One unforgettable symphonic power metal song sums up my epic dark fantasy
Symphonic power metal is my genre of choice when I concoct any epic dark fantasy, whether it’s ready to be published or not.
My foray into symphonic power metal first occurred in 2007, with a band called DragonForce. It was a snow day from school (thank goodness), something that’s often hit or miss in the Upper Ohio Valley, depending on whether winter decides to show up.
This past year, 2024-25, it came with a vengeance, and it decided to get so cold that a clamp snapped off my old Chevy Cruze, draining the antifreeze reservoir. Something that reached a pinnacle in one-degree weather when my engine nearly overheated. Yeah, not fun.
Anyway, back in ‘07, I was about ten months from getting my driver’s license, and had no idea what engine coolant was. We were in the rec room at my one friend’s house, playing Guitar Hero III. This crazy-fast song pops up, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I became a DragonForce fan before I ultimately dove more into the symphonic scene, falling in love with bands like Nightwish, Twilight Force, Xandria (especially when they had Dianne van Giersbergen as the lead singer), and I became a casual fan of a few others.
Late last year, another band jumped out at me: Bloodbound, and its album Rise of the Dragon Empire. Songs like Blackwater Bay and The Warlock’s Trail were among my favorites. But this past Monday, while I banged out a chest and triceps workout at 8 AM, Slayer of Kings crossed my playlist.
And I had to listen to that song not once, not twice, but thrice, given its catchy intro and melody. When I got home and finished my ‘day job,’ I went ahead and checked out the lyrics. And yep, it was a match made from the north.
Bloodbound’s Slayer of Kings sums up my dark epic fantasy series more than anything
Notice, I said series, and not just Spirit and Fire or Spirit and Water. Slayer of Kings can sum up Malikki “Mali” LaSalle and Caer Cymraeg’s mission in the chorus alone. Check it out:
Fallen wizards and rings, From the north we gather, unite the lords, I am calling thunder and wings, And the sword by the slayer of kings
Let’s break this down into how it relates to series lore, starting with fallen wizards and rings. It reminds me of the premise, where a group of chosen ones, Elemental Masters, to be more exact, hold the ability that, when united, can take on the expansive warfare state that is the Tamurian Empire and the House of Magnu.
Each chosen Elemental Master had either been born into abject poverty or, in some cases, enslaved. Fallen wizards, in other words. Later, we discover the existence of five relics whose power only those chosen Elemental Masters can unleash.
From the north we gather, unite the lords pack a punch since all nine characters have one common denominator: They descend from a land northeast of Tamuria called Fennoscandia. No, not the same Fennoscandia in our world, but its equivalent in the World of Eidolon, where the elemental race originated.
Yet, they’re separated as the series begins, not knowing of one another’s existence. Hence, unite the lords.
The next line, I am calling thunder and wings, reminding me of Mali’s personality and sheer hatred toward the House of Magnu. And she has every reason to hate it, since she’s serving a punishment that the House claimed her ancestors (the Tamurian Empire’s original invaders and conquerors centuries before the series’ events) committed.
For those crimes, the House forced Mali to live in the Untouchable caste, marked with X-shaped scars carved and burned into the back of her hands. A painful process, to say the least. Hey, it’s an epic dark fantasy; things are going to get twisted.
Finally, And the sword by the slayer of kings. Elemental Masters, even in my more contemporary works, use swords to channel their magic, and it’s no different in my old-world epic dark fantasies.
As for Mali, she doesn’t want to just slay the House of Magnu; she wants to slay every single ally King Magnu possesses. Which is why she hates Prince Caer when she first crosses him, even if she hates herself for being a little googly-eyed in his presence.
So, that’s what makes Slayer of Kings by Bloodbound a cool correlation to my brewing Cymraeg Tales Series.
The real interpretation for Slayer of Kings
Now, just to be clear, I’m not trying to interpret the song. And if someone asked me for its actual meaning, I’d answer with the following: I don’t know. Slayer of Kings could have one of those vibes in which Bloodbound leaves it to the listener’s interpretation, and I’d be more than cool with that.
As for me, every time the song crosses my playlist, Mali LaSalle’s face will manifest in my mind. But, as the series goes on and Mali learns more about who she is, so will a white-and-blue-haired girl with delicate features, plus a haughty-looking girl with amber eyes. And a dude who possesses an ultra-muscular physique but moves with precision.
Oh, and another character whose physical features I don’t want to drop since doing so would make things too obvious with readers who’ve read Spirit and Fire.
By the way, if you’re interested, I’m relaunching Book I in the series next month, and I’m looking for readers who’d like to receive a review copy on April 19th. If you’re interested, do yourself a favor and make a request by filling out the following form on Google Docs. It’s what I call a ‘short’ epic dark fantasy, between 65,000 and 70,000 words, so there’s not much time commitment.
