By Dee Holloway 
Welcome to Dead Leaves, an occasional table stacked high with recent horror tomes! Today’s focus is heavier than weapons-grade plutonium. With film, literature, and music long cross-pollinating generally, certain genres are natural allies, and two great flavors that taste great together have always been heavy metal and horror.
Intertwined from the beginning, with progenitors Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath deeply influenced by pulps, the occult, and devilish guitar tones, heavy metal music and horror media have developed hand-in-hand. The Satanic Panic of the 80s laid societal ills at the twin portals of D&D and metal music. The horror-derived stage shows of Kiss and Ghost are well-known; The Crow‘s soundtrack remains beloved for its sterling survey of metal, industrial, and goth acts.
In terms of literature, it’s reasonable to say that heavy metal has been steady background radiation for each generation of horror authors since the 1970s. With 30-somethings steadily carving their niche in horror lit, the most recent bent is experimental, confrontational, and often downright ugly… just about perfect for a generation of writers coming of age on oft-derided alt metal, Korn forums, and Rob Zombie movies. Original-flavor doom, hair, death and prog, nu and metalcore, power and post: despite the allegations, heavy metal is a multifaceted genre, and the writers working to this soundtrack have produced, in turn, a horror novel for every listener. Below you’ll find some of our favorites–sound off in the comments about yours!
For the Old Heads
Gone to the Wolves by John Wray: Tampa Bay death, LA glam, and Oslo black metal? It’s equality! This road trip novel is ambitious, both formally and emotionally, and delivers pitch-perfect postcards from crucial scenes in heavy metal’s development. One for the girls and gays. For fans of: Until the Light Takes Us, SPF 75, and summer goth aesthetics.
Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill: The other King’s debut novel was re-released in 2023, which was when it came to my attention. Its provocative set-up (a man buys a ghost on the Internet, which turns out to be the avenging spirit of his dead girlfriend’s dead father) is augmented by the protagonist’s heavy metal past. The milieu of too-intense fans, controversial lyrical topics, and horror-inspired stage antics adds extra flair for hesher audiences. For fans of: The Ring, Alice Cooper, and rockumentaries.
Heavy Metal: yes, it’s true, Heavy Metal is back. Nuff said. Look at the funding goal versus actual funding on that Kickstarter for a good laugh. For fans of: Heavy Metal.
Tone-Bone by Kyle Winkler: Fine purveyors of bleak metal-flavored terror Castaigne Publishing are back on the scene with Winkler’s latest. There’s an incredible variety of female characters on display, from the eponymous bad granny to a slew of crust punks and a peculiarly Appalachian pagan. If you’ve been around the block a time or two, the dynamics of these characters will ring like a gong. For fans of: Tank Girl, Manly Wade Wellman, and Panopticon.
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix: You might be surprised to learn I love umlaut metal. A new book coming out is always a great time to revisit the author’s older material (Hendrix’s latest dropped last week), and We Sold Our Souls remains a wry, surprisingly poignant read from one of contemporary horror’s most prolific authors. For fans of: The Decline of Western Civilization Part II, Chuck Klosterman, and Lez Zeppelin.
For the Young Guns
Chaindevils by Matthew Mitchell: There are the cooler-than-thou echelons of post-metal and drone; then there’s the kids weaving nu-metal into their grind bands, hardcore cut with Pantera worship, and the guys who still have Ratt tapes in their truck. Matthew Mitchell’s debut splatter novella is for those guys. For fans of: Mad Max, country noir, and girlie powerviolence.
Generation Bloodbath by Paul Curran: Less a book and more of an experience, as many of publisher Apocalypse Party’s titles are. Put on some inscrutable noise, apply a psychedelic of choice, and sink in. For fans of: B.R. Yeager, Starkweather, and experimental prose.
Golgotha Motor Mountain by Matthew Erman, Lonnie Nadler, and Robbi Rodriguez: A fresh original title from Friend of the Site Matthew Erman, this IDW book promises cosmic-weird shenanigans, feel-good Nazi-killing, and running from cannibal cops on the strength of meth-fueled American muscle. For fans of: Dead Snow, NASCAR, and “The Colour Out of Space.”
Polyphemus by Zac Ashford: You ever had to fire your lead singer, but he brings Satan to practice for back-up? No? Just us? For fans of: records played backwards, Ne Obliviscaris, and scene beef.
TRUE CVLT by Michael Bettenford: So you’ve read all the books–how about a gamebook? Choose Your Own Adventure goes black metal with this experimental journey through an occult underworld. Try this one alongside Devil House by John Darnielle. For fans of: Lords of Chaos, DIY sorcery, and Jumanji.
DIS/MEMBER encourages readers to hit those links, support indie publishers and booksellers, and pick up something grody for yourself, your favorite person, or your worst enemy. Happy reading, ghouls!
