Like a wizard and his staff, or a dragon and its gleaming horde, heavy metal/hard rock music and fantasy literature are an inseparable pair. I haven’t seen any statistics published on the subject, but fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard just seem more inclined to listen to heavy metal than any other genre of music.

For a small sample of this trend, you need look no further than The Cimmerian’s About the Bloggers page: While I can’t speak for Leo, Steve, or Al, Deuce and I wear our metal credentials on our sleeves like Sauron’s orcs bear the Lidless Eye (for the record, Deuce is more metal than me). I don’t think it’s an aberration that at least 40% of this site’s bloggers are metal fans; there’s something to this phenomenon, even if I don’t quite understand the connection.

You don’t have to look far or dig deep to see the connections between metal and fantasy. Led Zeppelin might be the most popular fantasy-influenced hard rock band, with songs based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (Ramble On, Misty Mountain Hop) and Viking invaders (Immigrant Song). Progressive rock band Rush also shows Tolkien influences on its early albums, including Rivendell and The Necromancer. Molly Hatchet’s album covers featured work by the immortal Frank Frazetta, he of Conan the Cimmerian Lancer fame.

And that’s just hard rock. Full-blown heavy metal artists take the fantasy influence and turn it up to 11. Black Sabbath got the ball rolling with The Wizard on its self-titled first album, generally regarded as the first heavy metal album ever recorded. When Ronnie James Dio assumed lead singing duties from Ozzy Osbourne, he took the dragons and wizards themes to new realms with songs like Children of the Sea and Neon Knights.

Then there’s Manowar. In addition to setting two world records for the loudest and longest performance by a heavy metal band (on two separate occasions, thankfully — no one could have survived the performance otherwise), they write Howard-inspired, battle-themed, heroic fantasy songs like Hail and Kill, Blood of my Enemies, and Gates of Valhalla. Manowar rails against false metal in their songs (which includes the dreadful, non-fantasy literature inspired hair metal bands of the 1980s) and, in general, kick major ass. If you like Howard, you’ll likely appreciate Manowar, even if its on some dark, subterranean dungeon level of your brain.

While Manowar is pure dark barbarian and the soundtrack of Karl Wagner’s Kane, German power metal band Blind Guardian predominately draws its lyrics and album art from the high fantasy genre. Nightfall in Middle Earth is probably the most serious, unadulterated example of fantasy-influenced heavy metal that I’ve ever seen (you could argue for one of Manowar’s albums, but I can’t shake the suspicion that Manowar’s stuff is on some level tongue-in-cheek. I could be dead wrong). In case you haven’t heard of it before, Nightfall in Middle Earth is a concept album based entirely on Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. With song titles like The Battle of Sudden Flame, Noldor, and The Curse of Fëanor, I find Nightfall in Middle Earth both amazing and vaguely terrifying.

There’s even an actual band called Bolt Thrower. Really, I’m not making that last one up.

The Cimmerian print journal ran a great piece about Robert E. Howard’s influence on heavy metal. “An Iron Harp Played Through a Marshall Amp” by Scott Hall (V4n03) takes a much broader, deeper look at fantasy-influenced metal bands than what I’ve mentioned here, with a particular emphasis on artists who directly credit Howard for inspiration. Lesser-known bands like Rosae Crucis, Manila Road, Gates of Slumber, and Bal-Sagoth all make appearances in Hall’s informative essay.

Why do so many metal bands draw on fantasy literature for their lyrics and album imagery? Maybe it’s because heavy metal is epic and sweeping, and its characteristic power chords are the invigorating music of strength — just like the muscular heroes that populate fantasy stories, particularly the pulps. Swap out their Flying V guitars for swords and the metal guitarist as warrior is complete. Some metal bands even don pseudo armor on stage (Hammerfall — see image above) or wield faux weapons (Gwar).

Likewise, fantasy readers naturally gravitate toward metal because it offers escape and release, which is of course part of the appeal of fantasy lit (no matter what China Mieville might tell you). Metal is the music not only of earthly concerns — girls, booze, and teenage rebellion — but otherworldliness as well. Songs like Iron Maiden’s To Tame a Land (based on Frank Herbert’s Dune) and Judas Priest’s The Sentinel allow us to wander the landscapes of alien planets in our minds as we listen. Metal gets a bad rap by its critics for being brainless; I would offer up songs like Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Mordred’s Song as high-brow evidence to the contrary.

With that post off my chest, I’m off to read some Elric while listening to Slayer’s Reign in Blood.