Let’s be honest with ourselves; many of us do not expect great things from small press publishers. (Many of us don’t expect great things from big box publishers, but that’s an altogether different rant.) But just because we may not expect great things does not mean there’s not a ton of very talented people working in small press today—especially in Horror, which is such a marginalized genre that the small presses are kinda the last front lines it is allowed to flourish in.

Still, most of the time when I pick up a book or anthology that’s published by a not-as-yet-major-name-in-publishing, I feel a slight lowering of the expectations, a preparation for disappointment, if you will. Maybe I shall encounter good things, I think, but probably not great things.

And that’s why I’m really excited to say this about Blood Bound Books’ Rock n’ Roll is Dead anthology: it’s great!

At first glance, one would think Rock n’ Roll is Dead would be full of stories about musicians and rockers selling their soul to the devil or snorting haunted cocaine and the like. But, it’s actually twenty four Dark Tales Inspired by Music, with the inspirational songs listed right under the author’s byline. One thing that really added to the fun of this anthology was pulling up YouTube and letting the listed song play while I read each story, so instantly there’s a mood and tone for each tale even as you’re just jumping off the first line.

The story subjects range far and wide, and there’s a little in here for everybody. True, some of them are about rockers—like Nate D. Burleigh’s “Trap Set,” a clever piece about a haunted drum kit; and Nathan Crowder’s “The Invitation,” an insightful take on one of rock’s famous suicides. Also, “End of the Line” by G. Winston Hyatt is a cool rock stream-of-consciousness that starts off the anthology on the right foot, and although KV Taylor’s story “Faking it” only has a subconscious rock queen, the whole story is highly cool.

But, then there’s other stories, that come in out of the blue to knock the wind out of you—like the moody Japanese hit man narrative of “Osaka’s Fallen Son” by Natalie L. Sin or “Window to the Soul” by Robert Essig, an eye-opening take on the traditional Vegas serial killer story. The stories also span genres. Rex McGuire’s “The City” is an awesome, gory urban fantasy; Chet Baker’s “La Caza” and Aaron Polson’s “Under the Watchful Eyes of Los Abuelos” are dusty modern Westernish horror; Claire L. Fishback’s “The Replacements” is nifty horror sci fi; and if gothy fiction is your thing, then you’ll love Monique Bos’ “Beth Short and the Carnivals of the Damned.” Really, the only consistent theme that really pulls all these stories together is that they were inspired by a certain song, and that they’re all really well written.

Even the stories that didn’t sing to me, per se, I could recognize as coming from capable writers. And that’s the main thing that impressed me about the anthology; each story contains a narrative that is smooth, tight, and engaging. Many of them were simply a ton of fun to read, like “Untethered” by Morgan Dambergs and “The Rule Breaker” by Chris Samson. Some of them even had vivid narrative voices, and a few of them I might even call “stunning”— “Osaka’s Fallen Son,” “The City,” and Neil Willis’ “End of the Road” are all beautifully written, and G. Winston Hyatt’s “Thermogenic” is easily the most terrifying story in the anthology.

So yes, I am impressed with the editorial decisions made with this anthology and I’m impressed by all the stories themselves in one way or another, which I think makes the whole thing rather kick ass. Quite possibly, Blood Bound Books may do some great things if they keep this up.

Check out Blood Bound Books here. Rock N’ Roll is Dead is available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.