# LOTR and black metal



## Sengir Buendia

It's cool how black metal bands find inspiration in Tolkien to name themselves, or their albums/songs... By the way, only Mordor names, which seem to fit to their "evil" imagery...  

1) Amon Amarth - black metal (BM) underground band with cool atmosphere
2) Blind Guardian - the only non-BM band in this small list to have Tolkien references in some albums (THIS band is worth checking, great german power-symphonic-metal)
3) Cirith Gorgor - BM band, never listened...
4) Cirith Ungol - BM band, never listened...
5) Ephel Duath - this BM band is not soooo underground, their albums have better production and some cool prog elements, female vocals... I even like some of their songs.
6) Gorgoroth - really raw BM band, funny gremlin vocals, terrible production though...
7) Nazgul - really underground BM band, never listened...
8) Summoning - atmospheric BM band, uses only synths and harsh vocals, all their albums are based on LOTR

Any black metal fan out there? Anyone knows of other metal references to Tolkien? Share it here!


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## Captain

Don't forget Led Zeppelin, though they aren't black metal. In their songs they mention Mordor, Gollum, Ringwraiths, and other examples.


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## Melko Belcha

I have never listened any of those bands, but Summings and Nazgul are the only two I haven't heard about. Actually I have heard one song by Amon Amarth, and of course I have heard the Zepplin songs.


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## 33Peregrin

I've only heard of Gorgoroth. I was talking to this BM girl... we talked about music, (I talked about LOTR soundtracks), and she mentioned Gorgoroth. I actually thought it was kind of funny. She liked the Ringwraith FOTR music.


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## Sarah

I own Nightfall in Middle Earth and Somewhere Far Beyond, both by Blind Guardian. I really like them, but I like Nightfall better. It's awesome. It's easy to picture the whole album as one big battle. The first song starts out with "give it to me, I must have it, precious treasure, I deserve it..." obviously the silmarils, as in the little prologue before it says "...twice I destroyed the light, and twice I failed..." Also, it gives both sides of the battle, but surprisingly starts out with the evil side first. Very good album. I highly suggest it to any devout Tolkien fan.


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## Deleted member 3778

_Eledhel _ is also one - a "medieval" BM band from Croatia, I think...


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## Morgoth

Not to forget Count _Grisnahk_ from Burzum (Swedish BM)


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## Morgoth

Burzum is also Black Speech for 'Darkness'


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## Deleted member 3778

Isn't he..slightly mad?  (wasn't he involved in that Mayhem murder incident?)


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## Morgoth

Ithilin said:


> Isn't he..slightly mad?  (wasn't he involved in that Mayhem murder incident?)


I think so, he killed one of his friends from what I remember. Him and a load of other Norwegian (they're norwegian, not swedish by the way, my mistake) went around burning churches down. Nice.
By the way everyone, I am not a black metal fan, I just know my music.


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## Deleted member 3778

yes, he was arrested. but I think he's free now  (we also have two plane-hijackers for neighbours... and many more interesting people here, thanks to the "come-all-ye-asylum-seeking-criminals-we will-protect-you-from-the-bad-police-men" policy  and they wonder why there's so much more violence nowadays...


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## Morgoth

I just bought Nightfall In Middle Earth by Blind Guardian! It's an absolutely fantastic album! My favourite track is The Curse Of Feanor (hence the sig). Its a brilliant, brilliant album. Wow. Thank you for bringing it to my attention Sengir and Sarah.


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## Wolfshead

Craig's favourite bands who draw on Tolkien...

Blind Guardian
Cruachan
Elvenking
Led Zeppelin
Leonard Nimoy (joking...)

There's also some others that I know that haven't been mentioned. I'll try and remember to look them up later.

The guy from Burzum (Vike Vikerness, or something like that) was put away for murder (someone from another band, Mayhem, I think) and manslaughter (a fireman died in the church he burned down). I think that was it, well, there was probably something for burning down the church as well... He escaped a few months ago, but then they caught him again when he threatened some people with a gun...


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## Deleted member 3778

there was a similar incident where the lead singer of Gorgoroth tortured a man so badly he still's on sick leave, a year later... isn't this improving the misunderstood image of black metal?


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## Dark_Glamdring

Blind Guardian is one of my fav bands  and yes, their songs reallly talk about Tolkien. Led Zeppelin mentions some stuff but don´t know how much their songs talks about Tolkien really.
I love this


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## Wolfshead

From Morgoth's signature said:


> "I Will Take Part In Your Damned Fate"


That's a Blind Guardian lyric, off _Nightfall In Middle-Earth_, but from which damned song is it?  It won't quite come to me...

