God's Lost Children

In 1992, Chaosium launched the concept of the Cthulhu Mythos in the modern era with their publication Cthulhu Now. This was a wonderful move, allowing new dimensions of storytelling in the Lovecraftian roleplaying process. One of the adventures included in that release was a tale entitled “The Evil Stars” written by Keith Herber. The central antagonists of this adventure were the heavy rock group called God’s Lost Children, and their music and behaviour is central to the telling of the tale.

Throughout the adventure the music and albums of the band are referred to and I always wanted to see artwork accompanying the piece that would really bring these to life (the artwork printed with the module was, I thought, a bit sketchy). Given that the author had put so much effort into describing the album covers of the band’s releases, I thought that I would take a shot at reproducing them, as well as codifying (in my own particular fashion) the information surrounding them. Here they are then, just as Keith Herber outlined them, to the best of my ability.

*****

God’s Lost Children (or ‘GLC’, as the fans know them) were a short-lived, although popular heavy-metal group in the late ‘80s, releasing three well-received albums before passing into obscurity after the group’s notorious leader, Brian Lochnar, died in a fire at the Bellaire Arms Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1988. After the fire, bassist Mark Holland, quit music and retired to Key West; drummer Kevin Schwartz, tried vainly to resurrect the group with new personnel but failed to re-connect with the old fans. He died of a cocaine overdose in 1993.

GLC’s music is fairly typical of its time – over-produced ‘hair-metal’ rock a la Poison or Twisted Sister – but Lochnar introduced some acoustic engineering which moved the group’s sound in a notably different direction. Multi-tracking, overdubs and back-masking give the ‘wall of noise’ a particularly dense texture with a peculiarly ritualistic flavour and the effect can be quite disturbing and grating. Sounds of animal and human screams mixed with noises sampled from abbatoirs and hospitals are combined with even less savoury material resulting in an ear-shattering, teeth-grinding experience.

Lochnar spent a troubled childhood battling a brain injury sustained from a rooftop tumble. In his late ‘teens he compounded his troubles with drugs and alcohol, returning regularly to psychiatric care until seeking refuge in Mexico for two years, returning to the United States at the age of 21 to form God’s Lost Children.

Whilst in Mexico, Lochnar experimented with hallucinogenic drugs and occult spiritualism, under the tutelage of a Mexican brujo. This wizard introduced Lochnar to the Turner Codex and the Cthulhu Mythos, and this work informs much of the band’s lyrical content. The band released two albums before Lochnar’s death and a later compilation was issued in 1990; they are as follows:

“God’s Lost Children” (Self-titled album)

The first release by the band is innocuous enough. The wall of noise is stunning in its complexity and is ear-bleedingly piercing. The lyrics are contrastingly dreamy in substance and the whole work has a trance-like quality to it, rising to a seemingly-imminent crescendo it never quite seems to attain. A successful Listen roll allows the listener to make a Cthulhu Mythos roll: if successful, snatches culled from the Necronomicon can be discerned in the mix. There are eleven tracks on the recording, two of which became standards for the group: “The Dark Ones Rise” and the menacing “Old Times, New Times”.

The cover of the album contains the group’s sigil, comprising the initials of the band’s name tangled together in a three-pronged symbol; a successful Cthulhu Mythos roll will note the disturbing correspondence between this sign and the Yellow Sign of “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”. Additionally, the liner notes make reference to the Turner Codex as a source for some of the lyrics.

English; God’s Lost Children: vinyl record, cassette tape, CD format, or MP3; 1985; 0/0 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 1 day to study and comprehend

Spells: None

“Unspeakable”

The sixteen-track follow-up to the band’s first album did not disappoint: this effort is slicker and hookier than its predecessor, much more confident in its delivery, although no less grating. A first listen to this offering reproduces the ceremonial-sounding mix of dreamy lyricism and background caterwauling but somehow manages to instil in the listener an eerie sense of being watched. Backmasked into the title track is a repeated prayer to Hastur, screamed in the Xothic language: “Mglw’nafh Celeano h’tagn naf’fhtagn!” This can be discerned only if the listener makes a successful Listen Roll, followed by a successful Cthulhu Mythos roll: its discovery causes a 1/1d6 Sanity loss.

The liner notes and album cover hold few other clues for Investigators: keen-eyed viewers will see that the picture of Lochnar on the cover shows him wearing a ‘V’-shaped earring studded with nine precious stones. Those familiar with the spell Free Hastur, will recognise the image as a miniature model of the placement of nine great stones required for the casting of the spell. On the back of the album is a small picture of a silhouetted man playing the saxophone and captioned “The Royal Pant”; the liner notes identify this person as the guest player on track five, “Beneath the Waters”. An Idea roll allows the Investigator to see this title as an anagram for ‘Nyarlathotep’ and to draw their own conclusions...

English; God’s Lost Children: vinyl record, cassette tape, CD format, or MP3; 1987; 0/1 (1/1d6) Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 1 day to study and comprehend

Spells: None

“Forever Lost – The Best of God’s Lost Children” (Compilation)

In 1990, a decision was made to release a compilation album of the group’s best work, despite much legal wrangling as a large proportion of the album was to be derived from the band’s last tour during which Lochnar died. The final result proved economically viable with over half a million sales: a good return from such a low-investment project (legal fees notwithstanding).

The album kicks off with “Unspeakable” lifted from the eponymous album and later offers “The Dark Ones Rise” from the first album. A live version of “Old Times, New Times”, recorded in Houston on the Unspeakable Tour, is of particular interest: in the middle break, Lochnar leads the crowd in a bizarre chant, a tongue-twisting call-and-response interlude which will be familiar to anyone who has knowledge of the spell Free Hastur (Listen and Cthulhu Mythos rolls to spot); a lack of knowledge of this particular spell will nevertheless identify the chant as Mythos-related to the successful listener. After this, the song cuts back in and then ends with an ear-splitting guitar solo by Lochnar which – if the listener has ever encountered such a creature – sounds exactly like the screeching of a Byakhee.

The liner notes of this album show images of the group at various points in their career including one of Lochnar carrying a guitar upon which is painted a crudely-drawn Yellow Sign: a Cthulhu Mythos roll is required to spot this.

English; God’s Lost Children: vinyl record, cassette tape, CD format, or MP3; 1990; 0/1 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 1 day to study and comprehend

Spells: None; although listening to the track “Old Times, New Times” grants +10% to the successful casting of the spell Free Hastur, if studied before casting.

Notes on Formats for GLC’s Recordings:

Only vinyl recordings allow for Sanity checks and skill tests: digital re-mastering of the tapes has affected the sound quality to remove the damaging effects. At the Keeper’s discretion, Skill Checks to spot Mythos content and the resultant Sanity losses may be rendered void if using a CD or MP3 format.

Lochnar’s estate has placed a headache-y tangle of litigation around the band’s work, preventing the music from being sold online over the Internet. Standard online stores (iTunes and so on) will not have GLC’s songs for sale; of course certain illegal sites may have downloads...

Some fansites in Europe and Japan sell bootleg copies - in a variety of formats - of various live performances, including those from the Unspeakable Tour.