Sick Metal State of Mind

By Kevin Densmore

Calling all Metal Heads. Are you ready for a diabolical good time? Do you like bedlam, bloodshed, and mayhem? Well then this is the book for you!

 

Inside these pages you will find thirteen horrific tales all inspired by popular heavy metal songs from the past five decades.

 

Take a journey with a young teenager who tests the limits of luck. Leading him into something truly terrible.

 

Witness a preacher following the voice of God as it leads him to do something necessary. And justifiably monstrous..

 

Follow a man as he goes out of his way to prove his wife wrong. Even if his attempts end with disastrous consequences.

 

Then you can jump ahead in time to experience the end of the world. As well as the end of mankind.

 

All these tales and more await you within. So what are you waiting for? Grab those pitch black t-shirts, put on your leather studded belts, flash your devil horns, and bang your heads. This time we go all in on a state of mind that is truly Metal!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Densmore
• Release date: Feb 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215282137

Kevin Densmore

Kevin began writing short stories when he was an awkward teenager living in a small town in Alabama. Now as an awkward adult, Kevin now lives in a small town in Illinois and still writes short stories. Only this time he is releasing his madness into the world.

Book preview

Introduction: And They Call it Heavy Metal

Hey everybody! Welcome back to a brand new edition of my oddly popular State of Mind Series. As you can tell, I decided to move away from the decades and just jump right into specific genres of music.

And, holy shit, did I start this idea off with a bloody mess!

Now, I think I’ve mentioned before that  I love music. Well, with so many great songs out there, I knew I could always keep writing on this series except for one glaring issue; my State of Mind series could not really continue without me doing sequels to each one of the other books. That concept didn’t look attractive to me. So, I was thinking why not just write stories based off of genres that I love? I mean, hell, let's  move out of the decades and just get right into the heart of the matter. So, that’s what I did.

Of course, I had to jump right into metal.

I have been listening to heavy metal since I discovered my first Black Sabbath record, which ironically my dad actually tried to hide from me. From there, I was hooked. I explored every band this genre had to offer, and that lifelong journey ultimately led to this wonderful - all horror and adults only - collection of horrific metal gems. Each story is inspired by individual heavy metal songs.

Like all of my other State of Mind series, the songs that inspired these stories (along with a brief description about how they became what they are) will be revealed in the Special Authors Notes section at the end of the book. But, like always, play along and see if you can guess the songs for yourselves. There are hints in each story, the biggest of which is that every main character will be named after a member of the band that the story is based off of.

This series is definitely adults only. Heavy metal is all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. This book has everything that makes metal what it is, which means that there are a bunch of things not meant for the kiddos. You’ve been warned!

Ok so flash your devil horns, twist up your joints, grab your crosses and turn those amps up to eleven. Hell is breaking loose, and true metalheads wouldn’t have it any other way!

Luck Theory

Some days Kirk swore that his mom was just a little bit crazy. He understood that when it came to luck, nearly everyone in the general populace had their own collection of superstitions they believed in. While superstition or belief varied from person to person, Kirk’s mother believed every single superstition to be true.

Kirk found it annoying.

His mother had more than her fair share of the typical lucky charms people collected. She had rabbits feet, in every color of course, sitting in every single drawer of the house. In the living room sat a well maintained tank full of goldfish. On the mantle above the fireplace was a jarful of pennies. With every one of those pennies being one that his mother found, heads up of course. A small army of dreamcatchers adorned the walls of nearly every room with a bed. Every fall she would set a bowl of acorns on the kitchen table and keep them there until spring. Above every entrance to their home (including the garage) a horseshoe, with its ends pointed down to ward off evil, were proudly displayed. These items along with so many other bizarre - and sometimes unheard of - tokens of luck was an impressive collection in and of itself. But none of these items could hold a candle to his mothers insane collection of four leaf clovers.

Pressed between pieces of transparent wax paper and then placed into the pages of every book and photo album in the house, the four leaf clovers his dedicated mother had collected were likely numbered in the thousands. Kirk had never taken the time to count them all, but he knew that there were more four leaf clovers in his house than anything else. His mother would constantly flip through the pages of the books, select a four leaf clover seemingly at random and then place it into the pocket of whatever pair of pants she was wearing. If she was wearing a dress she would slip the four leaf clover into her bra, though that was rare, because she feared the sweat from her breasts would ruin the clovers.

