Music Monday: Failure Anthem

Ever been to a convention? Whether it was horror, sci-fi or simply a gathering of authors peddling their stories, you would be guaranteed to see the various subcultures which develop around certain genres. The same goes for music. Depending on the band and/or venue, you'll see the influence music has on people. So, it takes no stretch of the imagination to see how fiction and music work well together.

Maybe you're a novelist looking for inspiration, a reader searching for the right mood music or a musician trying to make a connection with the audience, words are everything to all three. Which brings us to the next installment of Music Monday...

FAILURE ANTHEM is the music feature for this week. When I first heard First World Problems a few years ago, I remember thinking the album forms a story of sorts, with each track functioning as a different chapter. I love how much effort the band puts into their lyrics. My favorite songs include The Ghost Inside, Paralyzed, Just A Wasteland and I Won't Say Goodbye. Definitely an album I recommend to everyone who enjoys high quality rock. Unfortunately, the band has suffered some setbacks with their lineup, but I'm still hoping for another FA album one day.

In the meantime, some very specific book titles come to mind when I think of which stories I enjoyed reading to the sound of Failure Anthem:

The BLOOD Trilogy by Ruth Miranda centers around a young man named Caius, a musician who discovers, through a traumatic event, he is not human. Miranda has a true talent for taking headlines, such as the battles with addiction and tragic overdose deaths of those in the music industry, and turning inner demons into supernatural creatures struggling with the same afflictions.

The Law Giveth by JE Gurley, the second novel in the Jake's Law series. In the first novel, Jake's Law, readers are introduced to a diabetic survivor, Jake, who creates a new system of law in a zombie post-apocalypse. The relationships Jake established in the first book and in the time since then have not held up well in the face of constant conflicts. Jake is more withdrawn than ever, but continues to attract new acquaintances to his way of doing things, following Jake's Laws.

Of course, readers may find other titles more suitable for the accompanying music of Failure Anthem, depending on how each individual interprets the songs.

Bottom line: if you haven't listened to First World Problems, you should ASAP.

As always,
AstraDaemon