“The text is a fetish object, and this fetish desires me. The text chooses me, by a whole disposition of invisible screens, selective baffles: vocabulary, references, readability, etc.; and, lost in the midst of a text (not behind it, like a deus ex machina) there is always the other, the author.”–Barthes, The Pleasure of the Text (PT 27)

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” –Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature (D&OMT 365)

It’s the last week of Mythos 101: HP Lovecraft appreciation week – I hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing. Here are some more HP Lovecraft weirdnesses from across the internet:

Topless Robot gives us 6 Boring New England Destinations Made Cooler by HP Lovecraft. This is going into my “travel planning” folder for our future trip to the US. I would love to go to Salam and buy up large on all the tacky touristy witchy crap. Also, read the comments. They are made of lol.

Cthuuuugle

Tales of the Plush Cthulhu – this is making me want one of these cthulhu plushies more and more! Maybe I could pose him in all my Cthulhu Closet posts?

A Mountain Walked or Stumbled: Madness, Apocalypse, and HP Lovecraft’s “Call of Cthulhu” by Jason Taylor – 2004. A serious academic essay exploring the connection between madness and apocalypse in Call of Cthulhu – it’s an interesting read if you’re into close reading.

Necronomicon press – another source of HP Lovecraft and mythos fiction online.

drawing by Ikura maru

Lovecraft / Derleth joke, courtesy of In Absinthia.

Miskatonic Archive – HP Lovecraft miscellany, including artwork and writing. I could browse this site for hours.

HP Lovecraft on twitter.

“For obvious reasons, Innsmouth’s fine dining establishments would be well-served to keep fungi off the menu. And yet…”

“The pantry floor is befouled by an ichoric substance of queer consistency, reeking of sulfur and acute perturbation.”

“A sodden nod to those wishing me a “happy” birthday. May you be spared the wrath of the Great Old Ones. (You shan’t be.)”

Vacation Necronomicon School – my favorite lesson is Cthulhu is Not Cute!

And he also linked to this, which I have no idea what it is, but it’s freaken awesom.

HP Lovecraft’s stellar seafood chowder.

I had no idea “hauntrock” was a genre.

And … I’m done.

Love and Tentacles

Dayglo Abortions – The Spawn of Yog Shothoth

Crazy awesome punk outfit from British Columbia, “The Spawn of Yog Shothoth” is probably one of Dayglo Abortions’ best songs – I love the D&D stats.

Dark Moor – The Silver Key

Based on Lovecraft’s story of the same name, spanish power metallers Dark Moor give us a decent (although formulaic) power metal track.

Bal Sagoth – Shackled to the Trilithon of Kutulu

From their Chthonic Chronicles album, I am still not sure if I really like Bal Sagoth. A great fan-made video with lots of Lovecraftian artwork.

Daemonicium – Alone Through the Path of Sorrow I walk

From the Through Time and Death album, I am loving these polish symphonic metallers.

Cosmic Atrophy – Adrift in a Lifeless Sea of Black

Decent death metal from Houston – thanks Rob for hooking me up. From their 2008 release Codex Incubo.

Beyond Hell – Summoning the End

… and these guys, with a total old school death vibe. Love Pestilence? Love Beyond Hell.

HP Lovecraft Historical Society – Death to the World

Death to the world! Cthulhu’s come:
Let Earth abhor this thing.
Let every mind prepare for doom,
As anguish and woe he’ll bring.
Up from the sea, R’lyeh did rise:
The cultists awestruck dumb.
With ancient rites so wretched and perverse,
Cthulhu’s time has come.

LOVE IT.

Nile – What May be Safely Written

The first track from the epic Ithyphallic, “What May be Safely Written” describes the rise of Cthulhu. Extreme metal at its best.

Metallica – The Thing that Should Not Be

From Live Shit Binge and Purge, Metallica ripping into a Cthulhu classic.

I still adore the S&M performances:

Frontier Cthulhu anthology

1. HP Lovecraft

Various collections abound. I started with “At the Mountains of Madness and other Tales”, and I own an edition of “Crawling Chaos”, given to me by an incredible friend. I can’t tell you which edition to buy, because I haven’t read them all, but I can tell you some of my favorite stories: “At the Mountains of Madness” (which is a novella and the basis for the upcoming Del Toro film), “Call of Cthulhu” (a must-read for metalheads), “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, “The Dunwich Horror”, “The Shadow Out of Time”, “The Colour Out of Space”, “Dreams in the Witch-House”, “Dagon”, “ibid”, “The Hound” and “The Picture in the House”. I could keep going.

Read it: You can find Lovecraft at your local library, in most bookshops, and online. You can read all of Lovecraft’s stories for free.

2. Mysteries of the Worm, by Robert Bloch

One of Lovecraft’s correspondents and an avid contributor to the shared Cthulhu mythos, Bloch is perhaps most famous for creating the novel Psycho, one of the first urban horror tales to rely on realism (rather than supernatural nasties). Lovecraft mentored Bloch, but his writing is still easier on the eye (and the dictionary. The title of this collection is the english translation of De Vernis Mysteriis, Bloch’s own invented grimoire of dark spells and demon chantings. It contains the “Shambler on the Shore,” Bloch’s most famous story, where a character reminiscent of Lovecraft himself meets an unfortunate end. Another great story is “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” which reimagines the Ripper in a more modern Chicago. Bloch’s first love was comedy, and you can see how he structures many of his stories as though they were jokes, building on the premise until he hits you with the punchline.

