Words can only express so much–a fact I found frustratingly true in the course of writing my Inuyasha dark epic, Stasis. How do you articulate pain? How do you convey despair, or capture the essence of rage? You can describe the actions, the sounds. The consequences. But the emotion itself–that lies in another realm entirely. A world of white noise and drum beats and electric screams.

In other words, I listened to a lot of music along the way. It helped me tap into my characters’ wordless emotions, to fill the gaps in the fabric of the story, and pick up the written thread time and again when I thought I’d lost it for good.

In case you’re curious, or maybe just in the market for some angsty jams, here are the songs I listened to on repeat–presented album-style in no particular order of importance.

Track 1 – Blood by IN THIS MOMENT

Track 2 – Burn by IN THIS MOMENT

Track 3 – 3:16am by Jhené Aiko

Track 4 – Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey

Track 5 – Stockholm Syndrome by Muse

Track 6 – Hysteria by Muse

Track 7 – Crawling by Linkin Park

Track 8 – Control by Puddle of Mudd

Track 9 – I Hate Everything About You by Three Days Grace

Track 10 – Sorrow by Flyleaf

Track 11 – Scarlet by IN THIS MOMENT

Track 12 – Plug in Baby by Muse

Track 13 – Everyday is Exactly the Same by Nine Inch Nails

Track 14 – Pardon Me by Incubus

Track 15 – Hurt by Nine Inch Nails

Obviously there are a lot of repeat offenders on this list. If I had to pick a real-life album to accompany Stasis, Blood by IN THIS MOMENT would definitely be it. Give it a listen some time if you’re in the mood to take a dive into the abyss.

But considering the fact that if you’re reading this, you’re likely a fan of Stasis, I’ll wager you wouldn’t mind.

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Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi