This is my fight song

Whenever a fight scene is going really well, there’s music for it.

I had Marilyn Manson’s “Nobodys” song in my head long before I wrote the fight scene between Svetlana and Iago in Bait and Bleed. I pictured a mob-like throwdown unfolding to Manson’s tunes, even though it turned into a one-on-one brawl. Am I a Manson fan? Kinda. Eh. But. No. As long as I don’t have to look at his face or think about the music. He has a one in twenty success rate with me.

For my favorite fight in Dog House, I had Lamb of God’s “Omerta” in my head. Oh, Lamb of God. Hecks yeah, baby. Surely “Redneck” has a place in every underage metal heart.

And Overkill’s “Black Line” serenaded me through a fight in Storm-Tossed Devils. And “Long Time Dying” helped with a scene in Muttopia book four.

Slayer’s “Seasons in the Abyss” contributed to the tone of a fight in Judas Wolf.

Sepultura played a big part in the early stages of developing fight scenes, but honestly, I miss Green as a vocalist. Saw them in concert, haven’t been able to get with the changes since. “Against” has popped up more than once while I’m writing the blood-slinging violence of my Muttopia world.

Pantera? Not so much. Sorry fans. I love “Cemetery Gates” but never fully respected Anselmo as a vocalist. When I was a kid, he seemed like nothing but a punk with weird white-power affiliations, and he hadn’t reached his potential as a musician before Pantera split. Still, “Primal Concrete Sledge” is my favorite Pantera song. Never inspired me to write a fight scene, though.

If you’re about to ask me about Type O Negative; they’re for fucking, not fighting. And Zakk Wylde? That’s more for after the rumble, when everyone is sitting around drinking whiskey from the skulls of the fallen.

So what’s the point of all this?

Fate’s Gamble doesn’t have a fight song.

There’s no music. I’m having trouble nailing down a tune. Consequently, I’ve been bitching about the fight scene for weeks. Hell, going on two months, I’m staring at this blob of words trying to find a groove. A violent, bloody groove. Even “Walk with Me in Hell” isn’t helping.

I’m open to suggestions.