Read it: You can buy Mysteries of the Worm at most decent bookshops. Robert Bloch’s works are not yet public domain, so if they’re online for free, they shouldn’t be.

3. The Quest for Cthulhu – August Derleth

One of Lovecraft’s most ardent collaborators, August took “responsibility” for the mythos after Lovecraft’s death and reshaped it as an epic judeo-Christian battle between good and evil. His stories are entertained, light, fun, pulpy and well-crafted – to me, they lack the supreme horror of Lovecraft, but don’t let that put you off.

I recommend this collection, which is divided into two parts. The first contains several stories basically rewritten from Lovecraft’s “canon” – “The Seal of R’lyeh” is “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, and so on. They’re a little “fanboyish” but nevertheless, quite well done. The second half, the “Trail of Cthulhu” deals with interlocking short stories – first person accounts of involvement with Dr. Shrewsbury, who is helping Hastur fight Cthulhu. One reviewer describes it as “clinical”, and I’d agree – but it’s still worth a read. A piece of mythos history, as it were.

Read it: You can find Derleth at most bookshops and libraries. Don’t ask die-hard Lovecraft fans about him, however, because they’ll knock you over the head with their esoteric grimoire. Read his short story McIlvaine’s Star on Project Gutenburg.

4. Robert E. Howard

The last of Lovecraft’s more notable contemporaries, you might recognise Howard as the author of Conan the Barbarian. And who’s more metal than Conan? That’s right – NO ONE.

Many people don’t know that the earlier Conan tales published in Weird Tales were heavily influenced by the ideas and shared worlds being handed between the circle of writers – ideas largely stemming from the imagination of one Howard Philips Lovecraft. Many later editors reworked these early stories, diluting the Lovecraftian aspects, but nevertheless, stories such as “Phoenix on the Sword”, “The Vale of Lost Women” and “The Tower of the Elephant” contain decidedly cthulhu-ian elements.

Read it: You can read most of Howard’s early Conan stories on project Gutenburg.

5. The Midnight Eye Files, by William Melkie

Pulp fiction at it’s best – satirical, biting, and brutal. The protagonist, a polyglot PI in Glasgow, is rather down on his luck, when a beautiful women walks into his office. She has a case for him – someone’s stolen her wedding present – a strange amulet depicing a half feline/half squid with hideous tentacles. Rugose tentacles, one might say. Fans of pulp fiction and cross-genre nonsense – this one’s a keeper.

Read it: You’ll have to buy this one from your favorite bookstore. You can, however, read the first chapter of the Midnight Eye Files: The Amulet online at goodreads.

6. I, Cthulhu, by Neil Gaiman

I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark here and guess you’re all probably aware of who Neil Gaiman is? Right? Good. Now, unless you happen to spent vast periods of worthwhile time stalking author’s websites online (like some of us. Sob!) you might NOT be aware of I, Cthulhu, a sweet little ditty of a story archived on Neil’s extensive website. In the story, Cthulhu dictates his autobiography to a human slave, Whately. It’s a cracker of a read and a good length for those of us who don’t have good book smarts.

Read it: Read I, Cthulhu on Neil’s website.

7. A Colder War, by Charles Stross

Written in 1997 by Charles Stross, this haunting novelette imagines a follow-up mission to that undertaken in At the Mountains of Madness, my favorite Lovecraft story. Set during the Cold War, Stross has the Soviet’s develop a superweapon called Project Koschei, based on captured Nazi Germany research into an underwater city in the Baltic Sea. Project Koschei is in direct violation of the Dresdon Agreement, a secret treaty signed in 1931 after a certain expedition to an eldritch Atlantic plateau … a plateau that can not be located on any map. The treaty forbids the use of the alien entities for use in war, and keeps their presence secret from the public. But those wacky Soviets …

Read it: You can read A Colder War online at Infinity Plus

The Iron Throne, Caitlin Kittredge

8. Iron Codex 1: The Iron Throne, by Caitlin Kittredge

I’m a huge fan of modern urban fantasy (ever since reading Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks) and I discovered Caitlin Kittredge through her Nocturne City series. So when I heard she’d sold a young adult steampunk series set in a city ruled by Lovecraft. Yes, that’s right. There’s eldritch beings walking the streets, and the protagonist, Aoife Grayson, is desperately trying to avoid her family legacy of going mental on her 16th birthday. Sounds like one of those books I wish I’d written.

Read it: I’m a bastard, because The Iron Throne won’t be out till Feb 2011. But I can already tell I’m gonna love it. Keep up with the news on Caitlin’s website.

9. Shadows over Baker Street, edited by Michael Reaves

The macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle’s peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.

