Thank you, Farkel, for your post.
I, likewise, find The Planets so.
I should have given proper attribution for that comment but could not relocate the source. A writer referred to melodic and rhythmic aspects of Mars, the Bringer of War, as frightening, making this section of Holst's masterpiece pretty darn scary.
Subjective point of view, to be sure, but I concur. I get a tingle ...
All the best,
CoCo