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Corpsepaint
It’s been years since the groundbreaking debut of black metal band Angelus Mortis, and that first album, Henosis, has become a classic of the genre, a harrowing primal scream of rage and anger. With the next two albums, Fields of Punishment and Telos, Angelus Mortis cemented a reputation for uncompromising, aggressive music, impressing critics and fans alike. But the road to success is littered with temptation, and over the next decade, Angelus Mortis’s leader, Max, better known as Strigoi, became infamous for bad associations and worse behavior, burning through side-men and alienating fans.
Today, at the request of their record label, Max and new drummer Roland are traveling to Ukraine to record a comeback album with the famously reclusive cult act Wisdom of Silenus. What they discover when they get there will go far deeper than the aesthetics of the genre, and the music they create—antihuman, antilife—ultimately becomes a weapon unto itself.
Equally inspired by the fractured, nightmarish novels of John Hawkes, the blackened dreamscapes of cosmic-pessimist philosophy, and the music of second-wave black metal bands, author David Peak’s Corpsepaint is an exploration of creative people summoning destructive powers while struggling to express what it means to be human.
Today, at the request of their record label, Max and new drummer Roland are traveling to Ukraine to record a comeback album with the famously reclusive cult act Wisdom of Silenus. What they discover when they get there will go far deeper than the aesthetics of the genre, and the music they create—antihuman, antilife—ultimately becomes a weapon unto itself.
Equally inspired by the fractured, nightmarish novels of John Hawkes, the blackened dreamscapes of cosmic-pessimist philosophy, and the music of second-wave black metal bands, author David Peak’s Corpsepaint is an exploration of creative people summoning destructive powers while struggling to express what it means to be human.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2018
12 people are currently reading
781 people want to read
About the author
David Peak
25 books279 followersDavid Peak is the author of The World Below (Apocalypse Party), Eyes in the Dust and Other Stories (Trepidatio Publishing), Corpsepaint (Word Horde), and The Spectacle of the Void (Schism). He lives in Chicago, where he is working on his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
June 18, 2018
This novel gathers up the self-destructive hedonism of the modern world and drops it to freeze in an unyielding territory of winter landscapes and ancient lore. Black metal is a key element of this story, but you need not be an expert to appreciate the creeping menace of a foreign atmosphere. Pagan beliefs are passed on through generations of unwaveringly faithful advocates of a Ukrainian cult. Through the eyes of newcomers, the reader is swept into the strict and unwelcoming atmosphere of an alternate lifestyle. History and legends are revealed through suffering and through the transcendence of mind-altering windows to dark cosmic forces. Nature is a vital component in understanding the music of the spheres. If one listens closely, the results may be devastating. It all depends on what you believe in.
September 6, 2018
Misanthropy cursed with talent.
From the smack-riddled alleyways of Shitcago, Peak takes the American black metal aesthetic and sends it, ill-prepared, into neo-pagan Eastern Europe; to ancient forests where tremolo guitar riffs and blast beats are hymnals to wormlust and perverted ceremonies.
Slatsky is dead-on here: if Algernon Blackwood was alive and unwell and fed a steady diet of Grifteskymfning … he would have crushed out something like Corpsepaint.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
From the smack-riddled alleyways of Shitcago, Peak takes the American black metal aesthetic and sends it, ill-prepared, into neo-pagan Eastern Europe; to ancient forests where tremolo guitar riffs and blast beats are hymnals to wormlust and perverted ceremonies.
Slatsky is dead-on here: if Algernon Blackwood was alive and unwell and fed a steady diet of Grifteskymfning … he would have crushed out something like Corpsepaint.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
September 26, 2019
In Corpsepaint David Peak pierces straight to the dark core of the lurid rumors encircling the black metal scene and fully plumbs its shadowy depths of possibility. What begins for an aging metal legend and his newly recruited drummer as a series of wretched nights of drunkenness soon transforms into a journey to the frigid Ukraine, where all is not as it seems and an evil presence older than time itself dominates the land. It is here where an album will be recorded—an album such as the world has never heard before.
The thematic weave of extreme music, addiction, ancient folklore, nihilism, and cosmic horror works well here, and the entire mythology nests perfectly within the primary setting of a failing compound deep in the darkly beautiful Ukrainian woods.
One of the novel's major strengths is Peak's ability to make these characters who conduct such grisly activities and act with inhuman malice toward each other seem so compelling. The early character development of Max and Roland serves the plot ably later on as we watch them hurtle toward their individual destinies in the company of the furtive compound dwellers.
The novel neither glorifies nor condemns what it shows the reader, although I did find (for myself, at least) a message implicit in the ending. I kept wondering how it would end and when the ending finally did arrive it rose up like a fractured mirror reflecting everything that had come before. This is the kind of ending I always hope for in a novel, where immediately my thoughts turn to consideration of the characters' motivations, the themes, and the greater narrative arc.
Highly recommended, with the caveat that while interest in and/or knowledge of various metal subgenres is not required, it certainly enhances the experience, as does appreciation for writers such as Lovecraft and Ligotti, the work of whom Peak has clearly internalized and employed for his own purposes in a wholly unique manner.
The thematic weave of extreme music, addiction, ancient folklore, nihilism, and cosmic horror works well here, and the entire mythology nests perfectly within the primary setting of a failing compound deep in the darkly beautiful Ukrainian woods.
One of the novel's major strengths is Peak's ability to make these characters who conduct such grisly activities and act with inhuman malice toward each other seem so compelling. The early character development of Max and Roland serves the plot ably later on as we watch them hurtle toward their individual destinies in the company of the furtive compound dwellers.
The novel neither glorifies nor condemns what it shows the reader, although I did find (for myself, at least) a message implicit in the ending. I kept wondering how it would end and when the ending finally did arrive it rose up like a fractured mirror reflecting everything that had come before. This is the kind of ending I always hope for in a novel, where immediately my thoughts turn to consideration of the characters' motivations, the themes, and the greater narrative arc.
Highly recommended, with the caveat that while interest in and/or knowledge of various metal subgenres is not required, it certainly enhances the experience, as does appreciation for writers such as Lovecraft and Ligotti, the work of whom Peak has clearly internalized and employed for his own purposes in a wholly unique manner.
September 19, 2020
Whoo doggie!
Damn! What a trip, Starting in Chicago and ending up in Ukraine, and beyond (not in a pleasant way) this was an awesome tale revolving around some crazy black metal musicians recording their newest album. I love the way this story unfolded, I wouldn’t even call this horror until the last 35%, and then the (hehe) really hits the fan, and never stops. I love this book. I love black metal. I love David Peak. Bleak, foreboding, cold, heavy, tons of drugs, and one of my favorite goats ever imagined. You should read this baby if you’re into having a killer time with your books, like me.