Like their idols before them, many writers prefer to honor the mythos by writing in the story form for which is was created – the short story. Hence the plethora of Lovecraftian anthologies around. Most of them are blah, derivative or outright terrible. This one is good – authors such as Neil Gaiman, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Brite, David Ferguson and TIm Lebbon imagining Sherlock Holmes battling the Great Old Ones.

Read it: you’ll probably need to order Shadows over Baker Street online.

10. Frontier Cthulhu: Ancient Horrors in the New World, edited by William Jones

As explorers conquered the frontiers of North America, they disturbed sleeping terrors and things long forgotten by humanity. Journey into the undiscovered country where fierce Vikings struggle against monstrous abominations. Travel with European colonists as they learn of buried secrets and the creatures guarding ancient knowledge. Go west across the plains, into the territories were sorcerers dwell in demon-haunted lands, and cowboys confront cosmic horrors.

I also haven’t read this anthology, but it sound awesome (especially the Vikings). It’s a Chaosium anthology, which usually doesn’t bode well, but one I might be putting on my e-reader for the weekend. We shall see.

Read it: You’ll have to get this online, perhaps from Chaosium.

And, your special bonus book, for those with little horrors of their own, check out Where the Deep Ones Are. My nephew is SO getting a copy of this for Christmas.

“The Deep Ones croaked their terrible croaks
and smacked their terrible lips
and rolled their terrible eyes
and waved their terrible flippers”

To find all these mythos books, and more, I suggest you pop along to Mythos Books – an old-school mail-order, one-stop shop for all books Cthulhuoid.

Super snuggles and shoggoth kisses

Originally, I was going to write reviews of 5 HP Lovecraft concept albums, but all the good ones were by non-metal bands, so I’ve decided instead to review five albums with loose connetions to HP Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, either because the band itself are heavily influenced by Lovecraft, or they write music within the spectrum of the mythos, or the album has a suitably Eldritch title. I’ve tried to pick lesser-known albums, and I hope you’ll enjoy this rather eclectic musical menagerie.

Necronomicon - Sacred Medicines

Necronomicon – The Sacred Medicines

As Islander so eloquently puts it, with a three-piece “It’s just a helluva lot harder for mediocre musicians to hide within the sound when there’s only three of you. The spotlight shines with particularly unforgiving brightness on the guitarist, jumping from rhythm to lead and back again. So when a three-piece band fails, they tend to fall hard, and when they deliver the goods, the achievement is all the more impressive.” His recent review of the new Necronomicon album reminded me that I have “The Sacred Medicines” and I haven’t listened to it in awhile, so I rectified that immediately.

Necronomicon focus on portraying atmosphere, using inteludes, spoken word sections, and even … horror! … female vocals to produce a unique melodic death album. There’s a real tribal feel to this album, which ushers forth visions of Lovecraft’s “negroid” cultists in the fury of their worship. Drums, guitars, vocals … all flow seamlessly to create a dark, brooding and magical atmosphere.

In a three-piece, the guitar solos stand on their own, but here, you hardly notice. A decent vocal performance and some kick-ass tribal drums. Necronomicon – highly recommended.

Bal Sagoth - the Power Cosmic

Bal Sagoth – The Power Cosmic

Although this isn’t strictly a Lovecraftian concept album, The Power Cosmic IS a concept album from a band who loves their Lovecraft. Practically everything Bal Sagoth has ever written directly or indirectly relates to Lovecraft and his bleak, outer space monsters. Their name, Bal Sagoth, comes from Robert E. Howard’s (a friend of Lovecraft’s) story “The Gods of Bal Sagoth”. The reason I’ve chosen to review The Power Cosmic is twofold: 1) it’s the only Bal Sagoth album I own, and 2) it’s apparently their best work. Now, I must confess I’ve only listened to this album a couple of times before, and I didn’t actually like it, so it’s been sitting at the bottom of my CD stack (under “The Best of Europe” and a couple of other oft-listened to disasters). A few years on, I’m giving these wacky Brits another chance.

All of Bal Sagoth’s albums are bound by a central story arc, held together by an extremely poetic vocalist (aptly named “Lord Byron”, who “plays” multiple characters and narrates the tale. The Power Cosmic deals with an imprisoned demigod called Zurra, who breaks free of his celestial shackles and sets about reeking havoc on all and sundry. There’s Lovecraftian characters aplenty – all with immense vocabularies of archaic english – and lots of cosmic space battles and objects of vast, unknown power. Bal Sagoth compose their songs on the keyboard, using classical scales, then add the metal elements later.

Bal Sagoth have managed to create a truly bombastic space-metal experience. If you’re looking for bone-crunching brutal riffage or technical guitar virtuoso, you won’t find it amongst this melodramatic space battle between giant squishy demigods and men with abridged copies of the Oxford English Dictionary. Do I detect an early “pirate metal” riff on “Callisto Rising”? I am reminded of Dr Who battling the cybermen. Music reviewers don’t say this often, but The Power Cosmic is truly original.