I forgot to look up those bands, I'll do it tonight 

I've got an idea for this topic - why don't we get the name changed to something like "Tolkien and metal", to make it encompass all metal (like it is), rather than it seeming to just be black metal?


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## Ol'gaffer

Nightwish!

Some of their songs are very influenced by Tolkien, such songs as:

Elvenpath
Wishmaster
Dark Chest of Wonders

These are the ones with the most influental lyrics, then there are some with slighter symbolisms to Tolkien.

Great music.


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## Wolfshead

Oh yes, Nightwish, didn't think of them.

I can't believe I missed these 2 off my list, almost the entire albums I have by both of them are LOTR based!

Battlelore
Orkrist

I've actually found some LOTR inspired black metal  If I remember rightly, this is all done by one guy! His project (can't really be a band...) is called Rivendell, and the song I have is _Mithrandir_. I can't remember how I found it, but you could try www.metal-observer.com and try searching there. The song should be a download on his site. The file was missing, but I emailed him and he sorted it out  It's a good song, and it sounds quite a bit like The Meads Of Asphodel, with a kind of middle-eastern sound to it.

EDIT: Found this on TMO - http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=3341 , about Rivendell. I think now I found them on the Skaldic Art website, so off there I go now...

EDIT 2: Woo hoo! Success! 



> First class folk black metal. Based upon the worlds of Tolkien, *[size=-1]Rivendell [/size]*[size=-1]creates a completely own reality. Accoustic guitars impart a huge folkoristic aspect on the album, the clean vocals abduct to long forgotten times.
> Dressed in the cloak of metal, beauty and firmness unite and [/size]_[size=-1]"The Ancient Glory"[/size]_[size=-1] delivers the fitting name to this work.
> [/size]_[size=-1]"Elven Tears"[/size]_[size=-1] consistently follows this chosen way. What once took off with [/size]_[size=-1]"The Ancient Glory"[/size]_[size=-1] is now resumed by Falagar and he even extends the whole phenotype for some surprising moments. Recorded at the Tidal Wave Studio, this album once again represents the perfect soundtrack to the Lord Of The Rings epic.[/size]


The song can be downloaded at this site, and it tells you all about the project - http://www.geocities.com/skaldicart/Riv2004Info.html .


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## Deleted member 3778

d'oh >.< can't believe I didn't post that  it seems like most metal bands are inspired by Tolkien and fantasy one way or another... the band members and fans of that environment are usually quite familiar with the books (which is why I started listening to metal to begin with..or did I start reading Tolkien after I became a metal head? either way...)


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## Wolfshead

Yeah, that's why I think metal is probably the most intelligent of the popular musical genres. All the rubbish we see in the charts have the same themes - love, mostly, and a couple of others. But we see all sorts in metal, actual thought goes into the songwriting process. And I suppose most metallers have at least read Tolkien, and a lot draw inspiration from it. Maybe I'm wrong, but what do you think the chances of Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera having read LOTR are?


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## Wolfshead

Ok, so the link to the Rivendell download doesn't work. I've emailed Falagar again, and no doubt he'll sort that problem out soon enough  I'll post when it's there again.

I think my mind's turning into a sieve... I forgot to mention a band called Wuthering Heights from Denmark. I even ordered their 3rd album, _Far From The Madding Crowd_, yesterday! It's supposed to be a kind of LOTR-inspired concept album. Song titles include _Bad Hobbits Die_ _Hard_, _The Road Goes Ever On_ and _Lament For Lorien_. It's power metal. Sadly there are no downloads for it. Here's a review that sings its praises, though.

http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=5478

I can't wait for it to arrive 

Still now cd. Play.com haven't got it back in stock yet  

I've just read this review in an email update I got from www.supernalmusic.com . It's about a Spanish band called Nazgul. My guess is they must be Tolkien-inspired  But I know absoloutely nothing of them other than what the review says.



