Hobbit Rock: Songs to Carry You Into Mordor

Fantasy icon J. R. R. Tolkien's influence on pop culture cannot be emphasized enough, and his stranglehold on metal's collective psyche has been documented to death. The already trollish genre of black metal harbors the biggest culprits, fueling speculation that a large percentage of its grim-faced fun-hating purveyors are in fact giant fucking nerds (not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm right there with 'em). It does makes sense; the sprawling complexity and grandiosity of Tolkien's worlds provide an ideal playground for those obsessed with evil, darkness, and the fragility of the human spirit, and the Black Speech's garbled hacking has provided endless fodder for band names (looking at you, Amon Amarth). Why call yourself something wimpy and lame like "crows" when you could be growling "CREBAIN" at all comers, amirite? Count Grishnakh has a much more intimidating ring to it than Kristian, and why bother singing about ice and snow when you've got otherworldly demons just begging to be immortalized? Hell, even Led Zeppelin and the Beatles got in on the fun, and Christopher Lee, Saruman himself, has recorded a few symphonic metal records.

With that (and the imminent theatrical release of The Hobbit's second chapter) in mind, here are a few of our favorite Tolkien-inspired tracks.

Summoning – "Dor Daedeloth" (Minas Morgul, Napalm Records/1995)

Summoning are the undisputed kings of "Tolkien metal" (oh yes, it's a thing) due to both their fervent dedication to their subject matter and the sheer quality of their triumphal atmospheric black metal odes. "Dor Daedeloth" pays tribute to the land of the Dark Powers, mentioning a shadowy trek through the mountains of Gorgoroth, which conveniently takes us to…

Gorgoroth – "Blood Stains the Circle" (Under the Sign of Hell, Malicious Records/1997)

Norwegian black metal institution Gorgoroth have been inflicting their tremolo-picked visions of dreadful horror since church burning had just come into fashion. They always focused far more on hailing Satan than harnessing the might of their Sindarin namesake, but no matter how many assault charges former singer Gaahl racks up, the band will forever be haunted by their geeky past.

Morgoth – "Pits of Utomno" (The Eternal Fall, Century Media/1990)

German OGs Morgoth took their name from the great renegade Melkor, churning out a handful of pitch-perfect 90's death metal records before dissolving in 1998. A recent reformation and demo compilation proves that true evil never dies.

Sauron – "Storm of Ashes"

Named for Morgoth's evil henchman, these black thrashers hail from the cold wastes of Michigan and pepper their blasts of primal Germanic-styled force with complex LOTR references.

Sacrilege – "Flight of the Nazgul" (Within the Prophecy, Under One Flag/1987)

It's not surprising to find that Metal Archives has got a good fourteen Nazguls listed, given the evil character of the name itself (the Nazgul are the soulless servants of Sauron). However, genre-bending Brits in Sacrilege paid the best and most faithful homage to the flying demons on their crusty thrash classic 'Within the Prophecy;' death from above never sounded so good.

Orodruin – "Ascending Damnation" (split w/ Reverend Bizarre, Hellride Music/2004)

The great volcano Orodruin rises from the scarred plains of Mordor, while the gritty trad doom quartet that bears its name calls the slightly less bleak recesses of Rochester, NY home.

Burzum - En Ring Til Å Herske (Det Som Engang Var, Cymophane Records/1993)

Formerly known as Uruk-Hai, Norway's Burzum ("Darkness" in Mordor's Black Speech) is helmed by Count Grishnakh, one of black metal's most revered musicians and reviled people. As one might notice, his Tolkien love runs deep; he even snuck in a reference to the Ring on his landmark second album.

Cirith Ungol – "Chaos Rising" (Paradise Lost, Restless Records/1991)

California heavy metal trailblazers Cirith Ungol formed in 1972 (!) and took their name from the Pass of the Spider where the dread monster Shelob dwells in the shadow of a watchtower on Mordor's far reaches. Traditional heavy metal thunder crashes into morbid doom with progressive touches and proto-thrash fire.

Isengard – "Vinterskugge" (Vinterskugge, Deaf Records/1994)

It would've been more fitting to include "Dark Lord of Gorgoroth," but the title track to this debut album from puckish Darkthrone multi-instrumentalist Fenriz's folk/black metal project is just too infectious. The fortress Isengard was built to guard Rohan from invaders from the south; if only this short-lived side project has stuck around half as long.

Falls of Rauros – "March of the Valorous Bane" (demo, 2006)

It's fitting that nature-worshipping atmospheric black/doom outfit Falls of Rauros took their name from the roaring falls of the River Anduin of Wilderland. Orcs are cool and all, but this song is far too pretty to be cloaked in darkness.

Bonus Track: Black Sabbath – "The Wizard" (Black Sabbath, Vertigo Records/1970)

Original Black Sabbath bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler outed himself as a Tolkien fan yonks ago, and even based the lyrics to one of their first album's best tunes on ol' J. R. R.'s writings. For "The Wizard," Butler has been quoted as saying, "I was reading Lord of the Rings at the time, and I just based the lyrics on that – Gandalf.