That image of the mini-tombstones, so like the cover of Metallica’s Master of Puppets, always stuck with me as a symbol of small-town religious lunacy. So when it came time to start writing No Tears for Old Scratch, a novel set in the Holiest Town in America, I had knew there would be a Graveyard of the Innocent in there somewhere.

As I wind down on the final rewrites for No Tears for Old Scratch, as if on cue, another Graveyard of the Innocent jumped into the public eye. This time it was a drawing by Scott Roeder, the man convicted of murdering Dr. George Tiller because he performed abortions. As Bill Hicks said, “Pro-lifers murdering doctors, it’s irony on a base level, but I like it.” Apparently, supporters of Roeder decided to auction off some “drawings” from him on eBay (rendered in that wonderful 5th grade style). One of which showed a biblical David holding the severed head of a Goliath George Tiller (again death obsession). And sure enough, Roeder had drawn a Graveyard of the Innocent. Ironically enough, in a move that Bill Hicks would have cackled at, Roeder included the inscription, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Like convicted murders and their Christian supporters perhaps.

No Tears for Old Scratch: Soundtracking the Novel, Part 1 from Ken Wohlrob on Vimeo.

On the rare occasions when I do finally plop my ass in the chair to tap away at the keyboard, I always listen to music. Some folks find this odd as they usually require peace and quiet when writing. But I prefer to have music blaring, preferably something that gets me in the mood of the story. When I wrote The Love Book, I listened to really heavy Doom: Black Sabbath, Cathedral, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, St. Vitus, Grand Magus, Candlemass, Trouble. The music fit the dark stories I was firing out.

For this next book, since Satan is a central character, I decided to make good use of iTunes and put together “The Satan Playlist.” The basic criteria was this: any song that includes Satan or the devil or old scratch as a character. So for example: Robert Johnson’s “Me and the Devil Blues” is in since Johnsons sings, “And I said Hello, Satan, I believe it’s time to go,” but AC/DC’s “Hell Ain’t No Bad Place to Be” doesn’t make it since Bon Scott is merely referring to his rock n’ roll lifestyle. So without further ado, here is the playlist I put together. If you think I’ve grossly overlooked a song, send a suggestion to biffsatan@kenwohlrob.com.

Up Jumped The Devil — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Satan’s Fall — Mercyful Fate
Devil Do — Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
Satan Comes to the East Village — The Black Hand
Me And The Devil Blues — Robert Johnson
Sympathy For The Devil — The Rolling Stones
Lord Of This World — Black Sabbath
Satan Ex-Machina — Nox
The Devil Stole The Beat From The Lord — The Hellacopters
The Dealer — Goatsnake
Satan’s Curse — Possessed
In League With Satan — Venom
Heaven And Hell — Black Sabbath
The Devil’s Chasing Me — Reverend Horton Heat
Bleed For The Devil — Morbid Angel
The Devil And The Damage Done — Witchery
Hells Bells — AC/DC
The Antichrist — Slayer
Shout At The Devil — Mötley Crüe
Chief Rebel Angel — Entombed
Antikrist — Dimmu Borgir
King At The King / Evil Is In — Stormtroopers Of Death
The Tempter — Trouble
King Contrary Man — The Cult
In The Flesh — Entombed
Satan — Entombed
Highway To Hell — AC/DC
Hell Awaits — Slayer