Something is stirring in deepest, darkest Transylvania… PinkWet, Poland’s most unhinged Blackened Grindcore outfit, has carved a path of filth, fury, and chaos across Eastern Europe. A fateful meeting with Carpathian Slaughtercult, an even more deranged band led by the enigmatic and unnerving Ezio, pulls Valentina Nervosa and her crew into a nightmare far beyond music. What begins as rivalry spirals into a world of blood, violence, and vengeance for Valentina and her merry band of misanthropic maniacs.
Well, that was vile. This book came up in my recommendations based on Sacrificial Slaughter so of course I was going to pick it up. Just as I expected, the plot was as thin as the gore was thick, but it was fun. I wish it had delighted in its own repugnance a little more though, that said, its "moderation" had the merit of keeping things from becoming goofy.
It’s starts of with an abusive priest and the revenge one of his victims. His death is filmed and used as a music video for the victims band.
Things tack a turn for the worst after a gig where the protein she has had onto others is forced onto her. This short read is filled with panic, desperation, and watch and lots of gore.
It is very short and easy to read in one sitting. If you like you stories dark and bloody, this this one is for you!
Ok, so this was pretty solid. Like from the first few pages, the shit had already hit the fan. Brought me back to Daniel Volpe's Gift of Death, which is also a very good read, too. Here, Valentina, was a tremendously deep lead and her inner monologues carried the story. Her and her merry band of misfits slaughtering whoever and making the most intense grindcore music you could imagine. Lots of fun. Gory and nasty, just how I like my books...and my sloppy joes. I knew there was going to be an eventual twist towards the end, which did not disappoint, so I finished this story with a big ol' smile on my face. I'm still pretty new to J. Tarmac, but I'm really digging his style so far.
Pinkwet I literally just finished this book, and I'm so riled and amped up in the best of ways! I went in blind, choosing to know absolutely nothing about the plot ahead of time.
What I experienced is nothing less than one of the best examples of my favorite style of extreme horror! Seriously! I could NOT put it down! (Looks at Clock) it is 3 hours past my bedtime, and I'm nowhere near sleepy!
Our FMC is Valentina. She and her band mates all grew up in the same village as cold, discarded, unloved, abused, and forgotten children. They are survivors. With their past and their comradary, they focus on a fast track out of that village. To become a blackened grindcore band named Pinkwet, who reflects the filth and rot of this disgusting human race. The band gets their wish and goes on tour across Europe. With music videos becoming more popular, the band is determined to get the bleakest, darkest, most brutal footage of all time for their videos.
One of their stops on tour introduces them to another band that also claims to be dark and brutal called Carpathian Slaughtercult. How can Slaughtcult possibly top the nihilistic depravity that is Pinkwet? Read to find out!
This book was filled to the brim with deliciously justifiable violent, bloody, gorey, bone breaking moments that will leave you a tad turned o... I mean a bit blood lust... I mean comfortably satiated. Stop reading my rantings and go grab this book! It's a fun short read you can't pass up!
A festival of gore headlined by the one and only Pinkwet.
Led by Valentina, this blackened grindcore band is absolutely savage and on tour. During their stay in Transylvania, they find their match, and what starts as a clash of bands quickly turns into carnage!
In less than 50 pages, Tarmac gives us unhinged characters with a thirst for revenge and a brutal, blood soaked story with the perfect soundtrack, while delivering the same level of extreme he’s gotten us used to.
Yet again, Tarmac and his sick, twisted mind throws us into the most brutally violent tale of music and revenge! Quite literally straight in no kissing with this one. This story follows Valentina, the lead singer of PinkWet, as they travel to Transylvania for a gig, where things take a very bloody turn.
Tarmac never holds back when it comes to the extreme, and PinkWet is the perfect example of the lengths he will go to make readers feel uncomfortable and disturbed. He throws us right into the trauma from the get go. Sooo much blood and what an absolute ball it was, I was hooked!
I am beyond excited to see where Tarmac takes this series and I have no doubt it will be absolutely grotesque and disgusting and I wouldn't want it any other way!! I would have been PinkWet's #1 fan and groupie no doubt about it!
