Author | Critic
“Heavy metal has always shared a close relationship with the horror genre. From metal grandaddy Black Sabbath’s very name (lifted from Mario Bava’s 1963 anthology film) to the occult aesthetics of black metal and the grisly imagery of death metal, this diverse sonic universe overlaps with horror in varying noteworthy ways. Indeed, I found my gateways into heavy music around the same time I discovered horror fiction and cinema, and it all seemed somehow connected.”
Eric Raglin talks to Mike Thorn about the horrors of academia, formative metalhead experiences, and addiction in horror fiction. In the second half of the episode, they have a spoiler-filled discussion of “A New Kind of Drug” from Thorn’s collection Darkest Hours (Raglin provides a warning in advance, and the rest of the episode is spoiler-free).
“I have curated two playlists that aim to capture the novel’s spirit, one with vocals and one without. The former playlist includes songs recorded in or before the year 2003, ranging from industrial and nu metal to hardcore and post-punk. Many of these tracks summon vivid personal memories from my teenage years. The second playlist, comprised of instrumental pieces (black metal interludes, dark ambient works, horror movie soundtracks, field recordings, and more) seeks to capture the novel’s dark atmosphere.”
“Exhume to Consume” was my working title for the second story in my new duology, Dreams of Lake Drukka & Exhumation ; unfortunately, the title already belongs to a song from Carcass’s Symphonies of Sickness (which is included on this list). Like many of the pieces in my collection Darkest Hours, this new story owes something to the atmosphere and imagery of death metal and black metal. For Night Worms, I’ve listed and (very, very roughly) ranked my 100 favorite metal albums.
“Twenty-five years ago, Marilyn Manson released his debut album Portrait of an American Family. Ten albums and multiple band changes later, his catalogue presents an extensive, medium-crossing statement on a culture he both reviles and embodies. Manson’s oeuvre presents a messy, self-contradicting statement, bound up in its creator’s narcissism and his uniquely Ouroboros-like relationship to the popular American landscape.”
Read the full article in Vague Visages.
