Heroines Quest; Herald of Ragnarok
HEROINE’S QUESTScore: 8/9 Hammers
If you’re reading this hoping it’s something like King’s Quest, I know you’ve only got one question. The answer is yes, you can lose the game by getting stuck in a dungeon for all eternity. Though here it’s easier to avoid than that split-second bullshit with the mouse, so take that as high praise.
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Cirith Ungol – King of the Dead (1984)
CIRITH UNGOLScore: 8/9 Hammers
Note: I thought it would be interesting to take a tour through the history of power metal classics and underrated gems to compliment the reviews from newer bands. To start my trip through these sacred halls,I need to come to terms with Cirith Ungol.
For the longest time, Cirith Ungol’s album covers, which were done by Michael Whelan, enticed me while Cirith Ungol’s actual music just baffled me. It was an ill fitting blend of traditional metal and proto-doom with a voice that whipped the dungeon ceiling. It took me the longest time to appreciate the finesse and majesty that this band commands. Sometimes enjoyment with even power metal can come with struggle, compromise, and even realization. Cirith Ungol’s King of the Dead lives among the greats of United States Power Metal and is a record that lives up to the power of its album cover. Continue reading
The Magic Sword (1962)
THE MAGIC SWORDScore: 3/9 Hammers
Looking over the different decades of fantasy films seems to show a pattern. The 1980′s is the decade that usually stands out in people’s mind as the classic period. Personally, I have found the 1980’s, following the success of Conan the Barbarian, to be a fertile ground for both surprising hits and forseen disasters. The 1990’s, in contrast, has shown itself to be the period when fantasy films were in decline. The 00’s, for further comparison, a time for renewal and refocus. I have always thought of whatever came before the 1980’s, however, as sort of proto-fantasy time, which existed as primordial ooze. I have since learned the 1960’s saw dozens, and even hundreds, of sword and sandal movies as well as fantasy-esque family films produced by companies such as Universal and Disney. The Magic Sword was one of the first 1960’s fantasy films I found and was a live action one aimed at children, which for some reason was never immortalized like Sleeping Beauty and The Sword in the Stone. For reasons, known and unknown, this fantasy film never incurred the longevity of its counterparts and remains an obscure entry in proto-fantasy filmmaking. I just hope it isn’t boring as fuck. Continue reading
Qantice – The Phantonauts (2014)
QANTICEScore: 7/9 Hammers
Qantice, on the surface, appears to be just another power metal band whose destiny lies in the symphonic exploration of fantasy and science fiction. This is fine, as there is an audience exactly for this niche genre. This French band, however, seems to have gone above and beyond what is expected of a power metal band. Qantice’s first album was complemented by the science fiction novel “Qantice, la Cosmocinésie ou les Remuements des Mondes” in 2012, which continued the story heard in the band’s first album The Cosmocinesy. Yes, this band did what so many people dream about: A fully published novel to sit alongside their record. Full escapist fantasy, engage. Continue reading
Roy Krenkel – The Pharohs At Alexandria (1975)
Roy Krenkel was an American illustrator who was a contemporary, and colleague of fantasy titan Frank Frazetta. Krenkel, along with Frazetta and Al Williamson contributed cartoons for the growing speculative market created by EC Comics. Krenkel’s work can bee in issues of Weird Science, Incredible Science Fiction, and Weird Fantasy and had a savage world charm all of its own. Krenkel’s mastery over black and white detail complimented the strange stories which were written for a strange demographic of teen and young adult fantasy enthusiasts. Continue reading
South Park: The Stick of Truth (2014)
SOUTH PARK – THE STICK OF TRUTHScore: 7/9 Hammers
Southpark: The stick of truth is, at it’s heart, a game about larping. That’s “Live-Action-role-Play”, if you’re not in the know, and it’s on the sheer “metal as swords” power of larping at we’re looking at it today. Because larping is epic as shit. And don’t say you haven’t fucking done it. If you’ve ran up and down your street with a stick at some time in your life, pretending to fight dragons (and our latest reader demographic statistics show you’re doing that RIGHT FUCKING NOW) then you’ve larped. And the only difference between that and wearing a wizard-cloak and hurling fucking dice fireballs in a wood is like-minded people and money. Which makes taking the piss out of Larpers just as infective as any other insult that’s based around their access to creativity, disposable income and Friends.
All of this means, of course, that Southpark must be the richest mountain town in the universe. It’s certainly the most epic. Continue reading