4/5 Strigoi Skulls
☠️☠️☠️☠️
Damn! What a trip, Starting in Chicago and ending up in Ukraine, and beyond (not in a pleasant way) this was an awesome tale revolving around some crazy black metal musicians recording their newest album. I love the way this story unfolded, I wouldn’t even call this horror until the last 35%, and then the (hehe) really hits the fan, and never stops. I love this book. I love black metal. I love David Peak. Bleak, foreboding, cold, heavy, tons of drugs, and one of my favorite goats ever imagined. You should read this baby if you’re into having a killer time with your books, like me.
4/5 Strigoi Skulls
☠️☠️☠️☠️
September 16, 2025
Authentic cosmic horror told through the pitch black lens of black metal, Greek philosophy and Ukrainian folklore. The visual story told here is just as mesmerizing as the words on the page as we travel from the projects of Chicago to the streets of Prague and the blisteringly cold forests of Ukraine. We visit the Astronomical Clock and the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments in Prague (watch the video on the museum's website and be transfixed).
Paintings by Henry Fuseli, Caspar David Friedrich, Caravaggio, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder are referenced throughout, especially The Triumph of Death (which is used on the front and back covers in a full, morbidly beautiful wrap around design). It's important, or at least heavily recommended, to look these paintings up if you're unfamiliar. Especially, again, Bruegel's piece. It's good to be able to see, to envision, to be able to imagine yourself wandering lost and broken inside the decayed, blood-soaked world Peak nonchalantly places you at about the midway point of the novel. And once that transition takes place, at that point, it's far too late to look away or turn back.
The Greek philosophy, as little as I know, was one of my favorite aspects of the tale. From album names to the reclusive Ukrainian band Wisdom of Silenus, the more of these words and phrases you know, or look up, the deeper your understanding of the path you're being led down and that destination, once you arrive....My god. Peak's prose here festers and throbs from the opening chapter to the violent, blood-soaked finale as we get exclusive, front row seats watching the world and everything we know "sliding into ruin..."
Paintings by Henry Fuseli, Caspar David Friedrich, Caravaggio, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder are referenced throughout, especially The Triumph of Death (which is used on the front and back covers in a full, morbidly beautiful wrap around design). It's important, or at least heavily recommended, to look these paintings up if you're unfamiliar. Especially, again, Bruegel's piece. It's good to be able to see, to envision, to be able to imagine yourself wandering lost and broken inside the decayed, blood-soaked world Peak nonchalantly places you at about the midway point of the novel. And once that transition takes place, at that point, it's far too late to look away or turn back.
The Greek philosophy, as little as I know, was one of my favorite aspects of the tale. From album names to the reclusive Ukrainian band Wisdom of Silenus, the more of these words and phrases you know, or look up, the deeper your understanding of the path you're being led down and that destination, once you arrive....My god. Peak's prose here festers and throbs from the opening chapter to the violent, blood-soaked finale as we get exclusive, front row seats watching the world and everything we know "sliding into ruin..."
March 22, 2018
A work of true cosmic horror set in the death-tinged world of the black metal scene. The fading master Strigoi takes his desperate protege on a bender across Eastern Europe, ending at the Ukrainian compound of a pagan metal collective still adhering very old ways. Peak drags the reader below ground to confront forces seeking to spread a powerful, ancient darkness. Corpsepaint is a bleak, terrifying ride.
January 22, 2019
An interesting story, especially if you are at all familiar with black metal. While most black metal bands are content to make music about their raging misanthropy, Wisdom of Silenus takes a more hands-on approach. This is a slow-burn cosmic horror story and I think the payoff is worth the build.
Want to read
May 6, 2018This copy arrived with a bookplate signed by David Peak and other goodies from the publisher.
May 16, 2018
The Black Metal genre of music is one that lends itself well to horror and weird fiction. With darkness, misanthropy, and supernatural malignancy being cornerstones of the genre, there is fertile ground to work with. David Peak's Corpsepaint tills that ground beautifully.
Corpsepaint is the story of Max, the creative power behind the legendary black metal act Angelus Mortis. Together with Roland, his new drummer and fellow completely broken person, they travel to the deepest parts of the Ukraine to record a new album with the cult Black Metal band Wisdom of Silenus. There they learn that Wisdom of Silenus not only lives their music,but uses it to touch something beyond imagination. Something horrible and beyond world-ending.
Peak does a fantastic job of weaving the aesthetic of modern Black Metal into Corpsepaint. There isn't much of the Satanic current that fueled much of early Black Metal. Corpsepaint aligns itself with the anti-cosmic adversity and nihilism found more in today's Black Metal, while at the same time incorporating the primacy and brutality of Nature which touches much of the Black Metal that comes out of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. This synthesis creates a raw, grim environment for the story to evolve and mutate in.
Corpsepaint is very much story-driven. The characters are there to carry the story to its finality, not to show how they grow as people in the process. The chart showing who is a pawn of who at what time in Corpsepaint would be beautiful and complex to behold. Everyone has a doom to fulfill in this book, and some are vastly worst (or better, depending on who you talk to) than others.
In closing, I should add that you don't need to know the first thing about Black Metal to enjoy this book. There are no references that are going to go over your head. Peak does a great job of providing explanation when necessary without bogging down the flow of the story with exposition. To anyone who enjoy bleak, innovative tales of impending anti-cosmic evil, this is a pretty sure bet.
Corpsepaint is the story of Max, the creative power behind the legendary black metal act Angelus Mortis. Together with Roland, his new drummer and fellow completely broken person, they travel to the deepest parts of the Ukraine to record a new album with the cult Black Metal band Wisdom of Silenus. There they learn that Wisdom of Silenus not only lives their music,but uses it to touch something beyond imagination. Something horrible and beyond world-ending.
Peak does a fantastic job of weaving the aesthetic of modern Black Metal into Corpsepaint. There isn't much of the Satanic current that fueled much of early Black Metal. Corpsepaint aligns itself with the anti-cosmic adversity and nihilism found more in today's Black Metal, while at the same time incorporating the primacy and brutality of Nature which touches much of the Black Metal that comes out of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. This synthesis creates a raw, grim environment for the story to evolve and mutate in.
Corpsepaint is very much story-driven. The characters are there to carry the story to its finality, not to show how they grow as people in the process. The chart showing who is a pawn of who at what time in Corpsepaint would be beautiful and complex to behold. Everyone has a doom to fulfill in this book, and some are vastly worst (or better, depending on who you talk to) than others.
