The Lorath Godskeletons are a black orchestral metal band hailing from Nyli. Their dark lyrics are noted to have the common themes of religious oppression, divine intervention, wish corruption and the infinity of space. Their members say that their main influence was the dropping of the moon on Lor. They also make an effort to, while making their voices guttural when the song calls for it, to never make it difficult to understand the lyrics.

The Lorath Godskeletons were originally a light, lounge jazz band called 'The Featherlights' while they were living on Lor. However, the Moon Drop incident of YE 29 changed everything as they were piled into a colony ship and fled while countless others were destroyed and the image of a planet splitting in two seared into their minds forever. On the colony ship, they were recognised as a band and asked to reform en-route to Nyli in order to entertain an increasingly agitated colony population.

Their reform from jazz band to black, orchestral metal was an invention of necessity and of emotion. The instruments available on ship did not have the correct 'sounds' for simple, smooth jazz. To further distance themselves from their past, they donned face paints of black and white into images of Lorath folk monsters and demons, and their backing vocalists became a grim choir. The newly anointed Lorath Godskeletons took to the stage and blasted their first freshly penned song, Submit to the Stars.

Once the colony ship reached Nyli, they realised that a small following had gathered of them despite not having any merchandise, or any records since the songs they played on the ship were live. They started recording from their housing complex and self-publishing albums, as well as outsourcing merchandise. Eventually, it crossed the great Galactic Eastern bight and through Yamatai to the Nepleslian audience and their popularity skyrocketed.

• Submit to the Stars (3:21) - Their debut song about how the infinity of space and what lurks in its infinite depths. There could be something worse than the Mishhuvurthyar out there after all.
• All Die Alone (2:03) - A memento mori that, at the end of the day it'll be a wooden box and you'll be worm food. There is an optimistic message in this though, it'll be what you leave behind that matters more and outlives you.
• Only the Heroes' Tombstones (4:43) - A slower tune than their usual fare, and easier on the synths, but a solemn epitaph to how only those who make sacrifices get a memorial, and even that memorial gets forgotten.
• The March to God (2:54) - Written with a double meaning for Lorath audiences, and putting them on the map for the local morals police and the theocratic elements of the Lorath government. The controversy made the song even more popular.
• Girls on the Assembly Line (3:34) - A strongly worded message to the Yamataian government for their heavy handed views on the Lorath and reports of their racist treatment on Yamataian-controlled worlds.
• The Teeth (6:02) - The story of a woman with bite. Known for having a peripherary demographic.
• Meat Grinders (4:24) - Heavy on the drum beats and military overtones, this song's long and drawn out wail turns into a scream of agony as the song cuts out abruptly at the end - just as suddenly as a life can be taken on the battlefield.
• The Crawling Chaos (3:46) - A song about the Mishhuvurthyar. Even if they win they will only turn inwards and repeat the cycle of culling and destruction.

Here are the current and previous members of the Lorath Godskeletons.

Adel Sy'ris “Vorkas” Lmanel is the vocalist and 'face' of the band, an intimidating Lmanel aspected with lyrebird, giving her an incredible vocal range and the ability to mimic almost any sound she can hear, including artificial sounds. Her face paint resembles a Lorath childhood folklore monster who she takes her stage name from, who is said to bite their thumbs off with her sharp teeth if they misbehaved and wandered into the woods.

Occasionally after a tour, she brings her bonded lyrebirds backstage with the fans and lets them pet the birds. There is, however, a steep price for abusing the birds as one unfortunate fan found out. (they lost a thumb for misbehaving)

Mar'zhaz Uru “Kyr'zigs Khiir” New Tur'lista is the second vocalist and the lead guitarist, providing harmony, contrast or bass to Vorkas' voice while shredding out guitar solos. Originally a jazz guitarist of the mellow variety, he found that it was only a matter of speeding up his strumming and using a few foot pedals to get the desired results.

The Kyr'zigs Khiir are the names of the little imps that are responsible for making innocuous things go missing, or everyday tasks a chore with annoyances. As such, his face and arms are painted with images of the little imps.

The self-proclaimed Maynsr Ve Xiaah ('Mistress of the Xiaah' in Lorath) has one of the largest ranges of instrument talent in the band, capable of putting her masterful fingers to work on a bass guitar, a synthesiser, a grand piano or even a gothic organ. A rumour has circulated that the keys on any of her keyboards and the inlays in her bass guitar are made from the bones of those who have crossed the Xiaah herself.

The Maynsr does not confirm or deny these rumours. Usia Malbog “The Maynsr Ve Xiaah” Fyunnen is also known for dextrous fingers and her endurance in playing long synth, piano or organ solos.

Bonesnapper is still a soft spoken and shy man, even after his life in the Featherlights and transition to a double-kickpedalling, cymbal smashing and accidental drumstick snapping life in the Lorath Godskeletons. Not a terribly passionate or noteworthy character, they decided to invent a demon of their own based on their accidental stick snapping habits.

Virkis Diimi “Bonesnapper” Fyunnen is occasionally known to moonlight as a solo drummer under his own label. The rest of the band tolerates this because it expands his range. He remains very quiet and very proud of his diamond-nanorod drumsticks, which are proving incredibly difficult to snap.

A choir of six backing vocalists of mixed gender and caste. They were originally there to provide harmony vocalisations of 'oohs' and 'aahs' to laid back jazz. Instead they are now a choir that can swing between screaming for your eternal soul or providing drawn out moans of agony. They are shackled together at the legs, and dressed as ghosts with long stains blood down their gowns, originating from their mouths.

• YE 30/31 - Tunnelling Through the Void - During the golden age of the United Outer Colonies, the band travelled West through space and played in Nepleslia. At first they were an opening act for Aethersperm, doing their cover of the famous 'SUPER MEGA DEATH EAGLE FUCK YEAH!!' and putting them on the map for Nepleslian audiences.
• YE 33 - Why We're Bummed Out that the Colonies are Dead - Their eulogy for the collapse of the United Outer Colonies, and with it many of their potential paychecks and some of future tours. It was held on Nyli exclusively, and the tourism from expatriate Jiyuuians and touring Nepleslians gave the Lorath economy a significant boost.
• YE 35 - Black Dawn - Despite the band's Anti-Yamatai stance, they compromised for the small Yamataian fanbase and held a concert at Dawn Station, citing that it was politically neutral and the corporate security put them at ease. This was perhaps their biggest concert yet, and there were some technical issues and niggles, most notably Kyr'zigs Khiir's guitar exploding twice and the sound briefly cutting out during a song. This didn't stop it from being one of their highest grossing performances.

This page was originally created on 2014/01/30 19:22 by Luca.

Listen to these bands and their songs if you want to get an idea of how the the Lorath Godskeletons sound.

• Turmion Kätilöt - U.S.C.H!, Arise
• Rammstein - Du Hast Vich, Sonne, Mein Teil
• KMDFM - Juke Joint Jezebel