Something Dark and Holy Playlist Guide

1. Proshay (Fare Thee Well) by Melnitsa, translation version #2

I open the playlist with a song that perfectly encapsulates the vibe of Ruthless Gods: the road that is damning, the journey that every traveler knows will, at best, alter them forever, and cost them their lives at worst.

This lyric, I think, applies to Nadya and Malachiasz, their never-ending struggle for love that is tampered with by their unyielding desire to protect their countries. The whole verse is, frankly, phenomenal:

And when in embers of the morn you turn estranged from me

When I become estranged as well from you, my soul mate

Hold on to air in the freeze

The air as sharp as killing steel

It rose between us like a wall; we have to struggle for breath.

Where Nadya’s devotion to Marzhenya is the divine, cold wall of the wind between them, Malachiasz’s betrayal is almost mocking Nadya’s refusal to let go of her gods.

2. The Horror and the Wild by The Amazing Devil

I think this song is so very Serefin that it hurts. 

The duet of his suffering and Nadya’s confusion, of his fear and Nadya’s divinity is bleeding out in the opening lyrics:

You are that space that’s in between every page, every chord and every screen, 

You are the driftwood and the rift, you’re the words I promise I don’t mean 

We’re drunk but drinking, sunk but sinking 

They thought us blind, we were just blinking 

All the stones and kings of old will hear us screaming at the cold.

Serefin is going through a lot with an unknown being (or two) consuming him with every breath he takes. I think the plea for remembrance is utterly his: he’s being abandoned, his world turned upside down in a foreign land with barely any friends left alive, and those that are near he can barely see.

Remember me I ask. Remember me I sing 

Give me back my heart you wingless thing 

Think of all the horrors that I 

Promised you I’d bring 

I promise you, they’ll sing of every 

Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child 

Witness me old man, I am The Wild.

The hopelessness of the the "Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child” is in his frustration with Pelageya; the promise of horror - "Think of all the horrors that I promised you I’d bring" is Serefin in his desperation for the Tranavian throne, and his retribution (or divine blessing?) - “I am The Wild" comes now - or later, with the third book around the corner.

3. Skazka (Fairy Tale) by IC3PEAK, translation version #1

This is plain and simple: the ultimate Nadya song.

I'm from Russian horror fairy tale, doesn't matter where you are from

I'm not afraid of daylight, there is enough gloom here

The world will give anything for free and take it back unexpectedly

I don't play your games, you'll be dead one day.

I think it’s perfect in its mood, its sound, its invocation of a “Russian horror fairy tale”, and the aggressive, repetitive insistence that she does not, in fact, cry for Malachiasz. The lyrics are pretty simple, but incredibly fitting.

4. Too Late for Me by Beth Crowley

This is, again, a Nadya song (it's almost like she's the main character🤔), what with all her struggle to pick a side and reconcile her devotion to her gods and her love for Malachiasz.

I wanna be a hero

But the villain's having more fun

Which one of us will wear the bigger bruises

When the war's done

There is no wrong or right

When you're fighting for your life

I wanna be a hero

But the villain's having more fun.

I think the most striking lyrics are “the devil in disguise, gonna make you choose a side”, “I wanna be a hero but the villain’s having more fun”, “There is no wrong or right when you’re fighting for you life”, “We all pick out poison but it’s a hard pill to swallow”. In terms of Nadya's character arc, this is still her in denial, and still she is good at her core with Malachiasz being the evil opposite.

5. Nature Boy by AURORA

This one is… weird. I love its weirdness and ballad-like sound. I like to think this could be Malachiasz if he were given a choice to become the pure good instead, or maybe if he was Kalyazi; he could be a Svoyatov, a prophet of sorts. This song is a kind of interlude - just like Ruthless Gods has in-between its chapters.

The greatest thing

You’ll ever learn

Is to love

And be loved in return.

6. Pray by The Amazing Devil

Nadya again! This song is pretty self-explanatory, and I think there are lots of ways to interpret it. I like to look at it as Nadya’s transition to maybe, possibly admitting to and owning her not-so-pure divinity, her monstrous side, especially in her conversations with Kostya after the Salt Mines.

If you knew all that I’d done 

The words that shone are all but gone 

Oh oh 

The hearts I’ve broken, the minds I've woken 

Sweet nothings are screamed not spoken 

Oh oh 

God made all man in his image 

Honey I’m I’m I’m no man 

I’m what’s left when children go to war 

Run from you, I’ll run until I begin to understand 

What holy men really mean when they speak of sand and sons and seams and symphonies and sweat and sex and sin.

So, yes, if I had to assign a song in this playlist to Nadya and Kostya's shattered friendship, it would definitely be this one.

7. Doroga Sna (The Slumber Trail) by Melnitsa, translation version #1

This one makes me feel a lot about Serefin and Nadya.

So let us have more wine, my youthful suzerain

Malefic fate is written in our stars

Nor happiness, nor love. Nor empathy, nor pain

One moon for both and blizzard one

And winding is ahead our Slumber Trail, the Slumber Trail

On the Slumber Trail past the humans’ life realm

We don’t care for Adam and Eve

We can’t care less for the way Earth lives

But from now on, my brother-in-charm, you won’t find yourself a new queen

And I will not find myself a new king.