In closing, I should add that you don't need to know the first thing about Black Metal to enjoy this book. There are no references that are going to go over your head. Peak does a great job of providing explanation when necessary without bogging down the flow of the story with exposition. To anyone who enjoy bleak, innovative tales of impending anti-cosmic evil, this is a pretty sure bet.
September 10, 2019
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
3.5/5
I think after reading this book as well as ‘We Sold Our Souls,’ I’ll need to take a break from horror books based around heavy metal. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a metal fan for so many years and have seen the old guard, who believed in church burnings and the anarchy age and either say what they did years ago was a mistake or simply fade away to the mountain regions in France, but I really struggled to enjoy this.
The story itself is basically three different books mashed into one. One story follows Max and Roland as they head into the hostile Ukrainian wilderness to try and record a comeback record. The second story follows Seph and her band, in Ukraine and their desire to live off of the grid and prepare themselves for an impending collapse of society. The last story is a creation/cosmic horror tale that frequently cropped up. Most of the time it was mentioned, was during hallucinatory periods by Max or Roland so I wasn’t sure if it was actually happening or imagined.
I personally got off on the wrong side of Max at the beginning. The description of him and his band and what he’d done to fans reminded me far too much of Blake Judd of Nachtmystium. You see a number of years ago, Nachtmystium were supposed to be the saviour of American Black Metal. They arrived, put out a trilogy of albums that were revered and everyone was waiting for their return, for their next album to be the album. I personally didn’t mind them and I was supposed to see them four different times. But each time they had to cancel because their singer and founder, one Blake Judd, kept screwing up his life. Whether from drugs or whatever, it just kept happening. Then reports started to trickle out that Blake had ripped off fans and other bands. He’d taken pre-order cash for himself and not sent the merch. He was paid money to appear on another bands album, took the cash but never appeared.
The similarities described between Max and Blake had me repulsed from the start and I just couldn’t care about Max or his redemption. With Max being the main character and focal point of the synopsis I felt let down that the character I was supposed to put my hopes on was just a piece of garbage.
I enjoyed Seph and the compound storyline to a degree, but wished more about her band’s stuff would have been described, it seemed to be an afterthought. Her band was this mythical band that was supposed to have created this following, but then found that was never fully detailed or realized.
As for the cosmic horror part of the story, this was the most intriguing part and Talas’ arrival in the book always had my attention. If the entire story had been focused on the mythology and folklore aspects I would have been all over this.
As I said earlier – I think as a lifelong metalhead I just struggled to connect with the distinct lack of realism in certain parts. While I know I needed to detach and suspend some belief, the real world ties just wouldn’t allow me to shut that off. The music part of the book was either over marketed or just omitted for the final release. At the end, we do arrive at something with the music, but when you can’t hear or feel the riffs from a black metal song and have to read about it, it becomes tough to believe just how emotive the song can be. I’m not sure if the author is a metalhead, I would think so with some of the details thrown in, but I’m not totally sure.
I think if you are a moderate fan of heavy music and don’t spend much time reading the behind the scenes stories or anything you’ll enjoy this. But if you own a significant amount of auto-biographies and documentaries you’ll struggle at some of the portrayals in here.
I wanted to like this one more but it still was a page-turner for me, as I wanted to find out just what would happen and how it would be tied together. While it ultimately wasn’t a top-notch read for me, it was a fun tale, which may be up other people’s alleys!
3.5/5
I think after reading this book as well as ‘We Sold Our Souls,’ I’ll need to take a break from horror books based around heavy metal. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a metal fan for so many years and have seen the old guard, who believed in church burnings and the anarchy age and either say what they did years ago was a mistake or simply fade away to the mountain regions in France, but I really struggled to enjoy this.
The story itself is basically three different books mashed into one. One story follows Max and Roland as they head into the hostile Ukrainian wilderness to try and record a comeback record. The second story follows Seph and her band, in Ukraine and their desire to live off of the grid and prepare themselves for an impending collapse of society. The last story is a creation/cosmic horror tale that frequently cropped up. Most of the time it was mentioned, was during hallucinatory periods by Max or Roland so I wasn’t sure if it was actually happening or imagined.
I personally got off on the wrong side of Max at the beginning. The description of him and his band and what he’d done to fans reminded me far too much of Blake Judd of Nachtmystium. You see a number of years ago, Nachtmystium were supposed to be the saviour of American Black Metal. They arrived, put out a trilogy of albums that were revered and everyone was waiting for their return, for their next album to be the album. I personally didn’t mind them and I was supposed to see them four different times. But each time they had to cancel because their singer and founder, one Blake Judd, kept screwing up his life. Whether from drugs or whatever, it just kept happening. Then reports started to trickle out that Blake had ripped off fans and other bands. He’d taken pre-order cash for himself and not sent the merch. He was paid money to appear on another bands album, took the cash but never appeared.
The similarities described between Max and Blake had me repulsed from the start and I just couldn’t care about Max or his redemption. With Max being the main character and focal point of the synopsis I felt let down that the character I was supposed to put my hopes on was just a piece of garbage.
I enjoyed Seph and the compound storyline to a degree, but wished more about her band’s stuff would have been described, it seemed to be an afterthought. Her band was this mythical band that was supposed to have created this following, but then found that was never fully detailed or realized.
As for the cosmic horror part of the story, this was the most intriguing part and Talas’ arrival in the book always had my attention. If the entire story had been focused on the mythology and folklore aspects I would have been all over this.
As I said earlier – I think as a lifelong metalhead I just struggled to connect with the distinct lack of realism in certain parts. While I know I needed to detach and suspend some belief, the real world ties just wouldn’t allow me to shut that off. The music part of the book was either over marketed or just omitted for the final release. At the end, we do arrive at something with the music, but when you can’t hear or feel the riffs from a black metal song and have to read about it, it becomes tough to believe just how emotive the song can be. I’m not sure if the author is a metalhead, I would think so with some of the details thrown in, but I’m not totally sure.
I think if you are a moderate fan of heavy music and don’t spend much time reading the behind the scenes stories or anything you’ll enjoy this. But if you own a significant amount of auto-biographies and documentaries you’ll struggle at some of the portrayals in here.
I wanted to like this one more but it still was a page-turner for me, as I wanted to find out just what would happen and how it would be tied together. While it ultimately wasn’t a top-notch read for me, it was a fun tale, which may be up other people’s alleys!
June 25, 2018
Corpsepaint is the new novel by David Peak. It tells the story of aging metal musician Max (aka Strigoi) being given the chance to record his next album on an exclusive compound owned by the Ukranian group Wisdom of Silenus. Max, having burned most of his bridges, hires an up and coming musician Roland to accompany and record with him.
When they first get to the compound things are a bit off. There are strict rules to be followed, rumours of a dead former drummer, and an otherworldly expectation of the new album. As the hidden secrets and motivations are revealed Max and Roland realize they may never leave the secluded compound.
One thing I really appreciated about the novel was that it doesn't hit you over the head with being a 'black metal' story. In fact, I don't think you'll need to have any real background to enjoy it. The gritty flavor is there and you may miss a reference here or there but I don’t think it’s anything that will make a reader feel excluded or confused. If anything, bone up on your classic paintings because many are mentioned throughout. Peak was able to capture a deeper aspect of the ‘black metal’ movement in his Ukrainian characters. Beyond the music Peak shows us the crunchier seeming, living off the land, nationalistic, gun-totting, ‘down with the Christian occupiers’ side of the coin.
I enjoyed the construction of the narrative as well. There is a great moment about halfway through that reminded me of the Laska chapters of Anna Karenina. Getting a new and drastically different perspective of the world starts the spark for both a fragmentation of reality as well as a fragmentation of the storyteller. Moving forward the sense of the main character was lost as events descend into chaos and an ensemble emerges.
Much like the musician Strigoi feels trapped by his first three albums, we find the actual narrative of the book is encased with section titles of those three albums; The Triumph of Death, Fields of Punishment, and A Grand Declaration of War. Within the context of the story being told, on a meta level, Stigoi is trapped within a cage of his own making.
Corpsepaint takes the cosmic doom thread and weaves it into the world of black metal which gives it a refreshing twist. If you've ever been cramped in a club listening to metal you know it goes beyond just the 'noise', it's a literal vibration in your body loosening your bowels and sinking to the core. It’s infrequent that authors are using the power of sound as a major element to convey dread these days. (Michael Griffin's short story 'The Sound of Black Dissects the Sun' from Looming Low Volume I is another good example of a story in this vein.)
The only other piece I’d read of Peak’s was ‘House of Abjection’, a short story featured in Nightscript Volume 3. After reading just two pieces from Peak his strength at writing dream-like reality, as well as the drastic difference in character voices between the two pieces, convince me to start following his writing in the future.
I've always been impressed with the authors that Ross Lockhart has in his bullpen at Word Horde; Corpsepaint is a great addition to his growing roster of publications for 2018. If you have been riding this wave of cosmic doom the past few years I say crank up the metal, slather on the corpsepaint, and go get freaky in the woods with this book!
When they first get to the compound things are a bit off. There are strict rules to be followed, rumours of a dead former drummer, and an otherworldly expectation of the new album. As the hidden secrets and motivations are revealed Max and Roland realize they may never leave the secluded compound.
One thing I really appreciated about the novel was that it doesn't hit you over the head with being a 'black metal' story. In fact, I don't think you'll need to have any real background to enjoy it. The gritty flavor is there and you may miss a reference here or there but I don’t think it’s anything that will make a reader feel excluded or confused. If anything, bone up on your classic paintings because many are mentioned throughout. Peak was able to capture a deeper aspect of the ‘black metal’ movement in his Ukrainian characters. Beyond the music Peak shows us the crunchier seeming, living off the land, nationalistic, gun-totting, ‘down with the Christian occupiers’ side of the coin.
I enjoyed the construction of the narrative as well. There is a great moment about halfway through that reminded me of the Laska chapters of Anna Karenina. Getting a new and drastically different perspective of the world starts the spark for both a fragmentation of reality as well as a fragmentation of the storyteller. Moving forward the sense of the main character was lost as events descend into chaos and an ensemble emerges.
Much like the musician Strigoi feels trapped by his first three albums, we find the actual narrative of the book is encased with section titles of those three albums; The Triumph of Death, Fields of Punishment, and A Grand Declaration of War. Within the context of the story being told, on a meta level, Stigoi is trapped within a cage of his own making.
Corpsepaint takes the cosmic doom thread and weaves it into the world of black metal which gives it a refreshing twist. If you've ever been cramped in a club listening to metal you know it goes beyond just the 'noise', it's a literal vibration in your body loosening your bowels and sinking to the core. It’s infrequent that authors are using the power of sound as a major element to convey dread these days. (Michael Griffin's short story 'The Sound of Black Dissects the Sun' from Looming Low Volume I is another good example of a story in this vein.)
The only other piece I’d read of Peak’s was ‘House of Abjection’, a short story featured in Nightscript Volume 3. After reading just two pieces from Peak his strength at writing dream-like reality, as well as the drastic difference in character voices between the two pieces, convince me to start following his writing in the future.
I've always been impressed with the authors that Ross Lockhart has in his bullpen at Word Horde; Corpsepaint is a great addition to his growing roster of publications for 2018. If you have been riding this wave of cosmic doom the past few years I say crank up the metal, slather on the corpsepaint, and go get freaky in the woods with this book!
May 1, 2018
Corpsepaint validates what every parent whose kid listens to metal always feared . . . and then pushes it screaming over the edge. In perhaps the darkest fish-out-of-water story ever, American black metal legend - and unrepentant junkie - Strigoi (Max to his friends) and his untested new drummer Roland journey deep into the wilds of Ukraine to record a "comeback" record at the studio/compound of reclusive Northern black metal neo-pagans the Wisdom of Silenus.
But what at first seems like a brilliant project falters when the Americans' self-destructive nihilism impinges upon WoS's blood-and-earth pagan austerity - which includes zero tolerance for smack. When tensions finally spin out of control . . . yes, my friends, there will be blood. And worse than blood, once WoS's mysterious leader Seph mixes her own her grisly production values into Max's new recordings.
(There's also a little black goat called Likho, "after the one-eyed demon of evil and misfortune," if goats are your thing.)
A poisonously hallucinogenic journey from the personal hell of addiction into the cosmic horror of extinction, David Peak's Corpsepaint is exactly as disturbing as it should be. Another fine release from Word Horde. 5 pitch black stars.
But what at first seems like a brilliant project falters when the Americans' self-destructive nihilism impinges upon WoS's blood-and-earth pagan austerity - which includes zero tolerance for smack. When tensions finally spin out of control . . . yes, my friends, there will be blood. And worse than blood, once WoS's mysterious leader Seph mixes her own her grisly production values into Max's new recordings.
(There's also a little black goat called Likho, "after the one-eyed demon of evil and misfortune," if goats are your thing.)
