip, and it’s awesome, awesome, awesome! Soon enough, drums and guitar enter the mix, creating some superb music. After the tone is set, the guitars get beefier, and the lead vocals enter in, gritty, unrefined, and wild AF.  I mean, any song about a guy as disturbed as Dennis Nilsen should be wild.

5.Moth Wranglers “Turnabout (For Dennis)”

💿 Never Again • 🏷 Moth Wranglers • 📅 2010

“Someone else has played this game / Did something awful – though I’m not quite sure how / Someone hid behind his name / Did things unlawful – and you can’t stop him now.” Dennis Nilsen, the British counterpart to Jeffrey targeted gay boys and men and enjoyed dismembering corpses and necrophilia. Sexuality itself is NOT the problem but rather the perverted stuff Mr. Nilsen did – dismemberment and necrophilia.

“It’s just a lark, a little game / And darling, we’ve all felt the same / It’s just a fad, a passing stage / A product of this anxious age / Bad boy led the world astray / I can’t explain, but I can show you how / Sad boy sighed his life away / He felt no pain – well, not much anyhow.” Indie rock duo 🎙 Moth Wranglers tackle “The Kindly Killer” on the song, 🎵 “Turnabout (For Dennis)” which appears on their 2010 album, 💿 Never Again. And if I can’t make it clear enough, Nilsen was hardly kind, given his murderous escapades.

“It’s just a phase, perhaps a ruse
It’s nothing bad – he’s just confused
It’s just a shame, it’s just the truth
No, nothing serious – call it youth.” 

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 11 Unsettling Songs About Gay Serial Killers