Metal bands inspired by CONAN 1982

True

Discoverings from the french forum:



http://www.myspace.com/rexorbrazil

Truly the guy looked like an 80's metal-head





Then this CROM band released another CD -the band which recorded this "Cocaine Wars" previous one, not that other CROM one of the funeral pyre which is a different one:



This is the new CD





Also check out the band's caricature, the guy at right is a pitfighter



I wonder if they could really be buried because of this

You need to watch this video. Believeme


KREATOR - Hordes Of Chaos

Quote :

Violent chaos haunting me
Mirror of countless human tragedies
Times of horror, constant lies
Totalitarians autocracy's demise
Fake peace a necrologue for the elite
Brutality among the weak
While children die for Armageddon victory's breed
This necrologue for the elite
Like raging beasts among the sheep
While flags are waving everywhere
They scream

Hordes of chaos
Hordes of chaos
Everyone against everyone - chaos
Hordes of chaos
Hordes of chaos
Everyone against everyone - chaos

Brutal riots left and right
Out to destroy, willing to die
Honour killing in blood is she'd
A cruel reality in empires built in sand
Dark war, more gruesome then ever before
Supports this decadence galore
A tyrants feast on shoulders
Of the poorest of the poor
The necrologue for the elite
The rise of the heartless bourgoise
While flags are waving
Everywhere they scream

Hordes of chaos
Hordes of chaos
Everyone against everyone - chaos
Hordes of chaos
Hordes of chaos
Everyone against everyone - chaos

Not sure but I think the song is about chaos.


Cover of the album:





Screenshots of the video:

I've never been a fan of heavy metal. Seeing all these bands makes me wonder if Conan is a heavy metal mindset. I almost feel like there is a mindless brute stereotype that is being reinforced over and over with the selective use of Conan material.

There seems to be a type of people who latch on to one aspect or another and reinterpret the whole thing to support this minor aspect of the genre. The violence, the furry panties, the muscles, the atlantean, ect... I see a theme taken almost out of context and then drummed up to be the public view of either the film, the character, or the genre.

I'm not bashing this thread or any of the bands per say. It's just an observation this morning that makes me sad...

There are a few people who think Conan=violence, Conan=furry underwear, Conan=muscles, or Conan=mindless barbarian. It's been reinforced over and over through the years in part by these bands, and there is just the casual glance that other make that locks in these thoughts. I blame CTD really.

Too bad we won't see a change anytime soon. The new Conan will play to the mob, so i am sure it will lock these stereotypes in for good.

AOster wrote:

I blame CTD really.

Me too.

I dunno if that would really be the origin of that sthereotype, but in any case, that movie consolidated that image forever... The character in CTD is the kind of Conan that anyone who doesn't really know Conan has... Conan = Retarded Pscyho... Some kind of Leatherface...


In the better cases, Conan is remembered by the nickname of "The Destroyer", that is, some kind of killing machine -not with the idiot and dumb adjetives- but as simply a prehistoric Terminator...


But ultimately, not everybody is able to see the good things in the movie of Milius... Maybe blinded by the crude violence, maybe blinded by any other reasons, they weren't able to see (or feel) the deepness of the movie and the character, and because of the long silences and the brutality of the prehistoric era portrayed, they came out believing Conan was a mongoloid...

You know, a lot of people doesn't really think for themselves, also, a lot of people aren't able to see just because they judge things by previous rigid prejudgements... Take the example of the Prehistoric Man, a very old prejudge exists, which created a sthereotype, about ancient primitive men being dumb and violent, almost retarded, almost able of eat their own feces while hitting their own children to death with a club.

When really this is a huge misconception, a big great lie, which i've seen repeated over and over in the portray of primitive people in serious documentaries and thousand of movies...

It is very probable that happened the same with Conan -(wich is no less than a little bit more advanced prehistoric man, not from the stone age but from the earl iron age)-.



In the particular case of the metal related to barbarians, dude, I never truly could see the connection... I remember when I was a teenager and used to read and collect Conan comics, and man, every single fan I met was a metalhead... I just felt so out of place sometimes, I used to writte to the mail of the comics asking the reason for this connection, but they never gave me any answer, guess they didn't know... Plus the mail itself was so full of guys writting things like "Manowar Forever" and stuff like that, , lol... I just'd didn't get it, really... These guys asked for -literally- MORE VIOLENCE and GUTS and an even more macho attitude in Conan... I just though, "how could it be it is already not enough for them"????????

