music horror | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore

Tor.com, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1250314901

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Just when you thought Lovecraftian horror couldn’t get any weirder, Scotto Moore tosses this tongue-in-cheek tale of a band that is destined to bring out the end of the world into the ring. It’s a fun read that can and will be easily read in one sitting, and that’s sure to leave the reader with a smile.

The story begins when a music blogger happens upon a new group named Beautiful Remorse on the Bandcamp website (akin to Soundcloud) with the name Beautiful Remorse. Of course, the infectious music soon causes quite a stir in the industry. The first song causes strange reactions in those who listen to it, and the narrator of the novella decides he needs to meet the singer of the band, Airee McPherson.

When he lands the interview, he learns that Airee and her enigmatic band have a plan for him: she informs him that she’s not from this dimension, and will not be satisfied until she brings forth the end of the world as we know it.

Every day, Beautiful Remorse releases a new song that tears into the reality he knows, and something changes that just might signal the apocalypse. Airee plays the blogger like a finely-tuned instrument. He is a witness, and yet, can do nothing to stop it.

What ensues is pure entertainment, sheer fun in grandiose storytelling that just might cause old Howard Phillips to rock a bit in his grave. Reminiscent of Skipp and Spector’s The Scream, Moore’s book eschews the sheer horror of that classic for something much lighter (if you consider summoning forth old gods out of another dimension light). Think of Lovecraft crossed with Jeff Strand and one might get the proper feel for this book. Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You is a fun read, recommended for a dark and stormy night.

Reviewed by David Simms

Book Review: Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman

Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman
Ecco, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0062259684
Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

When Bird Box hit the horror scene three years ago, readers discovered a new voice. Lyrical, rhythmic, and brutal, Josh Malerman wrote like a musician carving away at an album of great songs. The result was a true original that should have won the Bram Stoker award. Malerman is the singer and guitarist of the rock band The High Strung, and in this second novel, Malerman has used his experience to pen a novel about the power of music, both good and bad. Black Mad Wheel is incredibly accessible, with strong characters and a narrative that flows like the best classic rock and roll.

In the post-World War II era, the members of The Danes, a band with a one-hit-wonder, are looking for their next big thing. They find it when an officer from military intelligence makes them an offer that could put them all back on the path to wealth. The officer claims there is a “sound” emanating from the African desert that can disarm any weapon, but can also destroy a human in a horrific manner. The band accepts, and heads to the desert to find the source of the sound.

Meanwhile, in a parallel story, Phillip Tonka awakes from a long coma in a strange hospital, unable to move. Nearly every bone in his body is broken. He is a miracle to those who care for him. Ellen, his nurse, begins to unravel the mystery of what is happening to him, and why he is still alive and healing at a rate that is physically impossible. Both stories weave around each other like a great vocal riding atop a harmony, a guitar riff alongside a backbeat rhythm that can transform the simplest of songs into something magical. What the band finds in the desert is something most won’t see coming; Phillip’s tale is both mysterious and thrilling, and, as Malerman develops the bond between the man and his nurse, heartwarming as well.
Black Mad Wheel proves that Josh Malerman wasn’t a one-hit wonder. The story is just as enticing as Bird Box, with as much heart as horror. Do not miss this. Highly recommended. This ranks near the top of any thriller written about music.

Reviewed by Dave Simms