A poisonously hallucinogenic journey from the personal hell of addiction into the cosmic horror of extinction, David Peak's Corpsepaint is exactly as disturbing as it should be. Another fine release from Word Horde. 5 pitch black stars.
September 18, 2024
I love how David always finds beauty in the ultra-bleak. An addicting and unforgiving descent into the black abyss. If Cioran fronted a metal band.
May 28, 2020
A cosmic horror novel about black metal. First most important thing to not is Peak the author knows black metal so thumbs up there. This is a cool book, I am going to save most of my thoughts for a audio/video review That my Dickheads co-host Anthony Trevino and I are doing as we both read it. I will update this review with a link when it happens.
Opps forgot to add the review:
https://youtu.be/WMJpCG2QC0I
Opps forgot to add the review:
https://youtu.be/WMJpCG2QC0I
June 9, 2021
(The not so) Great (Cosmic) Expectations
If it's possible to write a novel about the bleakest musical genre(s) and the global subculture around it, give it a definitive manifestation in literature that can be enjoyed even if you are not exactly a connossieur of pessimist/nihilist philosophy, black metal or possessed farm animals then David had managed to do it.
If it's possible to write a novel about the bleakest musical genre(s) and the global subculture around it, give it a definitive manifestation in literature that can be enjoyed even if you are not exactly a connossieur of pessimist/nihilist philosophy, black metal or possessed farm animals then David had managed to do it.
September 17, 2019
I'll offer two reviews here, one very short and one not so short. First, the short one.
A brutal, searing portrait of a very human evil coupled with blisteringly nihilistic cosmic horror. I loved it, and if you love cosmic horror, black metal, or both, go read this. Now. 5 out of 5 stars.
And now, the longer review, but first let me reiterate that I am, in fact, a fan of black metal. I am listening to Aoratos's album "Gods Without Name" as I write this, for example.
When I first learned of black metal, I could not take it seriously (and often still don't, even as a converted die-hard fan, har har). Black metal was, and often still is, the music loved and listened to by angry, aggressive, often white, teenage boys with long greasy hair who hate their privileged lives and everyone in them. Often black metal is described by many amateur (and some professional) artists as the "most evil" of musical genres, which always struck me as more stage craft than genuine, dyed-in-the-wool ideology, a reason to dress in black and sing about Satan or other occult themes for the shock value. Perhaps I was (am?) mistaken in those observations, but perhaps not.
In CORPSEPAINT, black metal is more than a musical genre and its visual aesthetics; for the characters in this book, it's a religion, a way of life, an all-consuming nihilistic philosophy. As the synopsis on the back of the book says, "What they [the book's characters] discover...will go far deeper than the aesthetics of the genre, and the music they create -- antihuman, antilife -- ultimately becomes a weapon unto itself." This brutal, unforgiving novel invites the reader to not just stare but to fully descend into the abyss and to witness the horrible truth of Nietzsche's quote come to fruition.
What makes this novel so powerful and its horror so effective is that the characters, all of whom are abhorrent, loathsome people for one reason or another, are so well-realized and well-written that they felt real and therefore sympathetic. I cared deeply for them, in spite of who they are and in spite of myself, and I cared about what happened to them. Much like Jack Ketchum's devastating novel THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, this novel made me feel complicit in the characters' actions, and that, dear reader, I take as a sign of a masterpiece of horror fiction. Should you choose to read this novel, be forewarned: this novel is not for the faint of heart.
A brutal, searing portrait of a very human evil coupled with blisteringly nihilistic cosmic horror. I loved it, and if you love cosmic horror, black metal, or both, go read this. Now. 5 out of 5 stars.
And now, the longer review, but first let me reiterate that I am, in fact, a fan of black metal. I am listening to Aoratos's album "Gods Without Name" as I write this, for example.
When I first learned of black metal, I could not take it seriously (and often still don't, even as a converted die-hard fan, har har). Black metal was, and often still is, the music loved and listened to by angry, aggressive, often white, teenage boys with long greasy hair who hate their privileged lives and everyone in them. Often black metal is described by many amateur (and some professional) artists as the "most evil" of musical genres, which always struck me as more stage craft than genuine, dyed-in-the-wool ideology, a reason to dress in black and sing about Satan or other occult themes for the shock value. Perhaps I was (am?) mistaken in those observations, but perhaps not.
In CORPSEPAINT, black metal is more than a musical genre and its visual aesthetics; for the characters in this book, it's a religion, a way of life, an all-consuming nihilistic philosophy. As the synopsis on the back of the book says, "What they [the book's characters] discover...will go far deeper than the aesthetics of the genre, and the music they create -- antihuman, antilife -- ultimately becomes a weapon unto itself." This brutal, unforgiving novel invites the reader to not just stare but to fully descend into the abyss and to witness the horrible truth of Nietzsche's quote come to fruition.
What makes this novel so powerful and its horror so effective is that the characters, all of whom are abhorrent, loathsome people for one reason or another, are so well-realized and well-written that they felt real and therefore sympathetic. I cared deeply for them, in spite of who they are and in spite of myself, and I cared about what happened to them. Much like Jack Ketchum's devastating novel THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, this novel made me feel complicit in the characters' actions, and that, dear reader, I take as a sign of a masterpiece of horror fiction. Should you choose to read this novel, be forewarned: this novel is not for the faint of heart.
September 7, 2021
Corpsepaint is an accessible, surprising, and moving horror novel. Some familiarity with death metal might help, but Peak does a fine job of describing the sound and experience so that newbies should be comfortable.
It's a novel of bipolarity. It starts in rust belt America and ends in rural Ukraine. The two main characters are metalheads, but one at the end of a career and another just starting, in a relationship loaded with loathing and friction. The novel begins with bodily torment and hints at body horror, yet heads towards cosmic horror. And it never stops playing with the classic horror binary of supernatural vs material reality.
The plot: the two main characters are invited to a Ukrainian location to record a new album. The aging musician leaps at the chance to restart his career, while the younger one wants to work with a star. Along the way they abuse substances, strangers, and each other. Then the eastern European scene reveals a cult devoted to ancient terrors and things start to spiral out of control.
I enjoyed the way Corpsepaint raised and twisted genre expectations. The "callow Americans go to eastern Europe and bad things" trope has been exhausted, and this book takes things away from the torture porn ending that normally describes. It hints at an addiction redemption story, then sets that aside. And, well, spoilers:
And, of course, I enjoyed the metal vibe. There's a tone throughout of doom and frustration, soaring lyricism and bitter reality.
This is the second book I've read by Peak and am looking forward to the third.