What I really wanted was more good scripts like in the good times, because at that time, marvel's Conan comics were cancelled and in Spain some comic editors were thinking about publishing the Conan comics by themselves... Which never truly happened... As it was Italy which continued doing them, not too good, by the way...

There are a lot of comic books which fans of heavy metal love and worship... Most of them doesn't even have what one would call a true script, lol, but on the other side those have huge amount of gore and extremely dark imagery... Some of them are DEATH DEALER by Image,

http://www.comicmonsters.com/modules/Interviews/Death_Dealer/Death_Dealer_comic.jpg

some SIMON BISLEY stuff -(which is usually excellent)

http://simonbisleygallery.com/art/biz00281.jpg

https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img444/4551/00un6.jpg

those VEROTIK comics written by GLENN DANZIG (singer of the bands MISFITS, SAMHAIN and DANZIG)

http://www.the7thhouse.com/news/updates/verotikstuff/jgod_comics_xibalba.jpg

those old KISS PSYCHO CIRCUS comics

http://www.kissasylum.com/psychocircus/comics/psychocircus14.jpg

etc etc... Those are pages and pages of posing characters, normally there's nothing more there, but metalhead T-shirts illustrations printed in little frames.

I believe it's possible the metal was rerlated to Conan mostly because of the album covers. It was so common during the 80's, to see Conan-like barbarians in the covers of metal albums... Also, the fact of the long hair and leather clothes made a bridge there... And ultimately, Conan and the S&S heroes symbolize freedom and no rules, which is something close to rock'n'roll attitude... If you wanna know what exactly is the phylosophy of these kind of bands, simply check out ANY Manowar lyrics, they are repeating their vision of life again and again and again and again and...


Now, I do like some metal music, some other I don't. And I don't specially like all this "viking-metal" and "barbarian metal" and so... It's just a matter of taste, nothing against anybody... I can live with this people, no problem at all.

But dude, can you believe it, once as a teenagar I tried to work in some "Conan" related fanzines driven by die-hard Manowar fans, who used to say -all the fucking time- things like IF YOU ARE NOT LIKE US, THAT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE WEAK... and ONLY THE METAL FANS ARE WORTHY TO LIVE, DEATH TO ALL THE REST... and ridiculous stuff like that aaaaall the fucking time... I was like ALLRIGHT, SURE, THEN STAY HERE AND RULE IN YOUR IMAGINARY KINGDOM DUDES, I'M OUTA HERE RIGHT NOW

One thing you forgot to mention was these bands also took the cheesyness and tried with all their balls turn it into something digne and epic. I just can't feel this image is not ridiculous, sorry, but Is what I feel:



It's allright if you are 8 years old but those guys are mature men who try to sell an image of tough and strong virile dudes... Man, is like they are a bad Italian RIP-OFF of CTB... Really, I simply can't watch an Italian rip-off for more than 10 minutes, man... Because if it's a comdey or a parody, allright, but taken so seriously, and being so cheesy, is like man it's too much for me


Then, I found this article writtien by a fan:

Quote :

LITERATURE BACKGROUND OF MANOWAR -

Know, or Prince, that between the times when the oceans sank Atlantis
and the times of the rise of the sons of Aries there was an age
undreamed of, when the shining kingdoms laid under the bright stars...
Here came Conan, the Cymmerian, sword in hand, who was destined to trample the jeweleed thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet...

(Robert Erwin Howard, The Nemedian Chronicles from
Conan the Cymmerian ,
(Part 1))

The literature which may be considered to be the closest to the realm
of Manowar's heroic fantasy stories is, IMO, Robert Howard's Conan
saga. I think many of you saw both movies based upon Howard's
books (Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer with
mighty Schwarz in a leading role). For those who were pissed off
while watching the movies - the movies are rather far from
not only the narration of Howard's books, but from their style
and idea as well. Both movies were way too commercial.

The best piece of art on Earth based upon these 12 books (I don't count endless aping attempts by mostly maronic
writers) is songs by Manowar. The info about general affiliation
of Joey to Conan saga was provided, as a matter of fact,
in Deena Weinstein's book. Among the songs most closely related
to the named books Ride the Dragon , Demon's Whip ,
secret of Steel , Burning , Dark Avenger
can be mentioned. As a matter of fact,
Conan saga is also indirectly based upon the Viking mythology
and history of the Viking invasions in Europe in 8-10
century, the same as a multitude of Manowar songs

( Kill with Power , Battle Hymn , Gates of Valghalla ,
March for Revenge , Blood of my Enemies , Black Wind, Fire and
Steel , Crown and the Ring , Hail and Kill ).

LV - Stand and fight, live by your heart

FUENTE: http://www.musiceffect.com/artist_category/manowar/biography/


Sooorry... but.....

