Rock Bands and Tolkien (Nightwish and more)

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by skip spence

Bill Burroughs, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Rimbaud and Hunter S Thompson are rock'n'roll writers. Tolkien, as much as I adore him, should be kept well away from rock music and vice versa. Like oil and water they are.

Edit: What is up with metal bands and Tolkien references?

Estelyn is entirely correct regarding the Scandinavian connections found in Tolkien that mesh with metal. In addition, these rock folks grew up with Tolkien as a major influence (as did we all), and more than likely never read Joyce or Rimbaud (although earlier rock bands like The Doors were influenced by Aldous Huxley, and Dylan found a sympathetic cord in Rimbaud's work). So, like Zeppelin before them, heavy metal mashers mention Mordor. It's rather like Pink Floyd calling their first album 'Pipers at the Gates of Dawn', which is a chapter title in Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows'. We are very much what we read in our youth.