As some may have noticed, I love metal music. References to a metal band named Hell’s Keeper appear regularly throughout the 3G series. Hell’s Keeper was inspired by my real life favourite black metal band, Abaddon. The Bible introduces Abaddon as the angel of the Abyss and I thought that Hell’s Keeper would be a sufficiently subtle adaptation of the name for fictional purposes.
The metal group “Meaningless”, which features in Balancing the Scales, was similarly inspired by the amazing progressive/atmospheric black metal project, Shylmagoghnar. If one tries to determine the meaning of “Shylmagoghnar” it becomes evident that there may be no single term or concept to use as a synonym. I therefore decided on “Meaningless” whilst referring to the two fictional members of the band as Shyll and Mognar.
In Balancing the Scales, a collaboration between Hell’s Keeper and Meaningless (and I actually think an Abaddon/Shylmagoghnar corroboration may deliver something truly METAL), is central to the introduction of one of the main characters, Janell Collet, or Juliet.
Shylmagoghnar and Abaddon – I salute you!