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If Heavy Metal Lyrics Were Book Blurbs, Vol. 2

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Greg Zimmerman

Staff Writer

Greg Zimmerman blogs about contemporary literary fiction at The New Dork Review of Books and holds down a full-time gig as a trade magazine editor. Follow him on Twitter: @NewDorkReview.

As we’ve learned (maybe to the surprise of many), heavy metal and literature have a rather intimate relationship. To review: We’ve rocked out with a first installment of heavy metal lyrics as book blurbs. Then we mixed the world of heavy metal and books with some of Rioter Peter’s favorite epic metal/lit combos. And finally, we were surprised to discover a class at small Texas college focusing on literary heavy metal lyrics. ROCK!

And now, sleep with one eye open and grip your pillow tightly, ’cause we’re back with another edition of heavy metal lyrics as book blurbs!

 

Night Film, by Marisha Pessl

Have you ever been alone at night / Thought you heard footsteps behind / And turned around and no one’s there?

Watching horror films the night before / Debating witches and folklore / The unknown troubles on your mind

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark / I have a constant fear that something’s always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the darkI have a phobia that someone’s always there.

— Iron Maiden, Fear of the Dark

 

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

Is there no standard anymore?
What it takes, who I am, where I’ve been, belong
You can’t be something you’re not / Be yourself, by yourself / Stay away from me
A lesson learned in life / Known from the dawn of time

— Pantera, Walk

 

The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green

Trust I seek and I find in you / Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view / And nothing else matters

— Metallica, Nothing Else Matters

 

Americanah, by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie

Never badder than bad ’cause the brother is madder than mad
At the fact that’s corrupt like a senator
Soul on a roll, but you treat it like soap on a rope
Cause the beats and the lines are so dope

— Anthrax and Public Enemy, Bring The Noise

 

The Martian, by Andy Weir

I flew beyond the sun before it was time
Burning all the gold that held me inside my shell
Waiting for you to pull me back in
I almost had the world in my sight

Now I’m lost in oblivion

— Mastodon, Oblivion

 

Inferno, by Dan Brown

This place is evil / Is there an answer?
This world is vile / We are the answer

How long until we die? / Die from the inside out
How much is enough for us to see the light?
How much blood must be spilled?

— Killswitch Engage, Daylight Dies

 

Tampa, by Alissa Nutting

I can feel your fever, taking over / Can you see your fever, taking over me?
I can feel your fever, taking over / Got a dirty feeling that you’re the remedy

— Bullet For My Valentine, Fever