The books never ever mentioned any "discipline of steel", any "secret of steel", any "power of metal" ideology..... That was the MILIUS' movie, not the books, not even the comics.... But the fan say that the movies were bad and "way too commercial", oh my god, and defends that the band has a literary background, my god.... like trying to give them some kind of dignity, I don't get it. Can't have dignity if they admit that were influenced by the movie??

Allright, who cares.

A german band with a sound close to Manowar, called WIZARD - They released an album called ODIN:








______________________________________________________________

Also a band from Chile, called BATTLERAGE. The style is slightly different though still you can notice a huge Manowar influence, the guy has a much more growling voice (though not becoming death-metal) but more like James Heatfield (though not singing as well at all). The music in some songs also takes a lot from Metallica.

The cover from their album STEEL SUPREMACY (a title surely influenced by the Milius' movie, I believe).



Have a song about THE CULT OF DOOM

Quote :

The Cult of Doom

Fire burns in darkness
The gates of hell are open wide
Enchantments of perversion
As the dead will come to life
Priests and soul ensalvers
Power hunger, evil rites

Beneath the desert
Something will awake
The Cult of Doom will take you
Your soul, the price to pay
Darkest secrets
Appearing in the night
The Cult of Doom will bless you
A bloody sacrifice

Lifeless bodies
Black energies will now shoe
In power and dominion
Dark shadows, they will roam
Silver daggers
Demand a sacrifice of blood

Beneath the desert
Something will awake
The Cult of Doom will take you
Your soul, the price to pay
Darkest secrets
Appearing in the night
The Cult of Doom will bless you
A bloody sacrifice

In power and dominion
Dark shadows, they will roam
Silver daggers
Demand a sacrifice of blood
Spells of pain and torment
Once just carrion, now reborn

Beneath the desert
Something will awake
The Cult of Doom will take you
Your soul, the price to pay
Darkest secrets
Appearing in the night
The Cult of Doom will bless you

_______________________________________________________________

The band THOR.



Besides having a Frazetta-clone painting in the cover, they have a song called HAIL STEEVE REEVES.


_______________________________________________________________


Finally, not realted to the Milius' movie at all, but I just wanted to include this one. I do like Metallica, both voice and music. The guys got it all, technique, maniac trash anarako punk parts, brutality, sensibility, good taste, perfect compositions, average good lyrics... And amazing attitude on stage. They did look like vikings (specially the fucking Heatfiled during his last twenties) but weren't ridiculous at all...



Never really went into "sword & sorcery" topics, which I think is perfect IMO. Still they did into violence and brutality, also into medieval imagery like in "Until it sleeps". which interestingly enough used HYERONIMUSH BOSCH paintings. If i'm not wrong OLIVER STONE also was hugely influenced by this painter's work when writting his script for CONAN THE BARBARIAN.

German band called TYRANT.

This album is from 1984.



It's clearly inspired by Frazetta's AGAINST THE GODS,



Though looking at the date (1984) it's highly probable that they also took the inspiration from the Casaro poster, as the movie was highly succesful by that time (and the sequel was going to be released).

Karl Sanders with his 2009 album "Saurian Exorcism"

Song titled "CONTEMPLATE THIS IN THE TREE OF WOE"

Excellent one!

The fur speedo thingy predates CTD though. The preview to CTB attracted all the bikers in leather ect in Las Vegas, so one would imagine all this occurred prior to the CONAN movies. Its either the loincloth or fur diaper, which is stereotypical in the comic book and heroic-fantasy genres I believe, since even Tarzan.

CTD's humor is still basically Arnold humor you'd see in most of his movies, but namely his later ones. Perhaps it shouldve been called CONAN ; Arnold untamed?LOL Well in CTB you do see the same humor present, but he's most of the time he's a big clumsy mute instead. Subotai pokes fun of him in the movie. During Kitchen entrance there was a scene where Subotai makes of Conan because he gets stuck inbetween the rocks--that gladly got trimmed out've the picture. But many times in CTD Arnold would surprise you and he'd right back in true CONAN form. Thing that makes it more awkward was that Arnold was all cut up and his legs were thin but extremely developed, same thing with the rest of his body. His pants often seemingly magically appeared and disappered at different takes and times,lol.


I suppose Barry Windsor Smith's CONAN Arnold in CTD more resembled.

Hm, you are right, the connection exists before the CTB movie so is probably related to what the S&F heroes symbolically mean. Probably related to that "anti-civilization" concept, and the "no rules but my balls". Also (and I think specially) the freedom.