Do I like it? Um, sorta. It’s fun. I like how Bal Sagoth focus on the “space” themes rather than the horror in Lovecraft’s stories. There’s some catchy riffage, which will endear practically any album to me. There’s lots of big words, which also makes me happy. It’s well orchestrated, but a little too keyboard heavy I think, to really gain a permanent hold on my heart. There’s not enough weight behind the guitars to add a darkness to this album, and I think it could have done with being a little darker … otherwise, the lyrics come across as rather contrived. Also, this is a lyrically-heavy album – and, like Cradle of Filth, I do think Bal Sagoth write enough interesting musical sections they could do with letting the vocals hang back a bit, to let everyone else have a chance at the spotlight. So much of metal is about telling a story with the music, rather than explaining everything through the vocals.

Catacombs - The the Depths of R'lyeh

Catacombs – In the Depths of R’lyeh

Following the demise of Heirophant, a funeral doom band with some actual potential (one of three funeral doom bands I think are worth attention), Xathagorra Mlandroth brings us Catacombs, the death/doom project which begun with this little-known gem. In the Depths of R’lyeh focuses less on creating a solid story arc, and more on using a single concept – in this case, Cthulhu’s Sunken Home – and exploring that concept from every angle, using music to bring R’lyeh to life. Here, ambience, atmosphere, and a pervading sense of impending doom override every track – there’s a true sense of letting the music tell the story, of giving sound and voice to Lovecraft’s words.

The primary adjective used to describe doom metal is “crushing” – the heavy, slow crunch of the riffs fall upon the listener like a hammer, seeming to crush them under their weight. Likewise, the eventual destruction of mankind and the pervasive futility of existance pervade every syllable of Lovecraft’s work, and that bleakness crushes the reader in its own way. For this reason, doom metal lends itself particularly to interpreting the works of Lovecraft.

Every song sounds the same. Take this as you will. A lot of good albums – especially doom albums – suffer from “sameness”, and it by no means falls on that annoying level of sameness occupied by every HIM album ever released. The monotony may be deliberate, part of the atmosphere, part of the pervasive gloom of this music. “It’s all the same, marching slowly (achingly slowly) toward oblivion.

Don’t listen to In the Depths of R’lyeh if you don’t like doom metal, because it won’t change your mind. If you happen to be a doom metal fan, however, this is a good release – heavy on the atmosphere, heavy on the gloom, heavy on the fucking heavy.

Disciples of Zoldon - Unto Thine Darkness, Death Doth Deliver

Disciples of Zoldon – Unto Thine Darkness, Death Doth Deliver

Who said anything unique doesn’t come out of New Zealand? OK, it might have been me, but I’d forgotten about Disciples of Zoldon. Another one-man project, Disciples of Zoldon is a satirical grind-death effort of Luke Brimblecombe. Luke’s music focuses solely on the worship of his deity, Zoldon. Some facts about Zoldon (blatantly stolen from the Disciple’s website):

Zoldon is the God of Heavy Metal, but is also concerned with Darkness, Hate, and the Dead.
He exists physically in the Dimension of Metal.
His throne is located within a palace that is within a large city-fortress. (Although he has never left this location in recorded history, it is assumed that he can)
Zoldon, while standing, is approximately 600 feet tall.
He spends the majority of his time sitting upon an object known as the throne of darkness, passing judgment before his court.
Capital punishment is lawful under the rule of Zoldon. He is known to act as the executioner himself.
Serious offenders can under extreme circumstances be consigned to an eternity in the abyss surrounding the Dimension of Metal itself.
Zoldon enjoys drinking from an object known as the ‘Chalice of Malice’. Preferred beverage is a mix of blood, Malice, and Souls.
His Weapon of preference is an object known as ‘Lifeslayer’. It is unclear whether this object is a sword or an electric guitar.
According to Legend, Zoldon has employed the services of a champion known only as Korg, Master of the Keyboard.
The city-fortress that guards his Palace is garrisoned by an army of the dead. They are able to exit in haste via the city Gates.
It is known that Zoldon is working on a plan of some kind that will have dire ramifications. Details unknown.

Zoldon, it would seem, is what would happen if HP Lovecraft had been alive to listen to Slayer while he cried alone at night.

Onto the music – Unto Thine Darkness- sounds like a muddy, drum-machine-driven homage to the above Bal-Sagoth album, only with more grind and less groove. This a fun little oddity, and I think you should give it a listen, although it probably won’t become an instant favorite. Performing satire involves a tightrope walk of death, and I don’t think Disciples of Zoldon will make it across the abyss without pissing themselves. Luke seems to have perfectly captured the essence of Lovecraft’s sense of humor – and yes, he did have one. It’s just that no one else got the joke.

Daemonicium - Through Time and Fear

Daemonicium – Through Time and Death

Fuck. Sometimes you never know what searching under “lyrical themes” on Metal Archives will turn up. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I haven’t heard a symphonic black metal album I’ve instantly adored in a LONG TIME, and then the first otes of “Confession” by Daemonicium came through, and, yeah … fuck. Instantly likeable. If you want to hear an exquisite example of “how to use keyboards in black metal without sounding like a goit”, then this is it. The only thing that detracts from this album are some of the spoken word passages, which interrupt the flow. Otherwise, this is the absolute best band I’ve discovered this week – an unpretentious symphonic death metal onslaught with overt Lovecraftian themes.

