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Just for the pure fun of it, can you think of a song that has characters or themes from any work of fantasy?

I immediately think of Ramble On by Led Zeppelin:
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair.
But Gollum, the evil one, crept up and slipped away with her...

And I suppose White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane would also qualify.

Do you have one for us?

Well it's kind of sci fi but Iron Maiden did an album called "Somewhere in Time" cover art is great.

This is a section from the song "stranger in a strange land"

Was many years ago that I left home and came this way
I was a young man, full of hope and dreams
But now it seems to me that all is lost and
nothing gained
Sometimes things ain't what they seem
No brave new world, no brave new world
No brave new world, no brave new world

I immediately think of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter", very much an epic fantasy kind of struggle:

Close the door, put out the light.
You know they won't be home tonight.
The snow falls hard and don't you know?
The winds of Thor are blowing cold.
They're wearing steel that's bright and true
They carry news that must get through.

They choose the path where no-one goes.

They hold no quarter.

Walking side by side with death, The devil mocks their every step
The snow drives back the foot that's slow, The dogs of doom are howling more
They carry news that must get through, To build a dream for me and you

They choose the path where no-one goes.

They hold no quarter. They ask no quarter.
The pain, the pain without quarter.
They ask no quarter.
The dogs of doom are howling more!

Good one, Travis!

And Marilyn, I'm so glad you mentioned cover art! That opens so many more possibilities. My wonderful hubbie has a big Meatloaf poster up in the basement for the Bat Out of Hell album. There's an elf riding a flying motorcycle rescuing an angel who's been captured by some demon-like bat creature. Very creative! :)

Has anyone else seen cover art or band posters that fit the fantasy theme?

Eagles Hotel California. I should hope I don't have to quote any lyrics lol. Great now the extended version is in my head. As for books with fantasy art...uhm check out my gallery for fantasy art :) I also have a pintrest board with a few client covers that have dragons and what nots. Please don't ask me the link. I don't know it by heart but you can go to my blog and see. I think you can get there through my GR profile if inclined.

I find a lot of fantasy books don't have good fantasy covers. Or they wait till it is a movie and take movie pics. Like my copy of LOTR. Anne Rice had an interesting picture on Memnoch and Blood and Gold.

Oh And Snow White and the Huntsman sound track with the evil Queen and all those Ravens.

And Aerosmith Kings and Queens. Can you tell I am listening to music right now lol :)

Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare cover is pretty creepy and fantasy like.

Wow - lots of ideas, Shannon! Here are some lyrics for the Aerosmith song. Great fit!
Living times of knights and mares
Raising swords for maidens fair
Sneer at death, fear only loss of pride
Living other centuries
Deja vu or what you please
Follows true to all who do or die
Screams of no reply
They died

I know what you mean about there being some really bad fantasy covers out there. For some reason, I think fantasy is over-represented in the bad covers department! Do you think this is because people get carried away with ideas of magic and what not?

Yes I got carried away lol :) It was fun.

I think people have a hard time drawing what isn't real. You don't have a devil or gremlin posing for you; so, they are really hard to draw. I think it's hard, especially if you can't get someone to help you or don't have the skills, to conceptualize the ideas of fantasy into a cover. Especially if it is something like "magic" or an abstract idea. I know I had a hard time myself until I found Poser. :)

Hotel California was the first one to come to my mind. How about 'Angie Baby' by Helen Reddy?
Crazy girl who listens to the radio all day. When a stalker tries to rape her, he's disoriented by the loud music, and as she turns the volume down he shrinks with it and disappears into the radio. She keeps him there and brings him out when she wants her 'secret lover' then puts him back again. And no one questions her because she's insane.
Definitely fantastical.
Also Godley and Creme, Under Your Thumb - a great ghost story.

I don't know those ones, Deborah, and I look forward to checking them out. Love the concept of a stalker shrinking as the volume on the radio goes down. Music and books are so closely linked! If I'm really enjoying a particular story, sometimes I can picture it as I'm listening to music. For me, that seems most common with the fantasy and paranormal genres.

Great point, Shannon. It must be much harder creating images of things that aren't real and making them look authentic.

There are whole genres for fantasy lovers! Check out the bands Nightwish, Within Temptation, Abney Park (Steampunk), and many others like that. Orchestral dark metal from the Netherlands, much of the subject matter is full of dark elves and sorcery.

I'll try to come back with more. Oh, Muse in the U.S. has a lot of songs with a great fantasy/sci-fi feel.

Globus and Muse (England) are two of the best groups for this, in my opinion. I'd say almost every song from Globus is epic fantasy themed.

Also, Hawkwind - Silver Machine probably their best known, although maybe more SF than fantasy.

I love Muse and find they're a great inspiration for my own writing. Dark and moody works so well for that! I'm trying to think of a Muse song with a distinctive fantasy theme, but I can't. Can anyone help me out?

I had to ask my son on this and he says Two Steps from Hell is who he thinks of for fantasy songs because they do so many covers for trailers (Harry Potter and Marvel based) and video games along with TV series like Dr Who, Merlin, etc. It got me thinking that I don't listen to "fantasy" type music when writing, just throw on my range of 80s alternative to heavy metal MP collection. But, as I think about it, a little Blue Oyster Cult, early Rush, Kraftwerk, The Psychedelic Furs and Led Zep work great for me... lol

Ha, ha, ha... it seems you didn't have to ask your son at all, Shannon! I'll have to check out Two Steps from Hell.

Well, when you have an 11 year old gamer, they remember a lot of cover bands that seem to have passed me by...he's got me downloading some White Knight Chronicles music to go with it.

Shannon wrote: "I had to ask my son on this and he says Two Steps from Hell is who he thinks of for fantasy songs because they do so many covers for trailers (Harry Potter and Marvel based) and video games along w..."

If he likes Two Steps from Hell, he needs to try Immediate music.

In reading this post, it's kinda funny for me. I listen to so much classical music that comes from video games with fantasitcal themes. Some of the most beautiful ones would have to be Skyrim, FFVII, FFXIII, Dragon Age: Origins, and World of Warcraft. Skyrim is my #1 favorite on this list. It's a four-disc set (yep had to wait for the sucker in the mail; wasn't on iTunes).

S.M. wrote: "In reading this post, it's kinda funny for me. I listen to so much classical music that comes from video games with fantasitcal themes. Some of the most beautiful ones would have to be Skyrim, FFVI..."

My wife plays World Of Warcraft, and we both love the score - I think it's great music to write by.