37715859In the 1990s, heavy metal band Dürt Würk was poised for breakout success — but then lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career and rocketed to stardom as Koffin, leaving his fellow bandmates to rot in rural Pennsylvania.

Two decades later, former guitarist Kris Pulaski works as the night manager of a Best Western – she’s tired, broke, and unhappy. Everything changes when she discovers a shocking secret from her heavy metal past: Turns out that Terry’s meteoric rise to success may have come at the price of Kris’s very soul.

This revelation prompts Kris to hit the road, reunite with the rest of her bandmates, and confront the man who ruined her life. It’s a journey that will take her from the Pennsylvania rust belt to a Satanic rehab center and finally to a Las Vegas music festival that’s darker than any Mordor Tolkien could imagine. A furious power ballad about never giving up, even in the face of overwhelming odds, We Sold Our Souls is an epic journey into the heart of a conspiracy-crazed, paranoid country that seems to have lost its very soul…where only a girl with a guitar can save us all.

Source Format Pages Publisher Genre Publication Date
NetGalley eARC 336 Quirk Books Horror September 18th, 2018

 

*I received a copy of We Sold Our Souls through Netgalley and below are my honest thoughts. I have also included a few quotes from the eARC- I couldn’t help myself- so, please note, the quotes are subject to change in the published version.*

We Sold Our Souls in a word? Epic! In three words? Epic, epic, epic! I mean- it’s about heavy metal- how can it not be epic, right? Am I saying ‘epic’ too much? 😀

Anywhoo, what a satanic ride this one was… I mean, not only was the plot utterly devilish and filled with dark, sinister agendas and death and gore and other horror-y stuff, I also- seriously-  laughed at some scenes… Like the piss-scene in a Best Western lobby. It was disgusting and horrible but I laughed. So hard. Sue me.

The book starts off by filling the reader the detail of the background, of the beginning of it all slowly, but surely… and epically, naturlich! We get to know the beginnings of Dürt Würk and the members of the band. Ambitious group of young ones with individuality in spades, wanting to take over the world with heavy metal one location, one club at a time.

They didn’t agree on anything except the most important thing: heavy metal was their religion. It tore the happy face off the world. It told the truth. It kicked down doors.

But it’s tough going for them… and just as Dürt Würk are certain they’re going to have a breakthrough, everything flops, like a limp, wet sock. Not only did Terry break up the band but he went and started his own- Koffin- and it’s freaking nu metal! Sacrilege of the highest order!

Now, 20 years later, most Dürt Würk members have settled in to their lovely suburban mansions with a partner and kids. But not Kris. She’s just a Best Western worker and, rightly so, bitter. The light of her life- music- has been taken from her.

Nothing stays hidden behind closed doors, though, especially in a horror novel. Behind the doors- this is where the monster is! Or escape… You know how it goes- they always open the door and go looking for trouble! Kris can no longer sit back and as Terry, who left all of the Dürt Würk members coughing up the dust as he took off towards his stardom, makes his comeback on stage, Kris knows that it’s time to dig up the bones of the past.

Thus begins the incredible unravelling of the plot as Kris insists on going head first into that one night 20 years ago that changed everything. What ensues is truly quite difficult to describe. It’s fast-paced, hard-core and totally gripping. But it’s also covered in conspiracy, madness and death. And betrayal and escapes. But, tap into metal, and you can do anything…

Metal never dies. Metal never retreats. Metal never surrenders.

And then… We Sold Our Souls is about more than just revenge by ex-band mates. It’s an example of a heavy metal way of life, it’s a case study of the value of music and a piss-take on the mainstream auto-tuned radio waves. It’s a shout out to calloused fingers and aching necks and certain kind of passion… No excuses made for what matters most in this book…

Have you noticed how soulless this world has become? How empty and prefabricated? Soulless lives are hollow. We fill the earth with soulless cities, pollute ourselves with soulless albums.

… and it’s made good with that added bit of craziness… Kris is a helluva woman. She’s heavy metal down to her very core and her stamina and willpower alone are the driving force of this novel. She finds herself in situations that would break a person mentally in half, but Kris? She’s no quitter and she will see things through to the very bitter end against the most powerful evil. To the bitter end, I said… well, that is actually open for debate… 😉

We Sold Our Souls is a novel of strong beginnings, unbelievable realities, claustrophobic crescendos, gruesome deaths and unimaginable prophecies looking for heroes… Oh! And the chapters are named after the best albums- Bathory, Manowar, Mötley Crüe, Megadeth and so on… ! Thoroughly enjoyable, much recommended!

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