And yes, the vocalist is a chick, and she’s quite hot too. I thought you might like a picture.

Daemonicium

Yes, there’s a definite resemblance to early Cradle of Filth, but I think these Polish lads (and lass) stand up to the comparison. The vocals are an improvement over Dani’s, that’s for certain.

I am going to eat vegetarian food and gossip about boys tomorrow night, so chances are, you won’t see a post from me tomorrow. The whole of Auckland shuts down this weekend, because they have to move a giant crane along the Southern Motorway (I SWEAR I don’t make this up) so I will mostly be at home, catching up on writing and compiling a killer Lovecraftian Metal Mixtape for you all.

Super Snuggles and Shoggoth Kisses

Brutal Knitting

Brutal Knitting, by Tracy Widdess, features some seriously epic Lovecraftian kitting, as well as some other grymm and epic creations.

One of my favorite heavy metal artists, Legendary Tiger Hero (seriously hilarious dude), painted this awesome picture, which proudly hangs above my desks and inspires me with the promise that, at least when the Great Old Ones return, they’ll listen to some kick ass music while they destroy us all. Cthulhu Awakens and Totally Shreds a Sweet Ass Guitar Solo, along with his other awesome work (See “Robo Cthulhu Rises and Totally Wrecks some Dumb Ship” for further proof), comes in several different sizes.

"Cthulhu Awakens and Totally Shreds a Sweet Ass Guitar Solo", by Legendary Tiger Hero

Now, Octopus Me‘s jewelry is strictly-speaking Octopussy rather than Lovecraftian, but I think wearing one of these pieces with your Miskatonic U sweater would be awesome. Octopus Me has got a sale section up for a limited time with tons of tentacley goodness.

Leather Tentacle Necklance, $138US, from Octopus Me

From Rogue Cthulhu, Necronomicon spell-book pages – miniature prop works of art featuring occult drawings, blood splatters and sigils.

More Necronomicon art from Zarano – I adore these pages especially.

Necronomicon 33, Devil Cult, $10US, from zarono

When I went to Greece for six weeks, a girl in our field trip group had a Cthulhu plushie, which she took to each archaeological site – she has a picture of Cthulhu at evey major archaeological site in Greece. That’s Cultist dediation on a mammoth level. You can buy a range of Cthulhu plushies at Toy Vault – I will love forever the person who gets me one for Christmas.

Me and Cthulhu, chillin at Agia Traidha in Greece.

Elder Sign brass pendant from Creative Etching.

Anyone wanting a copy of “The Shoggoth on the Roof” alongside Cthulhu fish car decals (we’ve got one of them, too), statues and Miskatonic University merch, can find them at Arkham Bazaar.

Seriously awesome Cthulhu pocket idols, christmas tree ornament and pendants from Meat Spider.

Cthulhu the solar-powered emo robot.

The Hello Cthulhu store on cafepress – not too much there at the moment, but keep your eye out.

Miss Monster sells tentacle scarves, hoodies and totes.

Cris Kesler’s beautiful artwork for the West Arkham Ladies Maritime Society.

For those of you bored at parties, the Arkham Horror adventure games.

Any more online Cthulhu merchandise or handcrafted items I should be aware of?

Suger Snuggles and Shoggoth Kisess

And of course, if you want to read some books, head along to Arkham House and take advantage of there current Buy 3 Books, Get 1 Free offer.

Metallica – Call of Ktulu

Thank you Cliff Burton, for generally being amazing and for introducing me to Lovecraft. RIP, dude.

If you’ve never heard Metallica before (what? Shocking, I know), this is a haunting instrumental piece written mostly by Metallica’s legendary late bassist.

Here’s the S&M version (that’s Symphony and Metallica – live with an orchestra, not the other kind, for those not in the know)

Cradle of Filth – Cthulhu Dawn

I first got the idea for HP Lovecraft month from reading the extensive chapter on the man in the Gospel of Filth, which I was sent for review by the amazing Fab Press many months ago (and still have to put up my review! Urgh – I’m hopeless). So Cradle deserves a mention in the first Cthulhu mixtape.

Black Sabbath – Beyond the Wall of Sleep

Inspired by the Lovecraft story of the same name, a classic Black Sabbath song.

Deicide – Dead but Dreaming

Fucking love this song. From the album Legion, Deicide gives us a death metal take on Lovecraft.

Electric Wizard – Dunwich

This is one of my favorite Stoner / Doom songs ever – it’s that awesome riff. Electric Wizard, doing what they do best – mixing horror and drugs.

HP Lovecraft Historical Society – Tentacles

Your non-metal song for the week, and my favorite HP Lovecraft song EVER. Written by the HPLHS, this is a parody of the first song from The Fiddler on the Roof. They’ve written an entire album, The Shoggoth on the Roof, which I happen to own, because I am a geek, and this always makes me smile. I love the argument about the Elder Sign (I hope YOU don’t think it’s a star).

Enjoy.

HP Lovecraft – At the Mountains of Madness

Old school psychedelica – I couldn’t compile an HP Lovecraft mixtape without including HP Lovecraft, the band.

