Stories put to music?

HaPPyPaNDa said:
I think that Symphony X would do a great LotR song, but I would hope that it would only be about the darker parts of the story, like Mordor and such.

Again, Blind Guardian have demonstrated themselves as kings of this topic so...I'd prefer SymX didn't do it.
 
So because you've heard it done well by one band, means that you wouldn't want to hear it in any other way?

Doesn't make sense to me. :confused:
 
I think part of Church of the Machine is to demonstrate how we as a society have come to worship the created rather than the creator: money and objects have become an end rather than a means. That may be the other component in there besides the computer-rule, as Arjen Lucassen would put it.
 
I've always thought CotM is about Hyperion by Dan Simmons. If that is not the case then my answer would be:

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. :loco:
 
They've done egypt and greece so maybe something roman could be good. There was a lot of scheming and betrayl especially in the time of the republic and the big JC (caesar :p). So yeh maybe an epic depicting the relationship between caesars triumvirate with pompey and that other dude who i cant remember, lol. (ie: fighting, scheming, war etc...)

War themes would be great because you can get HEAPS of power out of them.
 
RequiemX said:
Actually, DWoT is based on Dante's famous work.
The only part I could relate to Dante was the lyric, "Like the river Styx, the gates of Hell, 'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here'." I heard the rest was based on Paradise Lost (which I've never read, so I'm not sure... I should get around to that) and some other stuff like the book of revelation.
 
Eternal Dragon said:
They've done egypt and greece so maybe something roman could be good. There was a lot of scheming and betrayl especially in the time of the republic and the big JC (caesar :p). So yeh maybe an epic depicting the relationship between caesars triumvirate with pompey and that other dude who i cant remember, lol. (ie: fighting, scheming, war etc...)

War themes would be great because you can get HEAPS of power out of them.

Your mentioning Julius Caesar brings to mind doing a song based on something by Shakespeare, like Macbeth or Othello. Some of the best stories I've ever read about revenge and betrayal were written by him.
 
OfSinsAndShred said:
The only part I could relate to Dante was the lyric, "Like the river Styx, the gates of Hell, 'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here'." I heard the rest was based on Paradise Lost (which I've never read, so I'm not sure... I should get around to that) and some other stuff like the book of revelation.

I'd have to listen to it again, but I also remember "music of the spheres." referring to Dante's vision of the heavens.
 
Lord_Tarod said:
A conceptual album based on Lovecraft's The Shadow Out Of Time (en español, En la noche de los tiempos).
That would rule.

Kafka'd be great too though...

RAGE already did an epic song about this story called "In a Nameless Time" on their Black in Mind album (which rocks btw). A good Lovecraft story for SymX to do might be The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath. They could totally make a 20 min epic on that.

I already wrote a song based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward :).
 
HaPPyPaNDa said:
So because you've heard it done well by one band, means that you wouldn't want to hear it in any other way?

Doesn't make sense to me. :confused:

I'll put it this way...to myself and many other diehard Blind Guardian fans...they are the *only* band who can put Tolkien to music for them. The passion in Nightfall in Middle-Earth is so extreme that any other band writing songs based on Tolkien would just pale in comparison. And I would also be listening to it thinking "hmm well this is good but Blind Guardian would have done it better." Not to mention that in the metal world Blind Guardian have well established themselves as doing such great justice to Tolkien. I will never write any lyrics based on Tolkien because I know that is Blind Guardian's topic.

Think of it as if another band were to have a song based on The Odyssey...
 
Beelzebub said:
Your mentioning Julius Caesar brings to mind doing a song based on something by Shakespeare, like Macbeth or Othello. Some of the best stories I've ever read about revenge and betrayal were written by him.
Rebellion have done an album about Macbeth. It's called Shakespeare's Macbeth (A tragedy in steel). I think it's rubbish. Their latest album is about vikings. I think it's brilliant.


I'm going to suggest Final Fantasy VII. It's amazing. Would also fit in with the release of Advent Children (which was great, regardless of how thin the plot was).
 
OfSinsAndShred said:
The only part I could relate to Dante was the lyric, "Like the river Styx, the gates of Hell, 'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here'." I heard the rest was based on Paradise Lost (which I've never read, so I'm not sure... I should get around to that) and some other stuff like the book of revelation.

RequiemX said:
I'd have to listen to it again, but I also remember "music of the spheres." referring to Dante's vision of the heavens.

I always thought it was about the part of V that spanned Communion and the Oracle- Bird Serpent War/ Cataclysm. (I got into a whole thing on the V thread while it was still pretty hot.) Most of my reasonings are in that thread.
 
Yngvai X said:
I'll put it this way...to myself and many other diehard Blind Guardian fans...they are the *only* band who can put Tolkien to music for them. The passion in Nightfall in Middle-Earth is so extreme that any other band writing songs based on Tolkien would just pale in comparison. And I would also be listening to it thinking "hmm well this is good but Blind Guardian would have done it better." Not to mention that in the metal world Blind Guardian have well established themselves as doing such great justice to Tolkien. I will never write any lyrics based on Tolkien because I know that is Blind Guardian's topic.

Think of it as if another band were to have a song based on The Odyssey...

I very much agree. It's like a BG trademark. Any band that tries to do Tolkien will just be BG wannabes. That said, I think the Tolkien thing has been overdone in general. BG themselves need to move on, too.

I think that if SymX wants to do a song based on a story, they should pick something that's different in a sense that people wouldn't expect it... you know, be really obscure and unique. I think The Odyssey was a great choice because it's just not the typical classic that comes to mind. They should strive for that same idea.
 
Iron Maiden made a song based on Frank Herbert's Dune, and it's one of my fave songs.

I don't know if the band likes this kind of sci fi, but I think a whole album covering the complete Dune saga could be great.
 
The Metal Chick said:
I think that if SymX wants to do a song based on a story, they should pick something that's different in a sense that people wouldn't expect it... you know, be really obscure and unique. I think The Odyssey was a great choice because it's just not the typical classic that comes to mind. They should strive for that same idea.

Thats exactly my point too.
 
I've always wanted to compose a song about Finland vs. Russia in World War II. There's great marching themes it would be cool to borrow (too strong word) them. I'm just too lazy but maybe Symphony X could do it. Hey Michael! :D