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After a decade-plus of metal fandom, I\u2019ve found it harder and harder to find bands that truly stick with me. As a teen, the sheer sonic brutality of Slayer\u2019s Reign in Blood or Death\u2019s Leprosy gripped me like nothing else.<\/p>\n
Now, I spend countless hours scouring Bandcamp’s depths, trying to recreate my early experience with metal. Recently, I\u2019ve discovered some genuinely baffling genre tags: melodic grindcore, psychedelic nu-metal, pro-Keynesian-economics black metal and something called\u2026 Elder Scrolls metal?<\/em><\/p>\n\nMy eyes lit up like a Skooma-fiend. My obsession with metal started around the same time as my passion for the world of Elder Scrolls. I was wrong to think that unrelenting force (opens in new tab)<\/span> was the only appealing trait of metal. The discovery of increasingly niche subgenres had always been a crucial part of my love of the genre.<\/p>\nStill staring at the words \u201cElder Scrolls metal\u201d I pledged my allegiance to the Night Mother and took the plunge. Deep within her fertile grave, I discovered the dank sludge of Wuuthrad, and the gritty power of Daedric Chamber, amongst other Elder Scrolls-themed bands. The Bards College best beware because we\u2019re going electric<\/em>\u2014these are the metal bands that Elder Scrolls inspired.<\/p>\nBattle Born\u00a0<\/h2>\n Subgenre:<\/strong> Power metal<\/em><\/p>\nClaiming to hail from the snow-swept streets of Windhelm, Battle Born (opens in new tab)<\/span> is a power metal band that writes \u201cpowerful hymns of war\u201d to aid in the defense of their city against the \u201cImperial scourge\u201d. The pageantry in their artist bio is a mere hint towards the theatricality found in the single \u201cBring the Metal Back\u201d from their self-titled EP.<\/p>\nThe story of the song is a tale older than time: Life in Windhelm revolves around Beer and Metal until the arrival of the Septim Empire threatens this noble way of life, and the people of Skyrim must go to war. Though Skyrim is the setting for this riff-based call-to-arms, in true power metal fashion, the song is about heavy metal above all else. Seriously, get a load of these pre-chorus lyrics: \u201cMetal magic \/ It has the power to heal \/ Your wooden swords are broken \/ \u2018Cause metal\u2019s made of steel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s an AC\/DC-like joy in listening to a song about the genre you\u2019re currently listening to, I don\u2019t find this approach to be very satisfying when it comes to Elder Scrolls-inspired metal. If it\u2019s going to be mindless, please just give me lyrics about a giant who crushes Imperial scum with kegs of Honningbrew mead.<\/p>\n
Tamriel\u00a0<\/h2>\n Subgenre:<\/strong> Deathcore, technical death metal<\/em><\/p>\nLyrically, Tamriel\u2019s (opens in new tab)<\/span> Blood and Ebony EP does an exceptional job of placing the listener within, well\u2026 Tamriel. \u201cSkewered by Arrows, Pinned by Oak (opens in new tab)<\/span>\u201d imagines a Dark Brotherhood assassin\u2019s thwarted assassination attempt in Solitude, while \u201cThe Eyes of the Falmer (opens in new tab)<\/span>\u201d revels in the grisly details of the Falmer\u2019s enslavement at the hands of the Dwemer. \u00a0<\/p>\nAs for the instrumentals, Tamriel\u2019s deathcore-influenced brand of death metal certainly feels inspired, but the overly mechanical chug of the rhythm section and the digitally compressed guitar leads lend themselves more to dystopian science fiction than high fantasy. Complaints aside, I could imagine myself getting eviscerated by an unrelenting swarm of dwarven spiders to the tune of \u201cBuilt by Dwemer (opens in new tab)<\/span>.\u201d It\u2019s also worth mentioning that this 2012 release is the earliest piece of Elder-Scrolls-inspired metal I could find, so it deserves props for anticipating a minor movement.<\/p>\nSheogorath\u00a0<\/h2>\n Subgenre:<\/strong> Melodic black metal<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\nSheogorath (opens in new tab)<\/span>, a \u201cvideo games metal band\u201d from Vienna, Austria makes this list for being one of the few Elder Scrolls-inspired bands that focuses more on Oblivion than it does Skyrim, right down to being named after the Daedric Prince of Madness himself. While the bucolic splendor of rural Cyrodiil doesn\u2019t exactly conjure the imagery of war, death, and decay so prevalent in the genre, the fiery hellscapes that are the Planes of Oblivion sure do.\u00a0<\/p>\nSheogorath’s 2021 release, Lunacy Gone Astray, contains a few Oblivion-inspired songs. The title track imagines a figure, likely Sheogorath, who surrenders to the imaginary voices and cryptic visions that plague him. The actual sound of this song, an expertly performed but somewhat generic blackened speed metal outing, does not totally suit the lyrical content, save for the very hypnotic and dreamlike lead guitar.<\/p>\n
\u201cTowards Oblivion\u201d fares a little better on the sonic front. The band\u2019s choice to alternate between punishing black metal riffage in the verses and a triumphant and soaring melody in the chorus compliments this song\u2019s story of an army valiantly storming an Oblivion Gate.<\/p>\n
Wuuthrad\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n
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(Image credit: Wuuthrad)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n