We’ve got a question for you. There’s one thing that connects the Hollywood movies The Crow: City of Angels, End of Days, and Mission Impossible 2. What is it?
If you answered that they’re all terrible movies, then in a way you’re correct, but that’s not the answer we were looking for. The real answer is that they’re all bad movies with killer metal soundtracks.
Seriously, why do all the best metal soundtracks accompany the worst Hollywood movies? Just think about the end of Mission Impossible 2, when the guitar rips into the Mission Impossible theme tune. That scene is ridiculously silly – especially with the sheer amount of slow-mos – but the guitar solo is epic! It deserved more. In fact, the whole metal genre deserves more, and here’s why.
The Guaranteed Winner
What bands are more recognisable than Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, or Guns N Roses? If you said One Direction, Nickelback, or Imagine Dragons, we’d like you to leave the room now. Metal artists are some of the most celebrated, mysterious, and interesting musicians out there, and this gives the genre a special kind of prestige.
This is especially evident in the gaming industry. For years, the best games with metal soundtracks are the games that are about the musicians themselves.
There’s a reason why the most popular slots for top performing iGaming sites involve Guns n Roses, Kiss, and Jimi Hendrix. Or why Air Guitar released a game specifically for metal lovers. People have a unique fascination with metal artists, and this fascination creates an almost automatic love for the music associated with them. Whether one is growing an online casino site in New Zealand or producing the next Triple-A title, market trends dictate development – and metal is always trending.
In this way, using metal as a soundtrack is almost guaranteed to be a winner. It doesn’t matter what the movie or the game involves, if there’s a metal soundtrack, it’s guaranteed to have fans.
Why do you think we keep going back to Mission Impossible 2? We go back to that moment when the guitar rips in near the end, and makes all of our hairs stand on end! Metal saved that movie, and it can save many others if it's chosen as the soundtrack.
The Flexibility and Adaptability
Then again, that’s not really the point. The point is that metal should be the soundtrack to good movies. It already provides atmospheric soundtracks for games – although again, there should be far more – and it has the potential to really ignite a story if it is used efficiently.
So why isn’t it happening? We think the answer may be that metal is still seen as a singular genre. The music goes hard and heavy, and that’s it. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Metal is great for different situations and moods, and it can be played in a variety of ways to match a story’s tone.
It doesn’t have to be a guitar-laden soundtrack or a soundtrack dominated by heavy, screaming voices. The metal genre is one of the most versatile, and that makes it perfect for stories with twists and turns, or blends of genres including action, horror, or even romance.
We dare anyone to listen to The White Tower by Summoning, or Fade to Black by Metallica, and then tell us that metal cannot be deep, moving, and atmospheric. These songs aren’t loud or boisterous, they are heartfelt and touching – filled with hidden meanings and harsh depths.
If a movie or a game is trying to achieve the same thing, then metal should be the first genre they turn to. It is happening, of course. As we mentioned before, there are several movies and games that utilise metal as their soundtrack, and they are all the better for it. But there should be far more. Metal can be the perfect atmospheric soundtrack, it’s just taking a long time for studios and developers to realise it!