> NAZGUL (Esp): "Awaiting the Battle Ravens" cd
> (Christhunt Productions)
> Coinciding with the re-issue of the 2000 album "When the Wolves Return to the Forest", originally released by Battlefield Records in a limited edition of 500 copies, Christhunt Records has put out this follow-up, recorded last year. And not without justification, because NAZGUL convinces with the same ease their elder compatriots, PRIMIGENIUM, have done with their two excellent and highly-addictive albums. Their domain is pure Black Metal, played at a blazing speed most of the time, with extended, well-developed melodies and complementary twin guitars and juxtapositions of epic fury against the odd folkish, acoustic moment. Despite the raw, bassy sound, and the absolutely catastrophically unprofessional layouts (pixelated cover off the internet, forgotten bleed space, inexplicable black areas, lyrics too small and against a high contrast and very busy background, etc.), the music exudes a rugged aristocratic elegance in the type of melodies and atmospheres chosen, as well as in the guitar arrangements, a trait I've noticed in most bands from their part of the world (think ASGAROTH or the now totally forgotten and obscure BLAZEMTH). Both music and the feel of what is on the booklet, hit the right notes, what with the gothic fonts, the black and white images of trees and prehistoric megaliths, straight out of the classic Polish Black Metal template, as exemplified by NORTH or INFERNUM. Like BERZERK, also from Spain, NAZGUL, the better of the two in my opinion, is part of the wave of paganisation that has been sweeping Black Metal, as well as other sites of the anti-Marxist, anti-Postmodernist counterculture, in recent years. It is, in other words, reactive against the intellectual climate of a Europe that, as was stated by the Vatican's chief theologian recently, 'no longer loves itself'. NAZGUL is also one of the few bands which have a full-time female member who neither sings nor plays the keyboards (she's the bass player). I am well impressed by this album and I have played it frequently during the past few weeks, having spent a few years regretting having missed out on the debut, which we now also have in stock, at long last. If what happened to me also happened to you, all I can say is don't miss out a second time. £9.99


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## Jotun

Wolfshead said:


> Cruachan



DUDE!!! Someone else who likes Cruachan!

Also, Nightwish rules.


Anyway, a few bands I didn't see here are Isengard (a side project of Fenriz from Darkthrone. I've never heard their stuff, but I saw a CD of theirs once), Galadriel (not black metal, but they draw from Tolkien), and Isildur's Bane (another non black metal band).

I've never heard any music from these bands, by the way.

*edit* Forgot one band: Camel. They did a song called "Nimrodel". Stupid me.


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## Wolfshead

Cruachan are great! They've got a quaint little forum over at www.cruachan.cjb.net. The beauty of it is that the band are actually regular posters, and they're pretty cool 

I've heard of Isengard but none of the others you mentioned - what're they like?

And incidentally, the Wuthering Heights cd came months ago, and it's really good


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## SpankusAurilius

not that they're "black" metal, but Rush has a song called "Rivendell" from they're second album and it's a pretty melodic and soothing song:

Rivendell

Sunlight dances through the leaves
Soft winds stir the sighing trees
Lying in the warm grass
Feel the sun upon your face
Eleven songs and endless nights
Sweet wine and soft relaxing lights
Time will never touch you
Here in this enchanted place

Chorus
You feel there's something calling you
You're wanting to return
To where the misty mountains rise and friendly fires burn
A place you can escape the world
Where the dark lord cannot go
Peace of mind and sanctuary by loud water's flow

I've traveled now for many miles
It feels so good to see the smiles of
Friends who never left your mind
When you were far away
From the golden light of coming dawn
Till the twilight where the sun is gone
We treasure every season
And every passing day

We feel the coming of a new day
Darkness gives way to light a new way
Stop here for a while until the world,
The world calls you away
Yet you know I've had the feeling
Standing with my senses reeling
This is the place to grow old 'til
I reach my final day.

if your a fan of rush you probably already know about this song, and if your not a fan of rush, i still suggest you check it out......


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## Jotun

Wolfshead said:


> I've heard of Isengard but none of the others you mentioned - what're they like?



From what I've heard, Isengard is like Darkthrone only more folk-y. Galadriel (from the descriptions of their music) is not so good, and I imagine Isildur's Bane's a bit like Spock's Beard.

Camel rules. If you've heard Opeth's "Damnation" CD and like it, you'll probably like them, seeing as they are major influences on Mikael Akerfeldt.


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## Wolfshead

Hmm... folky black metal. Sounds like my kind of music. In a similar vein to that I would recommend the album "Spirit The Earth Aflame" by Primordial. It's celtic black metal  But I shall check out Isengard. Camel too.

Never heard of Spock's Beard, either, though...


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## Hammersmith

Ol'gaffer said:


> Nightwish!
> 
> Some of their songs are very influenced by Tolkien, such songs as:
> 
> Elvenpath
> Wishmaster
> Dark Chest of Wonders


 
Isn't Wishmaster based on the Dragonlance books?


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## Jotun

Ol'gaffer said:


> Nightwish!
> 
> Some of their songs are very influenced by Tolkien, such songs as:
> 
> Elvenpath
> Wishmaster
> Dark Chest of Wonders
> 
> These are the ones with the most influental lyrics, then there are some with slighter symbolisms to Tolkien.
> 
> Great music.



