# Books that have that "black metal" feel



## DXL (Jan 22, 2014)

Okay this is sort of a weird request but does anyone know any good books that have that "black metal" feel? You know like something that's really cold and dark and emotional. Not sure if you guys can find anything for me since it is an awkward topic but still any help will be awesome, thanks


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash (Jan 22, 2014)

Wrong section should be in the media/books forum.


----------



## DXL (Jan 22, 2014)

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> Wrong section should be in the media/books forum.



oh thanks, is there anyway to move it or should i just restart it in that forum?


----------



## Scattered Messiah (Jan 22, 2014)

H P Lovecraft


----------



## Yo_Wattup (Jan 22, 2014)

The Bible


----------



## abandonist (Jan 22, 2014)

Y'all toastin' in a bowl of bread.


----------



## DXL (Jan 22, 2014)

Scattered Messiah said:


> H P Lovecraft



I just downloaded the e-book of At The Mountains of Madness after finding that Lovecraft's books have that dark feel to them, thanks though ;D


----------



## AdamMaz (Jan 22, 2014)

"*Thus Spoke Zarahustra*" by _Friedrich Nietzsche_

Its a book about a prophet/hermit having decided to descend from the mountain he has been living in for 10 years and speak to villagers at its foot about the death of God and the future of mankind.


There are a lot of brief monologues and some wonderful dialogues. Don't be fooled by the very bright beginning, it wears off rather quickly. The wanderer's book par excellence  The only aspect I would point out that keeps it from being a _perfect_ match is that the main character goes through ups and downs in morale, his ups being poetically exuberant.


----------



## Vhyle (Jan 22, 2014)

Great thread, actually. I've been wanting to find books of this kind, as well.


----------



## mcd (Jan 22, 2014)

I've always felt that "The Giving Tree" was full of darkness.


----------



## thraxil (Jan 22, 2014)

Anything by Thomas Ligotti.


----------



## Cnev (Jan 22, 2014)

thraxil said:


> Anything by Thomas Ligotti.



Without question, my favorite living author.

Laird Barron is someone I would also recommend.


----------



## MartinMTL (Jan 23, 2014)

JRR Tolkien. 

I mean, its the basis of a good number of black metal band names (Burzum and Gorgoroth come to mind)


----------



## HeavyMetal4Ever (Jan 23, 2014)

Check out Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series.

Rock on!


----------



## naw38 (Jan 23, 2014)

House of Leaves.

Probably doesn't match at all, but if someone asks for a recommendation, that's my go to book. It's amazing. Look it up. I don't even have words for it.


----------



## OmegaSlayer (Jan 23, 2014)

God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe
Nochnoy Dozor series by Sergei Lukyanenko


----------



## The Grief Hole (Jan 23, 2014)

Maldoror by Lautremont. Nihilistic, surreal and very anti-Christianity. It is the 2nd wave in book form.


----------



## DLG (Jan 23, 2014)

thraxil said:


> Anything by Thomas Ligotti.


 
where should I start with this guy?


----------



## Cnev (Jan 23, 2014)

DLG said:


> where should I start with this guy?



Teatro Grottesco is on Amazon for fairly cheap. I would start there. Subterranean Press did a series of re-releases of his major compilations which are readily available in e-book formats, if you're into that kind of thing. I wouldn't recommend "My Work Is Not Yet Done" as an introduction to him, as it really isn't representative of Ligotti's ability as an author. It's widely considered his worst work, even by Ligotti himself, although I wouldn't call it bad by any means. "Conspiracy Against the Human Race" is actually a non-fiction work of philosophical pessimism, so I'm not sure you want to go down that road. But, it definitely brings to clarity the foundation upon which his fiction rests.

You could also head over to THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE. It's a wonderful repository of not only Ligotti's work, but also many other artists who share the same literary timbre, so to speak. I'm sure you could find something there that suits your fancy. Quite a few black metal connoisseurs over there as well.

