MANOWAR: the perfect music by which “to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women”

Ever since high school, about an hour or so before I’d take a seat at the table where we met every week for Dungeons & Dragons, I’d listen to music to get me into that game-state.  It’s no different than what ball players do, you know, listening to AC/DC or some such stadium, fist pumping rock.  I needed the dice-rolling equivalent, and I typically found it in the music of Rush.  Caress of Steel was my album of choice.  It had The Necromancer, The Fountain of Lamneth saga, and even Bastille Day when I felt those historical inclinations.  Sometimes I’d put on Bytor and the Snow Dog from Fly By Night.  I’d even been known to listen to a medievalish ditty or two from Jethro Tull or Broadsword from their electronic period The Broadsword and the Beast. 

As our campaign graduated to college, I picked up the Michael Moorcock inspired tunes of  Hawkwind and Blue Oyster Cult.  They all worked perfectly, too.  By the time I sat down, I was ready to roll with the best of them, because you and I both know that no matter how much role-playing elements the DM puts into the adventure, what it always comes down to is that final, hack and slash for survival.  By the time graduate school came along, however, I found the band that put all others to shame when it came to putting me into that sheer I’m-gonna-kill-that-freakin-frost-giant-even-if-I-have-to-pummel-him-with-my-own-severed-arm mentality.  That band was Manowar.

Manowar have been together since the early eighties and epitomize all that was, is, and can ever be metal.  The music is hard, powerful, though sometimes fast, but always grand.  Eric Adams’ vocals can rage and soar in the same song. They are truly the heavy metal equivalent to Wagner (who is also apparently one of their music idols).  Their most recent project is teeming with the Wagnerian love of Norse mythology.  Oh, they’ve had their share of songs that all metal bands do, things like “we’re the ultimate metal band,” “we sing about evil stuff,” and “here’s our song about the Jonestown tragedy.”  Their strength, however, has always been those songs inspired by the sword and sorcery genre, and that’s what makes them the perfect band to get you pumped to sack the Temple of Elemental Evil.

Pre-game favorites: Hail & Kill, Heart of Steel, The Crown and the Ring, & Blood of the Kings.Game inspiration actually begins before you even listen to the music.  Ken Kelly, the artist behind some of science fiction and fantasy’s classic book covers, has been doing the cover art since their fifth album, Fighting the World.  And if that doesn’t put you in the mood, flip it over and check out some of the titles: Hail and Kill, Battle Hymns, Dark Avenger, The Power of Thy Sword, Swords in the Wind.  The titles aren’t misleading either like you get with a lot of other metal bands, who would have Heart of Steel be a syrupy, love power ballad.  Not with Manowar.  The title pretty much sums it up.  Heart of Steel is an anthem of individual spirit – no retreat, no surrender. 

And then there are the lyrics.  Here’s just a brief sampling: “Our arrows fall like hail/Trample on the Cover art by the great Ken Kelly.dead/Ride through the Gate of clouds/stand on the open steppe” (Kill with Power); “For The Glory Of The King, We Fight To Stay Alive - FIGHT/By The Power Of The Will, The Spirit To Survive – FIGHT/Across The Gates Of Heaven, Beyond The Gates Of Hell – FIGHT/We Fought To Stay Together, We Have Won And Have Lived To Tell Who Would Be King” (King); “Fight For The Kingdom Bound For Glory/Armed With A Heart Of Steel/I Swear By The Brothers Who Stand Before Me/To No Man Shall I Kneel/their Blood Is Upon My Steel” (Call to Arms).  I’m ready to take on an army of hill giants just thinking about these songs.  I dare you to listen to Battle Hymn without it stirring that primal urge to roll a d20.

While they have sadly never achieved more than a cult following in America (as is typical with a majority of the world’s great bands), they have pretty much conquered the rest of the world.  In my favorite review of one of their albums, the writer suggested that if Conan the Barbarian ever listened to a band, Manowar would be that band.  If that’s not an endorsement for these guys to be your D&D house band, I don’t know what is.  Now pick up those dice, and let’s go kill some orcs! 