*Reads "Dark Chest of Wonders lyrics*

Whaaat? You sure, man? The closest song on their "Once" album that has any Tolkein-ish theme (in my opinion) is "Nemo".


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## Wolfshead

I thought Nemo was all about sailing on the ocean?


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## Hammersmith

Wolfshead said:


> I thought Nemo was all about sailing on the ocean?


That was the captain's name in Jules Verne's _20,000 Leagues Under The Sea  _
Nemo is latin for "nobody", and so doesn't necessarily have to refer specifically to the good Captain.

Add another to the list...I'm sure Elvenking have some Tolkien lyrics. If anyone has time to listen to them, they're absolutely hilarious


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## Wolfshead

Guess that's what I get for never actually bothering to read the lyrics for Nemo...

Elvenking are probably the second metal band I got into after Blind Guardian, shortly after their debut, Heathenreel came out. Wyrd wasn't nearly as good but now they've got rid of Kleid and brought Damnagoras back as vocalist for the next album, which should be good. Not black metal, though, very much folk metal.

Despite the fact they named themselves after the Elf king in the Hobbit I'm pretty sure they don't have any lyrics specifically referring to Tolkien. But they're clearly inspired by that kind of thing.

I've reading a bit more about Varg Vikernes recently. He's obviously a total nut, but absoloutely fascinating to read about. Spent ages a couple of days ago reading his side of the story re the murder of Mayhem's Euronymous. As mentioned earlier in the thread he's the guy behind Norwegian Black Metal group _Burzum_ (being Black Speech for _darkness_) and he performed under the stage name Count Grishnackh. He also has some interesting views in regards to paganism and LoTR which he expands on in his website. I'll get round to reading that at some point.

The whole Norwegian black metal scene is pretty interesting. It was reading about former Mayhem frontman, Dead that led me on to Euronymous and then Vikernes again. Crazy, crazy people.


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## Aisteru

Although they aren't exactly black metal, the band Rush has a few references to Tolkien in their songs. The most obvious being the song "Rivendell."


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## Hobbit-GalRosie

Nightwish and Rush are amazing bands.

The voiceover from Elvenpath is actually from the animated Lord of the Rings movie, according to wikipedia. I was actually getting more and more convinced that it was Tolkien himself, because it sounds so much like the way he talks in those few recordings we have of him reading from LotR...now I feel stupid. 

That fact alone makes me more curious about that movie...people seem to either love or lampoon it...should watch it some time.

Blind Guardian is amazing but they lack a certain amount of subtlety and complexity, and their singer is too fond of the cookie monster vocals which just seem wrong when applied to Feanor who's supposed to have this incredibly powerful voice that fairly mesmerized people into following him. Still, I'm kinda addicted to Nightfall in Middle-earth. They have really, really powerful lyrics that just get better every time I listen.

My very favorite band (across all genres) is Symphony X, and I dearly wish they'd do some Tolkien related music. They'd be great for it. They do like Tolkien, some of them even list him in their influences for writing music, but they don't have any songs that are overtly connected to his works as far as I know. They have Through the Looking Glass and The Odyssey and several other pieces based on great literary works or mythology, but no Tolkien. That really needs to be their next project, imho. Pleeeeeeeease Monsieurs Allen, Romeo, Pinella, Lepond and Rullo?


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## Illuin

> Originally posted by *Hobbit-GalRosie*
> 
> _cookie monster vocals_


 






Perfect description! 







^ And he's reclaimed the One Ring .



I don't know how anyone can listen to that stuff. I hear the Heavy Metal I used to listen to in elevators now. 

_"Eezy on Breezy - You're listening to "The Breeze"; broadcasting the most relaxing easy listening music you will find......anywhere. Here's a touching song that will bring a tear to your eye from 1982 called - The Number of The Beast - by the lovely and charming - Iron Maiden"_


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## Wolfshead

Hobbit-GalRosie said:


> The voiceover from Elvenpath is actually from the animated Lord of the Rings movie, according to wikipedia. I was actually getting more and more convinced that it was Tolkien himself, because it sounds so much like the way he talks in those few recordings we have of him reading from LotR...now I feel stupid.
> 
> That fact alone makes me more curious about that movie...people seem to either love or lampoon it...should watch it some time.


It uses a couple of clips from the introduction. Don't let that fool you into thinking the film is any good, however. It's really not. It's hilariously bad for 15 minutes or so and then it's just bad.

I've always particularly liked this review - http://flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/bakshi/bakshi.htm


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## Squint-eyed Southerner

Given the PJ locations, and the fact that the Amazon series will apparently feature Maori hobbits, I think this qualifies! 😄





Some of the musicians look a little pakeha to me, but what do I know?


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