Is interesting that all those musical/cultural/tribal movements like meatalheads, bykers, punks, etc, came from the same root of the "beat generation" (a bunch of very powerful, cynical and brave poets of the American 50's) which evolutioned in the 60's into the rock'n'roll culture (which Charles Bukowsky would be the literary avatar) with a lot of slighty different versions (from psychedelia to surfing-wave). Milius belong to the surfist-rockers tribe (The Beach Boys and that, you know) though he declared he also admired The Doors (which were in the opposite coast and style) and that he and his friends really loved the Beat poets.

Milius also wrotte and directed a movie called MOTORCYCLE GANG about a bunch of "evil" bykers and so...


Now that I think, Arnold as the Terminator was also closely related to punk (the first one) and "old-style" heavy metal (in the second).


Is true that as "harder" the style of rock is, more masculine energy it wears. It's all about hard dicks and balls, I guess Which is perfectly fine. I guess the guns and the muscles and the masculine heroes are close to hard rock because of that.

Hmmm, see Led Zeppelin had a huge Tolkien influence... And Pink Floyd had a CONAN one!!! Once I found an old poster of a Pink Floyd concert featuring Conan slashing some enemies with a sword. I was truly surprised to find Pink Floyd was related to Conan, I would have never thought that!



The difference between the humor in CTB and in CTD was in CTB it was mixed with a very serious tone, the jokes weren't gratuitous, you didn't really laugh about the character but about the situation (he was too big or too strong or too innocent for the situation he was into) but in CTD the jokes are to explicity tell "this character is an idiot (not innocent) or a retard (not just uneducated) or a psycho (not a warrior)". In CTB you laugh and still love the character, because Milius didn't stole his dignity showing his riduculous side. In CTD there was no dignity but maybe at the end when he throws himself with both weapons in hand to kill the monster, or a couple or moments when the guy is shown as a brave man. The rest of the time in CTD is just a prehistoric bully who speak with camels and can't count to three and puts mongoloid faces when cuts people in half and wears an extremely gaylord costume and wig.

Now that I think, if Robert Howard would have lived, he could have fit into the Beat generation in 20 years more... Not sure, these guys were heavily into drugs and alcohol but I truly believe his attitude would have perfectly fit with a more mature and cultivated Howard.

Seen that way, if Howard was a pre-Beat poet, and the beat poets influenced hard-rock, VOILÁ! Here's the storyline and the connection!

In some interview around, pretty sure I remember Milius admitting that BIG WEDNESDAY was nothing more than his own personal fantasy and romanticized interpretation of the surfer culture that he was somewhat a part of..and he acknowledged/admitted a more accurate and truthful one wouldve been all the junkies and drugs that were involved in those times as well as today.

Well the main character is some kind of junkie in BIG WEDNESDAY, though is a likable one... What is truth is in those days the use of drugs had a true philosophy and "sense", in the way of experimentation and exploration of the oneself (you know guys like Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley who wrotte extensively about the topic) and that is the main difference with a jonkie who searchs for anesthesia meanwhile in theory the use of drugs in these subcultures was the search for conciousness. Anyway, this is also theory/romaticism and the very end of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (the least romantic thing ever ) says clearly: "We were wrong, we were nothing but jonkies living a dream" or something like that.

Milius doesn't look to condene the use of drugs (see Conan and Subotai) but he doesn't like the anesthesia or the passive state it can give, turning you into a junkie (which is what essentially all these children of doom/hippies were). His all bunch of surfers were closer to anarcho-punk style or to bykers (use of military badges in their clothes, even nazi though not for any ideological affiliation but as the same way punks and bykers used them, just to look scary). In BIG WEDNESDAY Milius himself plays as a drug dealer who sells marihuana to the surfers.

An AC/DC badge with Frank Frazetta artwork (clic to enlarge):




Btw, the band was also related to ARNOLD, as they recorded a song for the LAST ACTION HERO SOUNDTRACK:





The band GUNS & ROSES also was, as they made another video for T2:



An interview with Schwarzenegger:




The movie also included the song BAD TO THE BONE to describe Schwarzenegger's character:

Rick James, self-proclaimed "King of Punk Funk", on the album "Throwin 'Down" in 1982 on the Motown label.

The photo is made by the photographer Ron Slenzak, credited Ron Larson, who obviously was inspired by the movie released that same year.

It's sort of... well not too serious, to say the least








Funny, I find this right when Chrysagon comments in other thread "what about a black Conan beheading a white Thulsa"

If i'm not wrong, Roy Thomas created the Zula character in the 70's to attract young black guys to the comic -he wrotte something like that in a spanish issue years ago-.