Darkest of the Hillside Thickets – The Sounds of Tindalos

Random indie rock band I’d never heard of until this week, but practically every song they wrote is about Lovecraft. “The Sounds of Tindalos” is one of their only music videos. Crazy stuff.

Therion – Call of Dagon

Another masterpiece from Therion. If you like symphonic metal and haven’t heard this song … well, what are you waiting for?

Vadar – R’Lyeh

I could only find this song in a video with “The Wrath” – both songs form the closing of Vadar’s 1994 EP, “Sothis”.

Now, I know I have missed TONS of songs, because I’m saving them up for the next two Metal Mixtapes, but if you have any suggestions, I would really like to hear them – chances are, you will know at least some I don’t.

Chtulhu Fhtagn!

For your appreciation, a Cthulhu themed Cthulhu’s Closet.

Looking Grymm

What’s so “Lovecraftian” about this outfit? One word … tentacles!

Tentacles!

This wonderful beast (actually an Octopus, but I like to think of him as a little Cthulhu) is from the lovely Kato at Steampunk Couture. Not only can I wear him as a hairclip, but …

he's also a broach :)

How rugose is that?

On this particular day, I was on the way to watch the roller derby with some mates, so I wore

Cthulhu hairclip, Steampunk Couture
Chaotic Oroborus shirt, OrdoAtraSerpentis (swapped with the fantastic Holly, who tells me this was drawn by Frater Nihilifer, singer of Erebus Enthroned.
GLP pleated skirt, Smoove
Skully socks, present from CDH
Sock garters, SWANClothing
Boots, NZ Safety (this is not a brand, BTW. It’s a shop where construction workers buy their gear).
Necklaces, little talon, DIY bullet thingie, and double-headed axe which I brought on Crete (an important symbol in Minoen art and architecture, which I will talk about in exhausting detail at a later date)

The print on this shirt is silver.

For some reason, I am incapable of taking a good photograph at the moment. I’m wondering if maybe I’ve dropped my camera and buggered it up, or maybe I’m just crap and it’s finally catching up with me :)

Garters (and pasty white legs)

Roller Derby was pretty fun, and they had chocolate cupcakes with pirate skulls and flags on them, so I brought too many and ate them all because they had cream cheese icing and then I was sick for three days. I’m not certain the two events were related, but there you go. Also, the halftime show was this incredible drumming group, so we all ran onto the track and started headbanging. Apparently it’s on film somewhere. Do you know how hard it is to headbang with a formless tentacled creature on your head?

Metal Mixtape tomorrow and music-related posts next week, I promise!

Super Snuggles and Shoggoth Kisses

Bunch together a group of people deliberately chosen for strong religious feelings, and you have a practical guarantee of dark morbidities expressed in crime, perversion, and insanity.

But are not the dreams of poets and the tales of travellers notoriously false?

Mine are only mildly exaggerated.

I couldn’t live a week without a private library – indeed, I’d part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor before I’d let go of the 1500 or so books I possess.

As the proud owner of a couple of thousand books myself, I have to agree with the man. Books are articles of beauty – the power to convey messages on paper astounds me with its complexity and antiquity.

Heaven knows where I’ll end up – but it’s a safe bet that I’ll never be at the top of anything! Nor do I particularly care to be.

Spoken like a true metalhead.

I am disillusioned enough to know that no man’s opinion on any subject is worth a damn unless backed up with enough genuine information to make him really know what he’s talking about.

I love this quote, because what he’s ACTUALLY saying is that man’s opinions are frequently worth the world despite not being backed up by anything, which is a rather astute, though very cynical opinion, for a writer – someone who essentially makes a living backing up his opinions.

I fear my enthusiasm flags when real work is demanded of me.

Don’t we all? It’s a pity Lovecraft never wrote a blog – I bet it would be filled with great procrastination tips. And recipes from the Miskatonic cafeteria.

I never ask a man what his business is, for it never interests me. What I ask him about are his thoughts and dreams.

Man’s a genius. A person is not their job – they are the remarkable thoughts inside their head, the dreams and hopes and despairs. You never truly connect with someone until you catch a glimpse of that world within.

Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.

by ltdbassplayers

If I could create an ideal world, it would be an England with the fire of the Elizabethans, the correct taste of the Georgians, and the refinement and pure ideals of the Victorians.

If I could create an ideal world, it would have the epic architecture and free-thinking society of the Ancient Egyptians, the metal of the Germans, and the spirit of adventure of the age of Discovery.

If religion were true, its followers would not try to bludgeon their young into an artificial conformity; but would merely insist on their unbending quest for truth, irrespective of artificial backgrounds or practical consequences.

The most merciful thing in the world… is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination.

by Christopher Goodman

To the scientist there is the joy in pursuing truth which nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth.

Toil without song is like a weary journey without an end.

Listen to Manowar while you do your chores, people.

The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.

… and it’s fucking hilarious.

kisses!

(Excuse the rambling nature of this musing – I have been ill the last few days and and my head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton wool).

Call of Cthulhu: the game

No one can deny Lovecraft’s influence on the horror genre – which rivals only that of his admired predecessor, Edgar Allen Poe. So it’s only natural that metal – which takes much inspiration from horror literature, would find a kindred spirit in Lovecraft’s prose.