It's a novel of bipolarity. It starts in rust belt America and ends in rural Ukraine. The two main characters are metalheads, but one at the end of a career and another just starting, in a relationship loaded with loathing and friction. The novel begins with bodily torment and hints at body horror, yet heads towards cosmic horror. And it never stops playing with the classic horror binary of supernatural vs material reality.
The plot: the two main characters are invited to a Ukrainian location to record a new album. The aging musician leaps at the chance to restart his career, while the younger one wants to work with a star. Along the way they abuse substances, strangers, and each other. Then the eastern European scene reveals a cult devoted to ancient terrors and things start to spiral out of control.
I enjoyed the way Corpsepaint raised and twisted genre expectations. The "callow Americans go to eastern Europe and bad things" trope has been exhausted, and this book takes things away from the torture porn ending that normally describes. It hints at an addiction redemption story, then sets that aside. And, well, spoilers:
And, of course, I enjoyed the metal vibe. There's a tone throughout of doom and frustration, soaring lyricism and bitter reality.
This is the second book I've read by Peak and am looking forward to the third.
May 12, 2019
I found the astonishingly bleak Corpsepaint, the latest release from David_Peak, a totally riveting and lyrical read which had me glued to the page from beginning to end. I love literary, highly original horror novels, which are stacked with menace and nihilism. I also dig plots which have a strong musical theme throughout, and Corpsepaint is hard to beat in all these departments. All the main characters are protagonists in the black metal scene, an extreme sub-genre of heavy metal, and I did wonder how the book would read to those who had no knowledge of this obscure type of metal? Peake’s glimpse into this scene is a vivid portrayal of a sub-culture that many readers’ only point of reference might be the faint recollection of church burnings in the 1990s, which briefly made the news.
You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
April 2, 2022
Brilliantly told, emotionally powerful, and unnerving. I loved it.
June 18, 2023
"Era la fuente de la verdadera energía, la esencia interior del hombre, de su alma. Y que una vez que el ser humano perdía el contacto con su alma, estaba condenado para siempre."
Max es un ciudadano estadounidense cuyo nombre como dios del metal es Strigoi. Responsable de tres discos de black metal colosales vive frustado ya que a pesar de sus esfuerzos por mejorar e intentar trascender superando su legado inicial, el público no se lo reconoce. Iniciará un viaje a Ucrania acompañado de Roland un joven músico que le ayudará a crear su mejor obra en una comuna metalera en la que se vive bajo unas estrictas leyes con el objeto de volver a las raíces paganas europeas.
El black metal es un movimiento musical que surgió espontáneamente en varios lugares del mundo. Los menos profanos en la materia sitúan su génesis en Noruega y la movida de la quema de iglesias, sin embargo, si rebuscamos en sus raíces fue el movimiento underground más rico de la historia musical. En los lugares más recónditos del planeta encontrábamos bandas que, bajo la premisa de la defensa del auténtico metal, produjeron un sonido que ha dado en el tiempo obras tan diversas como las de Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor, Cradle of Filth, Wolves of Throne Room, 1394, Watain, Deafheaven, Zeal & Ardor o Celeste. La riqueza y dimensión que ha adquirido este género es impresionante. Clara muestra de ello es lo antagónico de las bandas que he relacionado anteriormente, no como muestra de lo mejor del estilo, si no de su extrema diversidad.
El libro de David Peak me ha parecido colosal en todos los aspectos y creo que ha creado una obra multidimensional de la que sale victorioso en varios aspectos: en el literario, en el máximo respeto hacia el tema que trata, en el tratamiento filosófico... Antes de adentrarme quiero aclarar que el análisis del libro está sesgado, como siempre, desde mi perspectiva y mis vivencias, desde un apasionado de la literatura de terror, del metal extremo y de las tendencias filosóficas modernas.
Como novela de terror me parece un acierto. Va construyendo un in crescendo típico de la mejor herencia gótica pero despojándola de lo artificioso de esta. Llena de múltiples homenajes al cine clásico de terror, muy velados y muy bien encajados, es una delicia desde esta perspectiva. Una historia que te va atrapando en un viaje tanto físico como mental de sus personajes donde les llevará a un nuevo conocimiento de ellos mismos. Las atmósferas opresivas y el carácter malsano de cada escena es sobresaliente. En todo momento flotan en el ambiente las negras alas de la muerte y que todo lo que pueda salir mal, efectivamente, va a salir mal.
En el plano filosófico me parece excelente y prácticamente el libro tiene valor en sí mismo por esta vertiente. Indagando no sólo sobre la personalidad del black metal como movimiento musical sino en su más profunda esencia filosófica y su profunda relación con el paganismo, el nihilismo, la vuelta a las raíces y su vinculación seminal con el realismo especulativo.
En la parte más musical, David Peak aborda, como pide la temática, la vertiente más cruda y purista, el raw black metal, despojándolo del enfoque amarillista con el que habitualmente se aborda el tema, a la contra que en Lord of Chaos, y haciendo un análisis sincero y despojado de prejuicios.
Si quieres leer una historia de terror muy honesta con ecos de terror cósmico, folk horror, paganismo, black metal y mucha filosofía de tintes nihilista, esto es un novelón. Todo un acierto de Dilatando Mentes en una edición que engrandece la obra y con una traducción que respeta completamente la atmósfera opresiva del texto original.
¿Qué os parece?¿Lo habéis leído?
Max es un ciudadano estadounidense cuyo nombre como dios del metal es Strigoi. Responsable de tres discos de black metal colosales vive frustado ya que a pesar de sus esfuerzos por mejorar e intentar trascender superando su legado inicial, el público no se lo reconoce. Iniciará un viaje a Ucrania acompañado de Roland un joven músico que le ayudará a crear su mejor obra en una comuna metalera en la que se vive bajo unas estrictas leyes con el objeto de volver a las raíces paganas europeas.
El black metal es un movimiento musical que surgió espontáneamente en varios lugares del mundo. Los menos profanos en la materia sitúan su génesis en Noruega y la movida de la quema de iglesias, sin embargo, si rebuscamos en sus raíces fue el movimiento underground más rico de la historia musical. En los lugares más recónditos del planeta encontrábamos bandas que, bajo la premisa de la defensa del auténtico metal, produjeron un sonido que ha dado en el tiempo obras tan diversas como las de Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor, Cradle of Filth, Wolves of Throne Room, 1394, Watain, Deafheaven, Zeal & Ardor o Celeste. La riqueza y dimensión que ha adquirido este género es impresionante. Clara muestra de ello es lo antagónico de las bandas que he relacionado anteriormente, no como muestra de lo mejor del estilo, si no de su extrema diversidad.
