Just a little while ago I realized that a Berserk FST is exactly  the thing that I always wanted to do but never knew that I wanted to. I already had a number of songs that I associated with the show and started compiling a list of possibilities for the FST when I realized that there was too much. Berserk is too long and encompasses too many events and too many characters feeling too many emotions. I decided that I would just do up to the Eclipse - I may do another one later, but that will definitely be more work (and possibly require a re-reading of later chapters). While I say it's a Berserk FST, I'm gonna admit that it is pretty heavy on the Griffith/Guts. I also sacrificed a bit in the way of chronological order to make the songs flow better into each other.

I basically raped my collection of metal for this FST, though I made an attempt to include music that wasn't metal. It's just... metal and Berserk just fit together like... like porn and chocolate.

1 - Loco Roco - Sun Theme
Adorable nonsense!

I spent an absolutely retarded amount of time trying to pick a song for Puck that didn't break the mood. Then I gave up and just slammed this as the first track so it wouldn't interrupt anything afterward. If nothing else, the cute upbeat-ness suits Puck quite nicely.

2 - Godsmack - I Stand Alone
I'm not afraid of fading/I stand alone/feeling your sting down inside me

Our introduction to Guts' character is that he's angry, bitter, and utterly rejects any human contact.

3 - Masterplan - Crawling from Hell
So long they waited for the secret sign/and they were branded by the mark of evil/monsters and demons - crawling from hell

This pretty much covers Guts' continuous bloody battle against the creatures that follow him.

4 - Soundgarden - Limo Wreck
I'm the wreck of you/I'm the death of you all/I'm the wreck of you/I'm the break and the fall

I feel this song touches on both the dark, fatalistic world of Berserk and Guts' pursuit of vengeance.

5 - X Japan - Dear Loser
Instrumental

I really wanted to stick something transitional here to mark the start of the (really fucking long) flashback arc and cover Guts' childhood. Not only is X Japan awesome, but this is the first song in their first album, and it's a really great introduction for what will be a shitload of angst. It took a lot of strength but I managed to not put in 'I'll Kill You.' XD

6 - The Who - Behind Blue Eyes
But my dreams/they arent as empty/as my conscience seems to be

I can't take credit for this - this song was brought up on the forums at SkullKnight - but it sums up Griffith, his ambition, and his relationship with Guts so eerily well. I don't care that The Who came long before Berserk - as far as I'm concerned, they wrote this for Griffith.

7 - Sonata Artica - Wind Beneath My Wings
I want you to know I know the truth/I would be nothing without you

Okay, so the song was in a more than mildly humerous yaoi AMV. That doesn't stop the song from really pinning Griffith's dependence on Guts, and the Sonata Arctica cover fits the FST far better than Bette Midler's crooning does. They're a great band and I would have squeezed in one of their songs anyway.

8 - Bjork - Play Dead
A place called hate/the city of fear/I play dead/It stops the hurting

Somewhat a transition song, mostly Gut's internal resistance to being a part of the Hawks - he always feels like an outsider and rejects closeness from the other mercenaries.

9 - Tori Amos - Crucify
I've been looking for a savior in these dirty streets/looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets

This song is for Caska and her devotion to Griffith, despite knowing that he basically doesn't love her and never will. Of her, Griffith, and Guts, she's the most emotionally aware and can see what all three characters
are doing to themselves.

10 - Meredith Brooks - Sin City
The mirror faces you/you cannot look away/blood is on your hand

Griffith climbs the ladder of status and rank, but not without cost.

11 - SR-71 - Goodbye
But you won't let go/it's all about control/understand I'm born to lead you will follow

This song clicks once you think of it as a dialogue rather than a single character speaking - Griffith is trying to assert his authority as Guts is saying he will leave the Hawks.

12 - Dir en Grey - The Final
Deep within the hell of my heart... I can't go back/a self-torture loser, not being able to see tomorrow

Okay, so the song is about suicide, but what Griffith does in banging the princess is basically ending his life as he knows it and killing his dream. Metaphorical death, yo?

13 - Dir en Grey - ZAN
A distorted picture of cruelty/even emotionlessness is rotting/dance a short life

I will be spamming Diru, but mostly because they're so good at doing disturbing shit, and this song is best described as 'making you want to curl up and shiver in the fetal position'. This covers Griffith's torture and his failing grip on sanity.

14 - Underoath - A Boy Brushed Red
Something has gone terribly wrong/I'm scared, you're scared, we're scared of this/I never thought we'd make it out alive

This song is a bit all over the place, but its desperate nature really fits Guts and Caska's relationship - from their rocky start and Guts' near rape of Caska (Can you taste the fear in her sweat?/You've done this wrong)
to their tenuous hold on each other and the Hawks (I'm scared, you're scared, we're scared of this/I never thought we'd make it out alive) to their denial of Griffith's state (In this moment that we both ignore the truth/It's all over!).

15 - Kamelot - Descent of the Archangel
There's so much/I will show you everything so vividly/you won't deny me

This song is so perfect. Godhand tempts Griffith with power and visions.

16 - Linkin Park - With You
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake, slow to react/even though you're so close to me/you're still so distant, and I can't bring you back

Okay, okay, I hate the band and I laughed at the parody on YouTube, but I won't deny that this song fits. Guts tries to reach Griffith during the Eclipse.

17 - Dir en Grey - Merciless Cult
But I just remembered that there is no love here/over and over somewhere begins to break

I did say that I'd be spamming Diru. Kyo's screaming may be an aquired taste, but lots of screaming certainly goes on during the Eclipse. You can think of this as 'music to watch your girlfriend get raped to'. :P

18 - Gilgamesh - Fukai no Yami
My scream disappears . . . the rotting abysmal darkness/the voice of the pain and anguish of death in the depths

This is basically something to tone it down a bit after all the gore and rape and Guts sinks from a boil to a simmer - basically, he's come full-circle to where he started off at during the manga.

19 - Chris Cornell - You Know My Name
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights/but you yourself are nothing so divine

The tie-off: Guts is enveloped in his desire for revenge, revenge that might well destroy him. While we can be sympathetic, I can't help but think that Guts' rage will bring about his own demise. Also, Chris Cornell is one hundred kinds of win.