The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 brought metal to its soundtrack, highlighting a historical trend that has already seen The Silmarillion be turned into an entire album. With The Rings of Power Season three is inevitable, it’s the right time to delve into the music that surrounds Middle-earth and helped shape it into the institution it is today. Starting the story that would change the world forever through multiple art forms, Allen & Unwin published JRR Tolkien’s book The Lord of the Rings in three parts between 1954 and 1955.
Starting with The Fellowship of the Ringthe seminal novel introduced Eä, a pioneering high fantasy universe with races ranging from Elves and Men to Dwarves and Hobbits. These unique species were the prototypes for countless fantasy characters in franchises released in the following years, including Dungeons and Dragons. Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings and Hobbit The films were what propelled the Tolkien phenomenon of the 1960s to familiar heights, but metal caught on from the start, with the love for Tolkien dating back to the 60s.
Blind Guardian’s Nightfall in Middle Earth tells the story of the Silmarillion
Lúthien dances on the cover of Nightfall In Middle-Earth
In 1998, Blind Guardian released their acclaimed album Silmarillion concept album Dusk in Middle Earth. Consequently, power metal band Blind Guardian can probably claim the best Lord of the Rings metal outside. If Howard Shore’s soundtrack were The Lord of the Rings it wasn’t that iconic, it might have paled in comparison to that. It’s true that for those who don’t like metal, it won’t magically be more enjoyable than any other metal, but for those who are open to it, this varied tour de force tells the story of The Silmarillion with talent and musical ingenuity.
|
Tolkienian era |
Event marking the beginning |
Years |
Total length in solar years |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ahead of time |
Undetermined |
Undetermined |
Undetermined |
|
Days before days |
The Ainur entered Eä |
1 – 3,500 Valian years |
33,537 |
|
Pre-First Tree Years (YT) |
Yavanna created the Two Trees |
YT 1 – 1050 |
10,061 |
|
Early Age (FA) |
Elves woke up in Cuiviénen |
YT 1050 – YT 1500, FA 1 – 590 |
4,902 |
|
Second Age (SA) |
The War of Wrath is over |
SA 1 – 3441 |
3,441 |
|
Third Age (TA) |
The Last Alliance defeated Sauron |
AT 1 – 3021 |
3,021 |
Power metal is uniquely suited to fantasy, and this has been recognized for decades, with numerous bands and albums exploring the rich terrain offered by the intersection of fantasy world-building and lyrics. The genre is also melodic, dramatic, noisy, colorful and a little exaggerated – this is not monotonous black metal. Fantasy metal is its own subgenre, which often interacts with power metal. The Vala Morgoth and Sauron have a tragic, Byronic element to these atmospheric narrations and highly imaginative interpretations of the stories of the First Age.
Tolkien inspired fantasy metal
The Lord of the Rings It may seem mainstream today, but it has been alongside oppressed movements and art forms for generations. JRR Tolkien Lord of the Rings achieved some degree of cult status in the 1960s, becoming associated with a countercultural movement towards the appreciation of nature. The magic of this era had a profound impact on music and can be captured in lyrics like those of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On”. The song refers The Lord of the Rings throughout, including oblique mentions of “Gollum and the evil one” and “The Darkest Depths of Mordor“.
Classic rock and fantasy metal populate the music with the kind of lyrical world-building that would make Tolkien proud, often influencing the epic poetry that Tolkien himself taught and loved. But numerous Heaviest metal bands pay homage to their nerdy background and the innate darkness of Middle-earth. Amon Amarth, for example, is a Swedish metal band named after Mordor’s Mount Doom. Lord of the Rings’ cultural symbolism has long seen it as a point of resistance to authority figures and problematic social systems, which metal is all about.
Bear McCreary brought metal to Rings of Power season two
The Rings of Power chose Jens from heavy metal titans Meshuggah for the season 2 soundtrack. In many ways, Bear McCreary is the main character of The Rings of Power. His soaring compositions cleverly rescue Shore’s arrangements for Jackson’s films without being derivative, while Shore himself also contributed to the proceedings. McCreary uses Tolkien’s language in his compositions and inverts certain melodies to suit character arcs, so his appropriate use of metal for a Troll anthem was no surprise.
The darkness of Sauron’s kingdom and followers was the perfect sandbox for Meshuggah’s lead singerJens Kidman. The lead member of the Swedish extreme metal band is known for the intensity of his punches, which makes him perfectly positioned to express the searing impact of a confrontation with the Second Age forces of Sauron, led by Adar at the time. A look at McCreary confirms that the metal is his estimate. He cites Gojira and Slipknot as some of his favorite bands, but more specifically, he released a brilliant solo album with Kidman and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor in May 2024.
Like many artists before him, McCreary honors the rich tradition of pounding drums and pounding guitars to convey Arda Marred’s inherent fury.
More Wizard than Man, McCreary was clearly desperate to write metal for Lord of the Ringsand finally got his opportunity in the form of Damrod the Troll. McCreary said “When I first saw Damrod the killer troll… I immediately knew I needed to call Jens” (Revolver). Like many artists before him, McCreary honors the rich tradition of pounding drums and pounding guitars to convey Arda Marred’s inherent fury. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power It’s lucky McCreary isn’t intimidated Lord of the Rings’ rich musical heritage.
Source: Revolver