Kirk was not only annoyed with his mother’s peculiar obsession, he also did not believe for a second that any of these charms actually worked. After all, they were a poor family who were barely making ends meet. His father had died two years prior in a horrible accident involving a tractor, and his mother’s stupid lucky charms had done nothing to prevent that. Yet here she was, cherishing her little useless trinkets. He was sick and tired of it.  He had grown up watching his mother show all these goddamn ridiculous charms more affection and care than she’d ever shown him. Kirk could not wait to leave. His eighteenth birthday was only two weeks away and he was more than ready to leave this ridiculous den of superstition behind him.

Yet before he left, he wanted to teach his mother a lesson.

His idea was simple and mischievous. Kirk found a clover in the garden and plucked all the leaves off of it. Then, he pressed the bare stem in between two pieces of wax paper and placed it in a random book. All he needed was patience for his prank to pay off. He did not know when she was going to stumble upon his no-leaf-clover but, he was sure that once she did, her reaction would be one that he would no doubt find hilarious.

His little nefarious deed had been done near the end of March, and everyday he woke up hoping that that day was going to be the day that his little prank would find its way to his mother. When she discovered it, he would then tell her that he was leaving and joining the military, effectively ruining her day even more. He knew that she would blame the appearance of the no leaf clover as the reason and it was then that he planned on telling her he had planted the clover stem, proving once and for all that there was no such thing as luck. To him, even though he knew it was a juvenile set up, it was a brilliant plan.

As summer came and went, his eighteenth birthday in early October was fast approaching. Somehow, Kirk had forgotten all about the clover until two one day in late September when he was awoken by the sound of his mothers hysterical screaming.

Kirk sat straight up in bed, worried at his mothers hysteria, then he remembered his little misdeed. A sick smile crossed his lips as his words snickered out, Holy Shit, she found it! Smirking, he swung his legs off of bed and scooped up his sweatpants and t-shirt off of the floor. He was so excited to see the mayhem, he was dressing as he made his way down the hall, pausing to hop on one leg as he put his pants on and haphazardly slinging his shirt over his head backwards and wrong side out. When Kirk finally made his way to the front of the house, what he saw made him double over, nearly bursting out laughing.

His mother was standing in the living room holding the no leaf clover, still in between the two pieces of transparent wax paper, her jaw open with a look of pure horror on her face. The book the clover was inside, laid on the ground with its pages splayed open and several of her beloved four leaf clovers scattered the ground at her feet. Her eyes were wide and Kirk could see little rivers of tears beginning to flow from the corner of her eyes. He knew what he had done some would call cruel, but in all honesty, he did not care. Her superstitions had taken control of her entire life. Kirk felt like he pretty much had to take care of himself in his teenage years. Those lonely memories trickled through his mind as He approached her with a smile on his face. He was actually looking forward to hearing all the panic induced luck related bullshit she was no doubt about to spout in his general direction. What she said next though caught him off guard.

Was this you? his mother inquired without looking up from the leaf barren clover stem.

He was unsure exactly how to answer her. So unsure, that he simply replied with a quizzical sounding, Huh?

This! His mother exclaimed as she looked up at him, Did you fucking do this? Her voice quickly escalated into a scream.

Kirk chuckled and looked away from his mom in a scoff, then  shook his head. Yeah he answered with a clear tone of disdain. I did. What are you going to do about it?

Kirk’s mother dropped the no leaf clover as she bought her hands up to her lips. No, no, no! she cried, We have to fix this. We have to fix this right now!

Kirk snorted, Fix what, you crazy bitch? He said, None of this shit works any...

Before he could finish what he was saying he felt his mother’s right hand slap his left cheek sharply, the sound her hand made against his skin echoed loudly through the room. With no time to turn away from it, he took the full brunt of the hit and his left ear began to ring instantly. When he turned back to face her, he saw that she was now pointing a shaking finger at him

You do not talk to me that way she scolded, For as long as you live in my house, you will respect me! Now come with me so we can fix what you’ve done.

Kirk watched as his mother turned to leave. The symbolism of her turning her back on him over her precious lucky charms was the last straw. You know what, fuck you! I am out of here. He turned in the opposite direction and marched towards the front door.

As he pulled on his shoes, he decided he was just going