Lovecraft’s bleak cosmic horror populated by unspeakable . The themes of forbidden knowledge, civilization under threat, religion and the insignificance of mankind find particular resonance among black metal artists, and indeed, if I were to score a soundtrack for one of Lovecraft’s stories, it would mostly consist of Celtic Frost.

But on another level, bands use Lovecraft’s creatures in a similar way to many other modern pop cultures – as signifiers for evoking emotional responses within listeners. Because of Lovecraft’s popularity, most people recognize the words “Cthulhu” and “Shoggoth” and “Necronomicon”, even if they’ve never read one of Lovecraft’s books. The terms become a catch-all for otherworldly, terrifying beings, and as such, begin to become a parody of themselves.

Cthulhu and Geekdom: The Pop-culture phenomenon

Don’t you just hate it when something you love becomes really, really popular, and suddently all the “cool” kids are doing it, and you’re not weird and odd anymore – you’re just trendy?

Yeah, old-school HP Lovecraft fans – you can thank Choasium for that. With the release of the Call of Cthulhu RPG game, and the subsequent adoption of Lovecraft’s mythos in other RPG, computer and console games, Lovecraft and Cthulhu have become almost mainstream, at least amongst a more geek-centre subculture.

cthulhu for president campaign

In recent years, with the rise of internet and geek culture, “Geekdom” – things that were once relegated to tubby men with greasy skin and no hope of ever getting laid – has become mainstream. Suddenly, it was cool to own Star-Wars memorabilia, fix computers and have an opinion on Strar Trek DS9. You weren’t anybody if you hadn’t clocked Diablo II or Age of Empires, and … you would be the cool person at a party if you could pull out the Cthulhu jokes.

Most people I know recognize Cthulhu – either through their geeky interests like computer or console games or through references in metal songs – but they’ve never read any of HP Lovecraft’s work. And if they tried, they might throw it against the wall in disgust (HP’s archaic, lumpy prose is notoriously difficult to read).

As such, I split Lovecraft fans into two “schools” – fans of the author and his work specifically, and fans of his “mythos” and the almost-subculture it has spawned. It’s not dissimiliar from Lord of the Rings fans, when you think about it. Lovecraft’s contribution to the wider horror and geek community is more than just the sum total of his stores and letters – it’s the blueprints for a world anyone can enter and add to. Much the same as Tolkien’s books essentially ushered in the birth of the modern fantasy tale.

Now, unfortunately, the mythos has been overused. It’s become a parody of itself. The self-depreciating “geek humor” has, bit by bit, dissipated the true horror of Lovecraft’s stories. Now people find him dull, boring. But Cthulhu is the great Geek in-joke – it’s almost as if we think by embracing the tentacled beast, we will be spared his almighty hunger.

And the metal music has both helped and hindered this cause. Some of the classic Lovecraft-inspired metal songs: Black Sabbath’s “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”, Metallica’s “Call of Ktulu” and “The Thing that Should Not Be” and Morbid Angel’s “The Ancient Ones” – create the perfect atmosphere: desolute, bleak, forboding, harrowing. But others – such as Bal-Sagoth’s efforts and the Black Dahlia Murder’s “Thy Horror Cosmic” – drag Cthulhu from that realm of terrifying into the realm of “This Cthulhu fellow – he’s pretty cool.” And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it does rather remove the forbidden and terrifying aura surrounding Lovecraft – when Cthulhu is cool, can he still be terrifying?

Otherworldliness

I think metal draws on Lovecraft more than any other musical genre, because the otherworldliness of his stories parallels the world metal attempts to create.

When we think of metal music, two words immediately come to mind: dark, and epic. (or Grymm and Epic, if you will ☺). Musicians use low tuning, rising and building tensions, the “devid’s triad” and inhuman-sounding vocals to unsettle – to take the listener far away from their comfort zone. They incorporate elements from other musical styles – ecclesiastical choirs add tones of ritual worship, classical strings add deep tones and haunting ambience, electronic sounds and effects pedals give alien effects, and chanted lyrics and varying vocal styles invite listeners to enter another world. And they use elaborate costumes, marketing, stage sets and props to bring their alternate world to life.

Sounds an awful lot like the devices used by Lovecraft and other authors of the Cthulhu Mythos, no? It’s fascinating to me that literary and musical technique often mirror each other – the rules of storytelling are universal, as they say.

Race and Class

“The prisoners all proved to be men of a very low, mixed-blooded, and mentally aberrant type. Most were seamen, and a sprinkling of negroes and mulattos, largely West Indians or Brava Portuguese from the Cape Verde Islands, gave a colouring of voodooism to the heterogeneous cult. But before many questions were asked it became manifest that something far deeper and older than negro fetishism was involved. Degraded and ignorant as they were, the creatures held with surprising consistency to the central idea of their loathsome faith.” HP Lovecraft, Call of Cthulhu

Another interesting factor to note is how race and class effect the musical interpretations of Lovecraft. At the time of his writing, eugenics, anti-Catholicism, nativism, anti-semitism and racial segregation were life-as-usual in the US, so it’s no surprise his work reflects these policies. He commonly associates virtue, intellect, civilization and rational thinking with WASPs (White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants), although this also owes much to his admiration for 18th and 19th century society.