Lastly, Current 93 made and absolutely brilliant iteration of Ligotti's "I Have a Special Plan for This World". It captures perfectly the atmosphere Ligotti creates with his fiction, and in my opinion it is one of the most brilliant works of horror in existence.


----------



## innovine (Jan 23, 2014)

I don't know about black metal, but The Road is a dark, desolate, sad sad tale.


----------



## thraxil (Jan 23, 2014)

I agree with everything Cnev recommends. The Current 93 track is what originally got me into Ligotti's work. I would also add that there's a graphic novel, "The Nightmare Factory" that adapts some of his stories. It's terrible, though. Avoid it. Any of Teatro Grottesco, Grimscribe, Noctuary, or Songs of a Dead Dreamer are fine to start with. The ebook versions are pretty much the only affordable versions available right now.

I *really* liked his non-fiction book, "The Conspiracy Against the Human Race" though I wouldn't start there. I also wouldn't go anywhere near it if you're the least bit depressed or otherwise not in a good place to start with. It's an utterly pessimistic book that lays out a strong argument for why actual reality and day to day existence is worse than anything that the most creative horror writer can conjure up.


----------



## wat (Jan 23, 2014)




----------



## abandonist (Jan 23, 2014)

The Grief Hole said:


> Maldoror by Lautremont. Nihilistic, surreal and very anti-Christianity. It is the 2nd wave in book form.



I have a tattoo of Lautremont.


----------



## flexkill (Jan 24, 2014)

Yo_Wattup said:


> The Bible


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash (Jan 24, 2014)

Yo_Wattup said:


> The Bible


----------



## dedsouth333 (Jan 24, 2014)

DXL said:


> I just downloaded the e-book of At The Mountains of Madness after finding that Lovecraft's books have that dark feel to them, thanks though ;D



I'm not sure if you already know or not, but you can download the entire Lovecraft collection from Amazon for ~$4. It has (afaik) everything he's ever done including collaborations he did with other authors, short stories and novellas. Pretty much everything he's written is bleak and dark and filled with insanity (with the extreme exception of "The Tale of Ermengard" or whatever it's called) haha.


----------



## 7stg (Jan 24, 2014)

Yo_Wattup said:


> The Bible



While reading the bible is good to understand it, especially in the realm of Astrotheology. I think one would be better served reading the Nag Hammadi, The Corpus Hermeticum, The Pseudepigrapha, Helena Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie, and such

A bunch of ebooks here Esoteric Magical E-Books Library Main Menu

The various Magickal, Occult, Left Hand Path, Satanic, ect orders Ezoteric and Occult Organizations have reading lists that are worth a look. (None of which have to do with first wave black metal, but due to the media coverage it does second wave. Most do not seem to go very deep or have real understanding and only use the imagery to their own purposes.)
Here are a couple reading lists.
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn's - reading list
The Temple of Set's - reading list


And the obvious, HP Lovecraft, which is mandatory reading.


----------



## Skyblue (Jan 25, 2014)

I have found Jo Nesbo's books to be very dark, and sad. He writes crims novels, so if that's your styles, you've got my recommendation. 
If you go for it, start with The Redbreast.


----------



## HeavyMetal4Ever (Jan 26, 2014)

You could probably squeeze Michael Moorcock under this umbrella too. I'd start with the Elric books.

Rock on!


----------



## Vhyle (Jan 26, 2014)

I'm definitely going to look into Lautremont, and Ligotti based on this thread.

And, +1 on The Road (Cormac McCarthy). Very depressing, bleak and gripping. Especially if you're a parent. Very good book. Even McCormack's unorthodox writing style contributes very well to the grey mood. It threw me off at first, but it grew on me quickly as the mood of the book progressed deeper into grim territory.


----------



## Drusas (Feb 1, 2014)

Anything by Clive Cussler really. His short stories are pretty wicked.


----------

