Often time in a book, the mood needs to be set that this action is what the whole book hinges on. Today’s music selection is my go to track with regard to getting myself into that mindset for my characters. Plus, I also love Hans Zimmer. 😀
Category: Metal Monday
Hurt By the Ones We Love
A few years back, Apocalyptica and Cristina Scabbia (of Lacuna Coil) collaborated on “S.O.S. (Anything But Love),” a song that touched upon mental abuse and control. I think it’s particularly haunting given some friends’ terrible relationships.
At the Sharp End
This was the runner up for last week’s Memorial Day edition of Metal Monday. Like Five Finger Death Punch, Avenged Sevenfold has done a lot to support members of the Armed Forces by putting in their time with tours. “Danger Line” is a pretty intense song about a soldier’s last moments and the chaos of combat, and I’ve used it as background for several scenes in Aries’ Red Sky.
Memorial Day Metal Monday
Today’s Memorial Day in the United States. I’ll let my West Point classmate Jaimie explain the holiday, as she did it very eloquently nine years ago. Unfortunately, Jaimie gave the last full measure of her duty to the country on 8 June 2013.
So, without further ado, I think we’ll roll with Five Finger Death Punch’s “Gone Away” for this Metal Monday. It seems to fit.
Unity of Effort
Some of the best scores don’t necessarily come from a movie. Without further ado…
Lonely and Waiting…
There are a few movie soundtracks that have held up for decades. Tastes indicate what albums make your personal list, but Queen of the Damned makes that list for me. Even better is the fact that several of the songs have two versions thanks to record company shenanigans. For example, the angst-ridden hit “Not Meant for Me”:
Jonathan Davis’s version:
Wayne Static’s:
I personally like Davis’ version better, as did most fans of the movie. Alas…contract disputes are a thing. 😦
Tumbling Over A Cliff…
Relationships come in many different forms. One of the tried and true ones in writing is the couple who suddenly, irrevocably realize they’ve fallen in love. If done really well, it surprises the author as well as the reader.
Today’s Metal Monday song strives to capture that feeling in a power ballad. Without further ado…
A Lion’s Legacy (Music Monday)
I’m a huge fan of Game of Thrones. Even if I’ve given up on George R.R. Martin ever finishing the series (writer’s block is a thing), I do enjoy what HBO has done with Westeros and the story arc.
One of the big things is the evolution of the Lannisters. Without getting too much into Season 7, suffice to say there are several major turning points where you see Tyrion, Jaime, and Cersei all take major steps to both grow out of their father’s shadow and apply what Tywin taught them. This piece covers one of those times, and I applaud Ramin Djawadi’s ability to weave a theme (in this case, “The Rains of Castamere”) to enhance what is occurring on screen. If I ever get any of my books made into a TV show, I can only hope that there’s a composer who can do the same.
Metal Monday–Simon and Garfunkel Edition
No, your eyes do not deceive you. For some reason, Simon and Garfunkel seem to well and truly appeal to heavy metal bands. A lot of readers may remember Disturbed did a cover of “The Sound of Silence”
Well there’s also the less famous Leaves’ Eyes rendition of “Scarborough Fair”
Both are great songs, and I’m always happy when the Ipod randoms to them while writing. Now if only I could find a heavy metal cover of “I Am A Rock” or “Cecilia.” *sigh*
Metallica Does the Tenth Plague
Heavy metal, as a genre, often gets a bad rap for being nothing but screaming and guitar riffs. As I’ve alluded to when discussing several other bands, there’s often a lot of higher concept work involved. As one of the undisputed “Masters of Metal,” it’s pretty much unsurprising that Metallica has quite a few songs that deal with particular topics, covering everything from the ravages of war (“One”) to suicide (“Fade to Black”). However, one of their classics stems from when Metallica got a little Biblical…