He frequently called out white people of non-Anglo Saxon descent – saying of the descendants of Dutch immigrants in the Catskill Mountains “[they] correspond exactly to the decadent element of white trash in the South”. His unapologetic German U-boat narrator in “The Temple” massacres helpless survivors and kills his own crew. He held the English in the highest regard, and their American cousins as second, and everyone else thereafter, down to those he considered stupid, uncivilized and morally inferior – the lower classes and ethnic minorities (especially blacks). He named his cat “Nigger-Man”. In his letters, descriptions of immigrants focus on one word – alien – making them the perfect worshippers of alien gods.

Cthulhu guitar!

While metal has become more of a global tribe, it retains some of its own class associations. What began in the UK as a predominantly white working class movement, quickly skipped over to the US as a WASP fad. When metal moved underground, it become once again a working class hero – although one might argue the resurging popularity of “core” styles (as well at the folk metal movement in Europe) are pushing it back into the middle class. Despite a thriving worldwide ethic metal community and fierce local style popping up all over the world, metal IS dominated with white musicians and fans. Many of metal’s songs could be said to include “white” heroes, or focus on “white” problems and “white” worlds.

It is on issues of class that Lovecraft and metal divide. Lovecraft holds the working classes in scorn, while looking up to gentlemen, whereas, in most metal music, the roles are reversed. Perhaps this is why, when writing about Lovecraftian themes, metal bands tend to focus on events from the point of view of Cthulhu’s worshippers (lower classes, in Lovecraft’s tales) or on invoking the creatures themselves. Metal has always seen the positivie side in aligning oneself with malevolent beings, so adopting the vestments of the cultists seems fitting.

In contrast, Cradle of Filth, always embracing their portrayel as the English Aristorcrats of mayhem, write from the same point of view as Lovecraft’s upper class characters, and with their gothic trappings, they pull off a successful series of decadent classics “Cthulhu Dawn” and “Mother of Abominations”.

Lovecraftian scholar Michel Houellebecq suggests Lovecraft’s “racial hatred” provided the emotional force and inspiration for much of the writer’s greatest work. Here we see another parallel with extreme metal, where matters of race, class and culture often fuel some of the most truly awe-inspiring, emotional music. Never afraid to embrace the darker sides of their personalities, musicians have used metal to explore many of the same themes employed by Lovecraft: religion, anti-Semitism, racism and political unrest. For dark music – as in dark literature – you need dark emotions.

Cradle of Filth

According to Lovecraft biographer L. Sprague de Camp, Lovecraft’s racial views softened in his latter years, because increased travel exposed him to people of diverse ethnicity. Sprague de Camp shows Lovecraft enjoyed baiting people he considered his intellectual inferiors by using a deadpan tone to expunge views he thought would offend them, and watch them attempt to argue their case. He believes stories of Lovecraft’s profound racism might have stemmed from this practice.

Cthulhu Metal

What is it about Lovecraft that makes him so appealing to heavy metal musicians?

It’s simple, really. Lovecraft’s stories thrive on gloomy, bleak atmospheres, building and rising tension, archaic symbolisms and a profound sense that all good in the world is coming to an end. Metal takes those themes and techniques and turns them into music.

So – if you’ve managed to make sense of any of this rambling, I ask – why do you think metal musicians love to explore Lovecraftian themes in their music? Do you think the geek culture’s embracing of Cthulhu as that “cute, cuddly, tentacled monster everyone loves to love” has tarnished the impact of Lovecraft’s books and the media (not just music, but books and comics and movies and games) inspired by him? How do you think issues of race and class impact Lovecraft’s books and how does metal translate these into its own milieu? I welcome any thoughts, comments and criticisms.

Parody of Jack Chick's fundamentalist christian propaganda tracts.

As part of Miskatonic University: Mythos 101 month, I’m delighted to bring you a special THEMED Linking Horn.

Hello Cthulhu – a webcomic featuring your favorite loveable Lovecraft characters loose in the Hello Kitty universe.

Via McSweeney’s, the font of all internet awesomeness, Advertising Slogans Targeted at the Elder Gods

My most absolute favorite piece of Lovecraftian humor, ever (also via McSweeneys). Selections from H. P. Lovecraft’s brief tenure as Whitman’s Sampler Copywriter.

The Ask HP Lovecraft Livejournal community.

From the Clever Cake Studio, a deliciously noisome Cthulhu cake

Jesus Cthulhu – the similarities between the two will shock and astound you.

Conspiracy lovers will love the Cthulhu Project, a theory that “Cthulhu” is actually a spaceship sent to destroy us all.

Lovecraft would make this face during sex. Yeah, I loled. I am going to a special place in hell.

Arkham’s Razor: the theory which suggests the simplest explanation leads to Cthulhu.

One of those fabled “true” versions of the Necronomicon, by occult mystic Joshua Free.

WIN a super-cute Cthulhu wall decal. Hurry – entires close tomorrow!

What other eldritch goodies can you find online?