Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for a review.

You’re a young adult in a small town waking up in an unfamiliar place after a bender. And soon you will have to decide how your life continues. For now, all you know is you’re a drummer without a band, who still lives with his parents (and your dad is the local preacher). Depending on your choices you travel down on different paths, but all of them will lead to you preparing for the gig that might finally get out of here. And you desperately want and need to get out of here. So, no matter how much of a dick your lead singer Austin is or how weird the house he is urging you to preparing for your black metal church is there is really no way you can say no.
This novel presents you with a really fun exploration of small town life and teenage rebellion, including the tension between suburban normality and wanting any kind of different life, but also the ways people in subcultures can and do often fall into infighting as their own personal goals diverge. The characters are interesting and the horror is intense. I also loved that towards the end of my first route (the people pleasing one), my agency disappears further and further, really forcing the reader to go along on the path they have picked for the character. One thing I also quite enjoyed with the different routes I’ve played so far is that you get to interact with different bandmembers and learn different things about their lives, which adds a lot to the experience (and at points made me quite sad as well). While I haven’t been able to finish all routes just yet (only had time for three rereads so far, which was great because I did manage to spend time will all three bandmembers in turn, but it also means there are still a few choices left unread!) I really enjoy what I’ve read so far and can only recommend this book to anybody who enjoys black metal, cults, blasphemy and one fucked up house.

tw: drugs, graphic injury, past suicide attempt & jokes about suicide, death by being burned alive, murder