Each time I watch this motherfucker I think "Conan".




He's PETER STEELE of the band "Type O Negative". Crazy guy. (he even posed for Playgirl years ago). The guy's baritone voice is awesome, also the look, could perfectly fit with Conan. And he's fucking huge, a giant. I don't think he can really act, but this is only a fan cast so who cares What I specially like about the idea is not really he looks like Conan (minus green eyes instead of blue) but his connection with his internal beast. This guy looks like he could tear a human heart apart with his own teeth.













The guy has lost a lot, because of alcohol and drugs abuse I suppose, but his new look perfectly fits with a mature Conan, who has lived and suffered like hell. Still is impressive.




I also like his sense of humor. He makes fun of the extreme, of religion and porn. Not an easy task. Clever fucker.

.

The viking-metal band "EINHERJER":




The song "NAAR HAMMEREN HEVES" from the album "FAR, FAR NORTH".

Wait for minute 4:54 and you will heard something quite familiar.

"MANILLA ROAD" are an Progressive Metal Rock band from USA with some REH directly inspired songs.

Their album "SPIRAL CASTLE" had a Conan wearing Milius' movie gladiator crown:

Frank Marino - Juggernaut

"BRUTAL LEGEND" is a videogame based on heavy metal. Here's a trailer heavi-ly-inspired ( ) by Conan! The dude's weapon is a gigantic battleaxe and sits at the throne like King Scwarzenegger, at the end:

Ebay find!

Following the style of the "300" trailer, they have edited the trailer for the "CLASH OF THE TITANS" remake using metal music. (Is that metal, btw? Sounds kind of poppy to me... like Evanescence or something like that )



BTW, the scene of the dark wizards summoning giant scorpions is directly rippoffed from DARK HORSE Conan comics. Awesome.

Just the group's name, Crom's beard!

BAL-SAGOTH

if any havealready heard of the "Gods of Bal-Sagoth"...

song titles & lyrics are rather Kull based:
"A Black Moon Broods over Lemuria"
"Enthroned in the Temple of the Serpent Kings"
"Into The Silent Chambers of the Sapphirean Throne (Sagas from the Antediluvian Scrolls)"

Here is an excerpt taken from the song "Into the Silent Chambers of the Sapphirean etc..":

Quote :

"Thus spake the silent halls of Valusia..."

The Atlantean sword beckons me,
And I descend from moon-shrouded skies
Into the Tower of the Black Serpent...
Tales are told to me now in dreams,
Shadowed lyre strings,
And sweet whisperings...
The grim and glorious battles of warrior kings,
(When the earth ran red with the blood of the slain),
And the shining realm of Valusia...
Carried upon the sweet night winds,
Piercing the veil of my delirium,
I embrace the rapturous scent of black lotus.

(I hear the lament of the Immortals...)

"Ka nama kaa lajerama, Yagkoolan yok tha xuthalla!"

Even the invocations to "unmask" the serpent men are taken from the Kull stories! A nice tribute indeed.

The music is clearly inspired by Poledouris' score in "Starfire burning the ice veiled throne of Ultima Thule" (although not in the precedent album "A black moon breeds over Lemuria")
These themes from the second album will be heard in different variations thereafter, in the following albums.

on wikipedia:

Quote :

Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule is Bal-Sagoth's second full-length album, released in 1996 through Cacophonous Records.
In the song titled "And lo, When the Imperium Marches Against Gul-Kothoth, then Dark Sorceries Shall Enshroud the Citadel of the Obsidian Crown," a strong synthesizer melody begins at 4:17. This melody is a variation upon the melody heard in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian during the scene inside Thulsa Doom's stronghold, composed by Basil Poledouris. Again from the score of Conan the Barbarian, at 00:37 in the track "Recovery" , the theme seems to be faithfully adapted by Bal-Sagoth in the track "In the Raven-Haunted Forests of Darkenhold, Where Shadows Reign and the Hues of Sunlight Never Dance" at 2:02. The band explains their inspiration came mainly from John Williams and Basil Poledouris' scores amongst others, maybe as a tribute.

Just listen to it on youtube and you'll see for yourselves.

This one passed by UNNOTICED.

The theme from the song "Oniric Transition" taken from the album with the same title, "composed" by the melodic deathmetal band Yyrkoon , copies note for note the same melody heard in Poledouris' track entitled "Orphans of Doom" in Conan the Barbarian, at 1:18 approx.

you can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ0FSnInFfY

and the original Poledouris version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SXng8EtF0