El libro de David Peak me ha parecido colosal en todos los aspectos y creo que ha creado una obra multidimensional de la que sale victorioso en varios aspectos: en el literario, en el máximo respeto hacia el tema que trata, en el tratamiento filosófico... Antes de adentrarme quiero aclarar que el análisis del libro está sesgado, como siempre, desde mi perspectiva y mis vivencias, desde un apasionado de la literatura de terror, del metal extremo y de las tendencias filosóficas modernas.
Como novela de terror me parece un acierto. Va construyendo un in crescendo típico de la mejor herencia gótica pero despojándola de lo artificioso de esta. Llena de múltiples homenajes al cine clásico de terror, muy velados y muy bien encajados, es una delicia desde esta perspectiva. Una historia que te va atrapando en un viaje tanto físico como mental de sus personajes donde les llevará a un nuevo conocimiento de ellos mismos. Las atmósferas opresivas y el carácter malsano de cada escena es sobresaliente. En todo momento flotan en el ambiente las negras alas de la muerte y que todo lo que pueda salir mal, efectivamente, va a salir mal.
En el plano filosófico me parece excelente y prácticamente el libro tiene valor en sí mismo por esta vertiente. Indagando no sólo sobre la personalidad del black metal como movimiento musical sino en su más profunda esencia filosófica y su profunda relación con el paganismo, el nihilismo, la vuelta a las raíces y su vinculación seminal con el realismo especulativo.
En la parte más musical, David Peak aborda, como pide la temática, la vertiente más cruda y purista, el raw black metal, despojándolo del enfoque amarillista con el que habitualmente se aborda el tema, a la contra que en Lord of Chaos, y haciendo un análisis sincero y despojado de prejuicios.
Si quieres leer una historia de terror muy honesta con ecos de terror cósmico, folk horror, paganismo, black metal y mucha filosofía de tintes nihilista, esto es un novelón. Todo un acierto de Dilatando Mentes en una edición que engrandece la obra y con una traducción que respeta completamente la atmósfera opresiva del texto original.
¿Qué os parece?¿Lo habéis leído?
June 22, 2018
I am a fan of other works by David Peak, heavy metal music, and philosophical horror. It was inevitable that I would get around to this book sooner rather than later.
You could describe the story that unfolds here as related to a few others (The Ritual comes to mind), but that would be a disservice to it. 'The Ritual', for all its excellent build, gives way to an endgame that comes across as being written by Tipper Gore in the midst of a xanax-panic. The recent movie adaptation partly fixed this but I still can't get over the missed opportunities. In 'Corpsepaint', by contrast, you have something that fully seeks to realize all the potential of its set up and then some. A black metal 'In the Mouth of Madness' that never blinks or cuts away. A true homage to a genre of music that seeks to directly confront and embrace the horrors that inspire it rather than skirt the surface. At the same time the real world issues of poverty, past prime musicians, cults, the Russian proxy-wars in the Ukraine, and the (I think quite unfortunate) infestation of parts of the European metal community with far right LARPers.
I did not come to the more intense subgenres of heavy metal when most people did-in my teens or tweens. Though I always preferred heavier music than the mainstream offered, it wasn't until my discovery of Finntroll at the tail end of college during a low point in life that I really fell into the genre. Most of the time since then I have been more on the folk metal and death metal side of things, but in the past few years I have really been exploring the atmospheric/folkened black metal scene. For the past 5 or so years Agalloch has almost certainly been my favorite band (RIP) and new acts like Alda, Pantopicon, Nechochwen and the like have been climbing my playlists. And of course, I enjoy more traditional black metal as well.
(The funny thing is if you had told me 10 years ago many of my favorite metal bands would be American I would have laughed in your face. It was strange enough to think of Agalloch as American and all the interesting acts then were from Europe or East Asia. Now, the most interesting new bands hail from Cascadia and Appalachia it seems to me, but I digress).
Though not quite the black metal from Norway and the Ukraine referenced in this novel, the themes of my new crop of top bands are similar. An insignificant and malign humanity, a greater world that is greater because it is indifferent or even actively malignant to human interests, etc. These are themes found in Lovecraft and Ligotti as well as speculative realist philosophy. And they are all brought together here exceedingly well. What makes these forms of music attractive to society's misfits is examined, warts and all, for a meditation on how some people deal with the horrors by directly embracing them.
You could describe the story that unfolds here as related to a few others (The Ritual comes to mind), but that would be a disservice to it. 'The Ritual', for all its excellent build, gives way to an endgame that comes across as being written by Tipper Gore in the midst of a xanax-panic. The recent movie adaptation partly fixed this but I still can't get over the missed opportunities. In 'Corpsepaint', by contrast, you have something that fully seeks to realize all the potential of its set up and then some. A black metal 'In the Mouth of Madness' that never blinks or cuts away. A true homage to a genre of music that seeks to directly confront and embrace the horrors that inspire it rather than skirt the surface. At the same time the real world issues of poverty, past prime musicians, cults, the Russian proxy-wars in the Ukraine, and the (I think quite unfortunate) infestation of parts of the European metal community with far right LARPers.
I did not come to the more intense subgenres of heavy metal when most people did-in my teens or tweens. Though I always preferred heavier music than the mainstream offered, it wasn't until my discovery of Finntroll at the tail end of college during a low point in life that I really fell into the genre. Most of the time since then I have been more on the folk metal and death metal side of things, but in the past few years I have really been exploring the atmospheric/folkened black metal scene. For the past 5 or so years Agalloch has almost certainly been my favorite band (RIP) and new acts like Alda, Pantopicon, Nechochwen and the like have been climbing my playlists. And of course, I enjoy more traditional black metal as well.
(The funny thing is if you had told me 10 years ago many of my favorite metal bands would be American I would have laughed in your face. It was strange enough to think of Agalloch as American and all the interesting acts then were from Europe or East Asia. Now, the most interesting new bands hail from Cascadia and Appalachia it seems to me, but I digress).
Though not quite the black metal from Norway and the Ukraine referenced in this novel, the themes of my new crop of top bands are similar. An insignificant and malign humanity, a greater world that is greater because it is indifferent or even actively malignant to human interests, etc. These are themes found in Lovecraft and Ligotti as well as speculative realist philosophy. And they are all brought together here exceedingly well. What makes these forms of music attractive to society's misfits is examined, warts and all, for a meditation on how some people deal with the horrors by directly embracing them.