Thank you so much to the author for an arc copy. All opinions and views are my own and have been left voluntarily.
This was a fun little read that I finished in a single sitting.
Anything horror and metal (especially Black) related is an auto-buy for me.
This was quick and twisty and I never really knew where it was going. Plus fucking brutal, dark and nasty. I fucking love black metal and this really captured the atmosphere of the roots of the genres.
My biggest gripe is the length and "wishing it was longer" is not really something that I consider a valid complaint.
Can't wait for the sequel and to check out more J. Tarmac.
There’s horror… and then there’s PinkWet a feral, blood-slick descent into sonic violence and psychological rot that feels like it crawled out of a basement show at 3AM and never saw daylight again.Set against the grimy, frostbitten backdrop of Transylvania, this book doesn’t just tell a story it assaults you with it. The blackened grindcore scene isn’t just aesthetic here; it’s the bloodstream of the narrative. Every page feels loud, chaotic, and unhinged in the best possible way.Valentina Nervosa is a force. Not a hero. Not a villain. Something far more dangerous. Watching her spiral deeper into a war of ego, blood, and vengeance against Ezio and Carpathian Slaughtercult is like witnessing a controlled demolition of sanity. The violence? Brutal. The atmosphere? Suffocating. The vibe? Pure nihilistic carnage. This isn’t just horror it’s extreme horror with distortion pedals cranked to max. If you love: • Underground music culture • Unreliable, savage characters • Stories that don’t hold your hand (or spare your stomach)
Then PinkWet is going to hit like a blast beat to the skull.
Pinkwet kicks off heavy and doesnt let up for its 60 page run time. We follow Valantina Nervosa, front lady of the Polish Grindcore band pinkwet. After an introduction chapter thats sees a real piece of shit get what he deserves, we go along as the band goes to a remote Transylvanian town to play a gig. The bands music is dark, violent, nihilistic, and they pactice what they preach, weather its making a music video out of their justified crime or setting up stage shows that leave those in attendance covered in blood, real or fake, as well as other bodily fluids. I dont wanna spoil anything in the story, so I've tried to just set you up with the vibe of this book, its metal as fuck through out, so if thats your thing i can't recomend it enough.
PinkWet is a horror about a grindcore band with the same name, named so as a provocation to a male dominated scene What I loved about it was that the author is not a tourist and knows underground music well, this of course gives a wonderful air of authenticity. Reading about the band on tour really took me back to being young and going with my friends hardcore bands to a random hall in a random town, not knowing what to expect and having a blast! For me, the book is a horror /adventure because it follows the group making their way to a mysterious gig in rural Romania to perform their ummm “provocative” shall we say live show. It’s a short novella so I don’t want to give too much away but they encounter way more than a shady promoter or a fight breaking out! The members of the band are all fantastic characters with their own personalties, especially the narrator and front woman Valentina Nervosa and I am very happy to know a sequel is on the way! If you don’t already have PinkWet you can pick it up on Amazon now. It might be short but it’s packed with revenge, gore, violence, fun and brutal metal. Recommended for fans of DethKlok, This Band Could Be Your Life, The Lost Boys, The Green Room and Napalm Death. Five stars!
The opening pages set the scene for how graphic PinkWet is, and it doesn’t let up. There were definitely a few moments where I was impressed with Tarmac’s creativity as I never would have thought of that (let’s just say I’d never want to mosh at a PinkWet concert!)... and the ending? Well, my lips are sealed because that’s something you need to enjoy for yourself. This is a short read so don’t expect a hugely detailed plot. There is enough to enjoy the story and the gore that comes with it.
"The distaste I held for life did not extend to the world beyond humanity. As I saw it, the creatures of this world had been burdened by our presence, not us by theirs"
With 'PinkWet' you are submerged immediately into chaos. Valentina and members of her Blackened Grindcore band enact bloody mayhem straight from the first page, but it is not without the gleeful streak of satisfying revenge.
Tarmac pens the most gruesome and bloody with eye-watering mastery and it makes even this short book a gripping experience that drives you, breathlessly, towards an exciting payoff.
