A Fantasy Genre Musical Odyssey (1971-1992)
My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a playlist around some theme. This week, Valenti Govantes assembles 12 songs from 1971 to 1992 that evoke the fantasy genre. Read Valenti’s thoughts on each song and listen along to the Spotify playlist on top and/or the YouTube playlist at the bottom of the post.
Getting the ‘80s animated classic HEAVY METAL’s soundtrack stuck in my head and watching ‘80s fantasy films KRULL and EXCALIBUR earlier this year got me thinking of music’s history with the fantasy genre.
The Heavy Mithril page on pop culture wiki TV Tropes describes when musicians reference fantasy genre media, which is especially prevalent in ‘70s and ’80s rock songs. The fantasy genre's worldbuilding and epic storytelling lends itself well for allusions by popular musicians. While modern songs still frequently reference pop culture, this list contains mostly older music because I’m a huge sucker for anything made before the year 2000.
Author Michael Moorcock co-wrote around a quarter of these songs. While I knew of Moorcock’s novels, listening to songs he co-wrote for Blue Öyster Cult and Hawkwind is motivating me to delve into his bibliography someday.
This post nearly focused on my two massive Spotify playlists that contain earworms I’ve listened to between my teenage years and now. I might write a future post on selected tracks from them, listing the year that corresponds to when the song got stuck in my head.
(These tracks are in mostly chronological order from when they first debuted since I organize my Spotify playlists in this fashion)
1. “The Battle of Evermore” by Led Zeppelin
It’s appropriate to start this list with a song that’s not my favorite in Led Zeppelin’s discography, but it still heavily alludes to The Lord of the Rings. The music creates a fantastical atmosphere, with musicians Jimmy Page and Robert Plant referencing author J.R.R Tolkien’s seminal novel through lyrics like “the dark lord rides in force tonight” and “the ringwraiths ride in black.”
2. “Stormbringer” by Deep Purple
Although Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné fantasy novel series apparently didn’t inspire it, “Stormbringer” still shares a name with Elric’s sword, justifying the song’s inclusion in this mixtape. Similar to how the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY trilogy didn’t feature Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin,” a future THOR movie should feature “Stormbringer.”. Band members Ritchie Blackmore and David Coverdale’s lyrics fit that character well.
3. “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin
Despite the title’s reference to an Indian subcontinent suggesting otherwise, I believe “Kashmir” tells a story from Gandalf’s perspective. There’s no question the song is about the iconic Middle-Earth character with lyrics like this: “I am a traveler of both time and space. To be where I have been. Sit with elders of a gentle race (elves?). This world has seldom seen. Talk of days for which they sit and wait. All will be revealed.”
4. “Kings of Speed” by Hawkwind
This is the song and band I was least familiar with during this post’s creation, having discovered Hawkwind when I looked into Moorcock’s collaborations with rock bands. Between this song and the next by Blue Öyster Cult, I can really hear the similarities between both bands’ music and lyrics.
5. “Black Blade” by Blue Öyster Cult
Now this song actually does reference Stormbringer, but it helps that Moorcock co-wrote it. The song tells of Elric’s complicated relationship with the titular sword, and all of its awesome and eerie vibes. The music is far more upbeat than the ominous atmosphere band members Eric Bloom, John Trivers and Moorcock’s lyrics establish.
6. “Veteran of The Psychic Wars” by Blue Öyster Cult
The presence of “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” on the soundtrack for HEAVY METAL justified creating this entire list. The lyrics’ literal (a man increasingly deteriorates while fighting in a futuristic war) and metaphorical (someone’s battle with their mental health) meanings are great. The album version is awesome and the live version is really growing on me too.
7. “Vengeance (The Pact)” by Blue Öyster Cult
The filmmakers behind HEAVY METAL left “Vengeance (The Pact)” out of the movie because it retold too much of the “Taarna” segment as if the latter couldn’t be more iconic. I understand why HEAVY METAL didn’t feature the song, but it’s a shame since it's a really well-written track.
8. “Never Ending Story” by Limahl
I don’t need to put a link to the song for this one because you’re already humming its rhythm and singing the lyrics. By this point, this list has reached movie tie-in territory. When it comes to movie tie-in songs, they can either be abysmal covers or charmingly corny and original earworms. “Never Ending Story” falls into the latter category as it’s so catchy, I might watch THE NEVERENDING STORY for the first time soon.
9. “Princes of The Universe” by Queen
I debated including this song and the following two on this list since I mentioned them in a separate piece on this website. “Princes of the Universe” uses flowery words to suggest the lyrics’ central figure is on a path to greatness. The extremely energetic music and triumphant lyrics perfectly set the stage for awesomeness.
10. “A Kind of Magic” by Queen
After listening to this song around a thousand times over the years, “A Kind of Magic” has become my favorite of the songs from Queen’s “A Kind of Magic” album. I only regularly listen to the version that appeared in HIGHLANDER since the album’s version pales in comparison.
11. “Gimme The Prize” by Queen
This is the last song from Queen’s “A Kind of Magic” album on this list. “Gimme The Prize” is a villain song that isn’t sung by The Kurgan himself, but his voice is still heard. The song sums up The Kurgan’s one-dimensional characterization in HIGHLANDER, having actor Clancy Brown do the work of Atlas to make him engaging.
12. “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest
During my first semester at Florida International University, an Introduction to Literature course introduced me to “Scenario.” It earns its place on this mixtape for one of Michael Myers survivor Busta Rhymes' verses, alluding to the iconic Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game: “Rawr! Rawr! Like a dungeon dragon!” “Scenario” is the only rap song in this mixtape, but a list of when older songs reference the fantasy genre wouldn’t feel complete without one due to many rappers being gigantic pop culture fans.
