10 Books That Made Me: LORD’s Steven Kerchner

Virginia’s LORD have just released their swansong album and played their last show, but while this is sad news for fans, LORD will be leaving behind an inspirational canon of work. Their unique brand of sludge is infused with thrash and progressive elements, plus an unmistakeable Southern feel. New album ‘Desperation Finds Hunger In All Men’ is perhaps their finest yet, with poetic lyrics that tell powerful stories of oppression. So I’m thrilled that Steven Kerchner (vocals/synths) has shared his reading list with us. This is an eclectic and super-metal collection of books which is filled with discussion points.

Steven Kerchner, LORD  (Photo: Rogue Crayon)

1. Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Anything here is classic and timeless, always worth a good chuckle or a deep philosophical ponder.

2. Dictionary and Thesaurus: Must have resources for any writer. I use them.

3. The Iceman. Some years ago I read a comprehensive book about Richard Kuklinski, the name and author of which are failing me right now, that I thoroughly enjoyed. Kuklinski was a big influence on the 5^th character of Frank’s Palkoski’s nine personalities. Palkoski is a character I developed for a story line of a band, called Palkoski. The character had nine characters within him, trapped in a dis-associative collection. Albums written from his point of view covered different eras of his life and recognition of his illness.

4. Diary of a Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley. This was a personal recommendation directly to me from Phil Anselmo regarding my interest in drugs when I was in my early twenties. He literally stopped me in the hall and told me not to ruin my life and my career with drugs. This book poses a shocking perspective of drug addiction. I have read several writings by Crowley and this was the most informative and riveting. My favorite line in the entire book is, “the greatest men are those that refuse to be treated like squalling children, who insist on facing reality in every form, and tear off ruthlessly the bandages from their own wounds.” While I still find this to be inspiring after over a decade, I have adjusted my angle on this considerably.

5. The Book of Acts written by the Apostle Luke. This is the fifth book of the New Testament and outlines the founding and walk of the Christian faith, not of Christianity as a dogmatic religion.

6. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. My knowledge of this powerful and blacklisted book of course came from the Metallica song “One.” A book about the atrocities and cost of war that was blacklisted to hush dissent and still unwillingness for participation in WWII. This is a powerful anti-war read that intends to extinguish all romanticism of war.

7. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn follows an incredibly strange family that makes their living in a traveling circus freakshow. I loved this book so much that I purchased several copies and gave them as presents to other avid readers.

8. Confessions Of A Heretic: The Sacred And The Profane: Behemoth And Beyond by Adam Nergal Darski and  Mark Eglinton is an autobiography of sorts about Nergal. It is written from the point of view of documented conversation between him and a friend. It narrates fluidly and naturally with the comfort of friendship detailing both Nergal’s personal and professional aspirations. I am an extreme introvert, and relate to his personality and information processing.

9. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. A classic read, one that had an entire language written especially for it – truly creative, graphic, imaginative.

10. Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera by Rex Brown and Mark Eglinton, an autobiography from probably the least heard from member of Pantera.