Quite Quotable

"The greatest truths lie within, always within.  They cannot be given.  They must be found."

Tad Williams, To Green Angel Tower

First Full Trailer Released by EW

On what has already been a huge day for GRRM fans with the announcement of the release date for A Dance With Dragons, Entertainment Weekly also released an exclusive trailer for A Game of Thrones, the pending HBO series.  Check it out here.

After viewing this about 20 times already, I have observed a few interesting things.  One, there is a small snippet of one of "The Others" which is the first time we have seen what these ugly guys will look like.  Overall, I think they got it right; the others are not what I envisioned but what I had in mind is what the Ring Wraiths look like to Frodo when he puts the ring on, and, well, that’s just not right. There is also the first shot of The Wall.  The Wall is huge and awesome; that is all.  There are even more lines from Robert that make me think that he isn’t going to be as jolly as he seems in the books, which I think would be a shame, but I guess the verdict is still out on that one.  Overall, I have to say this was the perfect complement to the news from earlier.  Now back to reading.

Dance With Dragons Gets a Date--July 12, 2011--Woohoo!

It's official.  Dance With Dragons, the next book in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series has a release date.  Mr. Martin says he is close enough to being finished to allow the date to be set.  The cynics among you might be tempted to roll your eyes and ask, "haven't we heard this before?" but the fact remains that this is the first time Martin has signed off on a hard release date.  I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and go ahead and ramp my excitement level up to eleven.  

As part of the announcement, Martin did a short intereview with EW.  You can read it here.  No big news in the interview, other than it is a big book--over 900 pages, but I think we were all expecting that.  I'm assuming enough of the cast will be killed off that Martin will be able to get the page count down to AGoT size for the last few books.

The Thrifty Nerd: Five Party Games That Make Money on Ebay

(This is a first in a series of articles based on finding valuable, nerdy items at thrift stores)

I pretty much support my gaming habit by picking up items at thrift and junk stores and selling them on Ebay. Having done this for years, I've developed a good eye for games, toys, and collectables that sell better on Ebay than the average thrift shopper might think. Since I constantly hear from friends “Even if I came across one of those, I wouldn't have known to pick it up,” I thought I'd start a series of articles helping thrifters find the good, nerdy stuff that can turn a profit online. I'm starting with a group of super-common items that actually sell well—party games. There isn't a ton of profit to be had here, but they are almost guaranteed sales and consistently profitable. By the way, I'm working under the assumption that you can pick up these games for between 1.00 and 2.50.

1. 25 Words or Less. This former winner of the Games Magazine Game of the Year was my groups favorite party game for a couple of years in the 90's and we still bring it out occasionally. The original green box edition (pictured) has been selling for between 20.00 and 40.00 on Ebay. This one snuck up on me. I hadn't noticed it selling, and I'm sure I've left copies behind recently. It is definitely now on my list.

2. Guesstures. A simple Charades variation, Guesstures somehow manages to be a decent Ebay item even when it is currently in-print. When the company has it on moratorium, Guesstures can go through the roof on Ebay. Otherwise, you can count on 10 to 20 bucks.

3. Moods. I'm not too impressed with this more recent, but now out of print game, but it sells well. In the past month, copies have gone for between 15.00 (for a used copy) and 40.00 (for a still-in-shrink copy).

4. Beyond Balderdash. It takes the right crowd, but BB is my choice for best party game of all time. It takes the already solid Balderdash and adds categories that are right up my alley (like obscure movie titles). It is a bit inconsistent as far as Ebay prices, but I've had good luck with it over the years. The last month has seen copies sell from between 5.00 and 45.00 (for a sealed copy), but it more consistently sales for between 10.00 and 15.00.

5. What Were You Thinking? This really good party game is a double collectable. It appeals to players of party games and to collectors of Richard Garfield (the designer of Magic: the Gathering). It is also the rarest game on the list (though I'm not sure how many copies of Moods are in print). The combination of factors makes it a consistent seller. The average price is around 25.00, but I've seen it go as high as 60.00.

So, there you go. No one is getting rich selling these games, but they are so commonly available that you can pick up multiples to sell.