He is the king, the only king she has ever known, and she is the queen of divinity for him, the only one he will ever know. They hold on to their daggers that may or may not help them fight the ancient darkness on the road ahead. They are siblings in arms; the Slumber Trail is their only way through the un-reality of their horrific world. The fact that this song is a ballad inspired, allegedly, by the legend of King Arthur, is all the more brilliant.

Also, the whole song revolves around drinking. I think Serefin would appreciate the sentiment.

8. Let There be Fire by Aviators and Miracle of Sound

Nadya! We’re not done with her!!

This song was playing in my head as I was reading Chapter 28, the scene of Nadya defending the monastery against Malachiasz and the other Vultures, when she used Krsnik's power through the relic and wielded fire.

So where would I even begin? A saint in a valley of sin Both above and below, the might of the gods is long gone

Hollowed life, new rebirth Set forth a soldier consumed by the earth Burdened down, last to die Laden with monstrous souls deep inside Sacrificed into flame Now fed as kindling they all burn the same With warmth to stave off the end I'll quench the cinders' desire To let there be fire again.

“A saint in the valley of sin” and “The might of the gods is long gone" are just two of the many incredible lyrics that invoke the Ruthless Gods imagery in this song for me.

9. Only Us by Miracle of Sound

Much like Proshay, I think this song is a great duet for Nadya and Malachiasz.

When bells of shame have faded And I remain reviled Let vengeance roar for blood and war Behind a scornful smile The vow, the kin, the rival A vision violent, vile These questions three have haunted me Since I was but a child So much I have lost and so much I resent My spite became the steps upon the stairway of descent

Let it all burn down around us Let the cruel consume the just Let the sin we swim in drown us Let the world shatter Into dust Nothing else matters Only us.

“My spite became the steps upon the stairway of descent”, “Let the cruel consume the just”, “Let the world shatter into dust” are just a few great illustrations of their relationship. The themes of betrayal, cruelty and selfishness are mainly what hooks me here; I literally think this song is so perfect. I’m holding on to my hope that “nothing else matters, only us” is going to be the big fuck you to the whole country-saving business in the end of the series (who knows!!! but!! let me hope!!). Truly, I think Ruthless Gods has a strong undertone of this energy. 

10. That Unwanted Animal by The Amazing Devil

This is sort of the Nadya and Malachiasz modern!AU.

And we fall into each other

The scratching grows so loud

Because that unwanted animal

Wants nothing more than to get out

And I scream

‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ But you, you’re blind, you bleat, you bear your claws And you rip my ribcage open And devour what’s truly yours And our screaming joins in unison I cry out to the lord 'Cause if we join our hands in prayer enough To God I imagine it all starts to sound like applause.

As far as I know, this song is a metaphor for mental illness, but taking it at face value here is interesting. Malachiasz’s monstrosity and his godhood are watching Nadia after all, and this surveillance is unwanted. I think it’s interesting to consider here. 

11. Dorogi (The Roads) by Melnitsa, translation

The ultimate ending for Nadya and Malachiasz, at leas for now, with what we have in Ruthless Gods.

There near the third threshold,

Behind the wide step,

Stones of silk for sure,

The road breaks in half, do you hear?

Right path takes you to the wharf,

The path around - to the mountains, south,

But there is no road in the world,

That will lead us to each other!

This song comes in a little later - and last on this playlist, building on what we had in Proshay; it is, in a way, the other side of the same coin. Here’s the acknowledgement of the defeat, but in a way that is still hopeful - it is just one of the many. There is truly no road that will lead Malachiasz back to Nadya, not in a way that would heal their wounds completely.

The roads intertwined In a tight tangle of snakes in love, And from the breathing of volcanoes in the mist numbs the wing Sly devil, humble yourself - We still stronger than you, And near the flames of heavenly lands it will be warm today. The love still persists here; it’s just tainted with final realization of its moral and ideological impossibility.

BONUS TRACKS, mostly so because they don’t fit in to the overarching sound of the whole playlist, but I still think they fit into the theme.

No One by Miracle of Sound

This is more of the Wicked Saints song, the Nadya that is still blindly devoted to her faith and terrified of any sort of agency on her part. I imagine her walking through the Kalyazi forest, away from the monastery, “under the eyes of no one” - an ominous lyric in the context of Ruthless Gods, if you think about it.

Two Evils by Bastille

Both Malachiasz and Nadya could relate to the duality, but this is undoubtedly Malachiasz. "The lesser of two evils" and "The man I hide behind" is, word by word, the story of the monster/boy dichotomy of the whole series.

Raging on a Sunday & Ugly Habits by Bohnes

The duality of faith and atheism, overall blasphemy and rebelliousness galore!

Thanks for checking out this post! :) I hope you enjoyed my playlist and the rants that go with it; in case the latter truly captivated you, be sure to check out my full review of Ruthless Gods!

See you on my Instagram and Goodreads!

xxx