April 25, 2019
You know that scene in the movie Prometheus when Noomi Rapace's character, all bloodied and bruised, says, "We were wrong! We were so, so wrong!" That's me right now, as I was all prepared to dislike this book.
It's because of the subject matter, I admit, or rather because of a general cultural tendency to import cred from the fringe. (And, my word, how black metal has suffered in that regard.) Having read some of David Peak's other work, I should have known better. Because, in the end, this is a love letter--albeit an appropriately dark love--to black metal and the whole culture of freaks that surrounds it. And I know I'll be doubly grateful to have this book once I'm cirrhosed and cathetered and too damn old to drag myself out to any more shows.
I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.
It's because of the subject matter, I admit, or rather because of a general cultural tendency to import cred from the fringe. (And, my word, how black metal has suffered in that regard.) Having read some of David Peak's other work, I should have known better. Because, in the end, this is a love letter--albeit an appropriately dark love--to black metal and the whole culture of freaks that surrounds it. And I know I'll be doubly grateful to have this book once I'm cirrhosed and cathetered and too damn old to drag myself out to any more shows.
I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.
July 10, 2022
Qué cosa más chula, extraña y desconcertante me acabo de leer.
Por cierto, mención especial a la impresionante edición de Dilatando mentes. Una gozada ir pasando páginas tan cuidadas y llenas de detalles.
Por cierto, mención especial a la impresionante edición de Dilatando mentes. Una gozada ir pasando páginas tan cuidadas y llenas de detalles.
October 5, 2018
An imaginative and tragic story told in an inventive and fascinating fashion, Corpsepaint will keep you riveted from start til finish.
October 24, 2020
Esperaba una novela de terror.
September 22, 2024
Having struggled both with addiction and black metal in my life, this foray into cyclic self-sabotage and cosmic annihilation absolutely hit home.
Peak is quickly becoming my favorite author.
Peak is quickly becoming my favorite author.
June 1, 2018
This is a brutal novel about black metal and cosmic horror that starts off serious as a funeral and never lights up. An infamous black metal band travels to the Ukraine wilderness to record an album with notorious cult act Wisdom of Silenius. Things go...awry, to say the least.
I loved this book. The tension is thick from the start and ramps up until everything goes off the rails. David Peak knows how to write with restraint--he gets the reader uncomfortable before the horror even starts. When the blood flows, you're already on the edge of your seat. Even as somebody who is not knowledgeable on black metal, I found this book immensely gripping.
We're only halfway through the year, but so far this wins best horror novel of 2018 for me. It'll be a tough one to beat.
I loved this book. The tension is thick from the start and ramps up until everything goes off the rails. David Peak knows how to write with restraint--he gets the reader uncomfortable before the horror even starts. When the blood flows, you're already on the edge of your seat. Even as somebody who is not knowledgeable on black metal, I found this book immensely gripping.
We're only halfway through the year, but so far this wins best horror novel of 2018 for me. It'll be a tough one to beat.
Read
July 12, 2023A book swimming in nihilism, telling the story of two American metalheads, in separate stages of their careers, travelling to Ukraine for their personal reasons – the gaining musician wants to kick his career back into life, the newcomer to the scene wants to meet a black metal hero.
This need of searching for advantages to their careers leads the story into an incredibly dark and gruesome tale. David Peak holds no punches in his descriptions of brutality, torture, gore, and stench. I think this is probably the most successful area of the book for me. The cosmic horror path that the book turns down came as a welcomed venture. These passages in the book are not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle the journey through them, you’ll see that the story is brought to a very efficient end, with a philosophical angle dropped in for good measure.
My issue with Corpsepaint came right at the first act. I found the story being built around the main characters was slightly rushed. It felt to me like Peak was looking to get the characters to Ukraine for the real meat of the book, and the backstory to the leading characters was skipped over in parts. Because of this, there were moments in the second and third acts where I can’t say I really cared too much about what happened to these leads and their lives. Suspense was stripped from these very high plot points, which left me feeling slightly deprived of their intended impact.
I also felt in moments there was a little too much information being spoon-fed to the reader. More trust could’ve been placed in the reader to work certain things out for themselves. This was done really well with the end of the book, but there were certain passages that I found to be a little heavy-handed around the middle sections.
The atmosphere created in Corpsepaint was immensely felt - at least for me, it was. I have no real history with black metal as genre of music. I’ve listened to a handful of albums, and I’ve enjoyed the majority of them – my musical interests lie more in the other heavy music scenes. However, from what I do know, and from what I have read, the backdrop to which the cosmic horror events play out provides a true setting for the book. It feels cold and wet and stinging. The tone is dark throughout. For me, atmosphere is maybe the most important part of a novel, and I really did feel it with this one.
I can’t wait to try out some of David Peak’s other work.
This need of searching for advantages to their careers leads the story into an incredibly dark and gruesome tale. David Peak holds no punches in his descriptions of brutality, torture, gore, and stench. I think this is probably the most successful area of the book for me. The cosmic horror path that the book turns down came as a welcomed venture. These passages in the book are not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle the journey through them, you’ll see that the story is brought to a very efficient end, with a philosophical angle dropped in for good measure.
My issue with Corpsepaint came right at the first act. I found the story being built around the main characters was slightly rushed. It felt to me like Peak was looking to get the characters to Ukraine for the real meat of the book, and the backstory to the leading characters was skipped over in parts. Because of this, there were moments in the second and third acts where I can’t say I really cared too much about what happened to these leads and their lives. Suspense was stripped from these very high plot points, which left me feeling slightly deprived of their intended impact.
I also felt in moments there was a little too much information being spoon-fed to the reader. More trust could’ve been placed in the reader to work certain things out for themselves. This was done really well with the end of the book, but there were certain passages that I found to be a little heavy-handed around the middle sections.
The atmosphere created in Corpsepaint was immensely felt - at least for me, it was. I have no real history with black metal as genre of music. I’ve listened to a handful of albums, and I’ve enjoyed the majority of them – my musical interests lie more in the other heavy music scenes. However, from what I do know, and from what I have read, the backdrop to which the cosmic horror events play out provides a true setting for the book. It feels cold and wet and stinging. The tone is dark throughout. For me, atmosphere is maybe the most important part of a novel, and I really did feel it with this one.
I can’t wait to try out some of David Peak’s other work.
March 1, 2022
David is such a great pensmith of the twisted and the unholy. He threads the needle between reality distorting, existentialist horrors and the bedrock of relatability that kind of cosmic dread needs to be built upon to stick the landing.
So excited to check out his new book from Apocalypse Party.
So excited to check out his new book from Apocalypse Party.
February 10, 2020
3'5/5 haré reseña en la web
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