The core character, Valentina, happens to be one of my favourites crafted by this author (so far!). Despite her mission to capture the brutal on film for the sake of her band's reputation, and the more depraved acts she engages in, her inner monologue makes her relatable in a lot of ways, and I really appreciated her thought processes weaved throughout this tale.
Overall, this story is a fast and frantic display of gory excellence. A wild ride, but one akin to a slick slew of downpicking or a thunderous drumbeat, making it an inescapable force. As always, Tarmac doesn't spare you any respite, but I found myself unable to tear my attention away from PinkWet's rise to infamy.
It's 'Near Dark' x 'Lords of Chaos' - but infinitely more insane... so thank you, to the author, for allowing me to read this great, gory tale!
PinkWet is a savage, high-octane horror ride that never lets up. The story follows the female-fronted blackened grindcore band PinkWet as they hit the road in the wake of a controversial music video depicting their lead singer exacting brutal revenge on the priest who abused her as a child. Rumors swirl about whether the video is fiction or something far more disturbing, drawing attention wherever the band goes.
When a devoted fan promises a packed crowd in a small town, PinkWet eagerly adds the stop to their tour. But what begins as a routine gig quickly spirals into something far darker. After meeting their fan they meet their opening act, Carpathian Slaughtercult, the atmosphere grows increasingly sinister. As the night unfolds, the band discovers their fellow musicians are far from ordinary, and the violence, tension, and horror escalate to unforgettable levels.
A relentless blend of extreme music culture and brutal horror, building toward a phenomenal finale that left me eager for the next installment. I can't wait to see where Book 2 takes this story.
As a child, Valentina is abused by Father Kristi at the St. Igor Church. She grows up with hate in her heart for the old priest.
Will they reunite? Oh they will.
Father Kristi should have prayed harder.
Valentina is now the lead singer of the band PinkWet. With her bandmates Irek, Sorin and Florin she goes on tour. PinkWet plays a gig in Transylvania, where a hardcore fan has invited them to stay at his old farmhouse.
They go to a bar and meet a group of dark-hooded figures. They challenge the band to join them at an old graveyard. No one is backing out of anything here; these guys are metal. And so, we cross the point of no return.
If you’re in a slump, read this book. It’s short, fast, and brutal. The characters are great; I wanted more of them when it was over. Dark, violent, gothic, and just unhinged enough to be a very good time.
-Vibeke 🖤
Thank you, J, for the ARC. Make more Splatterpunk, please. I can take it!
Valentina Nervosa and her band of beautifully deranged misfits are instantly iconic: feral, unapologetic, and completely swallowed by the madness they walk into. What starts as a rivalry with another band quickly mutates into something far darker, dragging you into a blood-soaked spiral where music is just the gateway drug to absolute carnage. Ezio is genuinely unsettling in that quiet, something-is-not-right-here way.
Tarmac does what Tarmac does best and delivers brutality with purpose. Beneath the chaos, there’s this biting, clever commentary on how metal bands and their fans are viewed: the assumptions, the fear, the moral panic. It never feels preachy though, it’s wrapped in guts, and madness, daring you to look closer.
PinkWet is a fun novella about the heavy metal band 'PinkWet'.
In 44 pages, a lot is packed, and you, as a reader, have to unpack. To me, because of that, it reads like an interlude, a 1.5 book in a series, and after talking to the author, he said this book is meant as a pilot, as he plans to turn this into a series. I personally think this is a great idea. There is a lot to this story that allows for a deeper background.
That being said, getting to know Valentina and her band was a ride in itself. Especially after they meet another band who presents themselves as their opening act... I'll leave it at that. If you want to know what sort of carnage is unleashed after that, you have to read for yourself.
This novella throws you straight into the chaos of Valentina's band, PinkWet, as they hit the road determined to prove themselves. What starts as a tour quickly spirals into something darker.
I really enjoyed this one. It's a quick read, filled with splatter. It's definitely not for everyone check your trigger warnings.
I loved this lil shortie from J! Grindcore, versus a cult! I don’t really want to say much more as this is a shortie! What I will say is this! I love a story with musical musings and there were plenty to be read here! The world building was really rich and I felt like I was in the story, right there with Valentina! It’s no secret I love J’s hardcore writing style. Another great read!