Summary
Music and video games go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, and it’s no secret that there are many musicians who are avid gamers. There are many music genres that have songs inspired by or sample music from some of the most popular video games.
Rock has many sub-genres and portrays quite a range of emotions when composing lyrics and music itself. From everyday rock that you might hear on the radio to heavier genres such as heavy metal, there are plenty of songs that have been inspired by some of the biggest video game titles.
10Legends Never Die - Against The Current
“Legends Never Die, They Become A Part Of You.”
Riot Gamesis no stranger to releasing music forLeague of Legends. Over the years, the game has had many musical groups form with their characters, as well as creating original songs for the game and their events, such as Worlds.
Chrissy Costanza and Against the Current had the honor of working on and performing a few original songs for the game. Collaborating with Riot Games Music, the song Legends Never Die was written for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship. The song can serve as an anthem toany game or playlist, but listening to the lyrics you may tell how well the song fits the game.
9The Guillotine Series (1, 2, 3, & 4) - Escape The Fate / Falling In Reverse
“One Spartan Stands Alone And Shouts This War Is Ours!”
If you are a fan of heavier rock and don’t mind listening to ‘screamo’ music, then it is worth checking out this series of songs by Escape the Fate and Falling In Reverse. The first song, The Guillotine, was written by frontman Ronnie Radke and is based onHalo.
Just take a look at the lyrics and see all the nods to the game, including the mention of the Spartans. The second song was made by the band’s current singer, Craig Mabbit, and continues the series. While the third song moves away from the game, Ronnie Radke finished off the series with Guillotine 4 (The Final Chapter) with his band Falling In Reverse.
8Gears of War - Megadeth
“A Fatal Ending With No Surrendering.”
When it comes to a game likeGears of Warit only makes sense to bring in a band like Megadeth to write a song for the game. The song was featured in the first game of the series and is only an instrumental version of the song.
The band would go on to debut the song with lyrics in 2006, and it became a part of their album United Abominations in 2007. While the lyrics themselves don’t deal with the game, the essence of war and death is still very prominent due to being written about the Bosnian War.
7Parasite Eve - Bring Me The Horizon
“Please Remain Calm, The End Has Arrived.”
Fans of Bring Me the Horizon know that the band has quite a few songs in their catalog that are based on video games. When their song Parasite Eve was released, many assumed it was written about COVID-19 and quarantine, but it is actually based on the gameParasite Eve.
There are many similarities between the song and what was happening as the COVID-19 pandemic grew. However, the song was written about the 1998 game in which the main character tries to stop the antagonist of the game from destroying the human race. The song itself blends electronics and metal while the lyrics speak on an authentic level with what was happening in the world at the time, which also ties intothe dark storylineof the game.
6Power Of The Triforce - DragonForce
“In The Magical Land Of Hyrule, A Hero Feared By All Ghosts And Ghouls.”
DragonForce is no stranger to video games. The popular power metal might be forever synonymous with their song “Through the Fire and the Flames” which is undoubtedly one of the hardest songs in theGuitar Heroseries.
Just listening to the band, you can add any of their songs to a video game playlist, and it will get you pumped up to play. Their song Power of the Triforce gives a nod toThe Legend of Zeldaand the many adventures of Link in the world of Hyrule. This isn’t their only song to be inspired by video games, as they have other songs based onCastlevaniaandSkyrimto name a couple of titles.
5Madness - Nathan Sharp
“The Madness Never Ends, Up In My Mind.”
Nathan Sharp, better known by his online pseudonym NateWantsToBattle, has created a huge catalog of songs based on video games on his YouTube channel. He has also covered many existing songs and performed English versions of anime opening songs.
His song Madness was released under his own independent record label Give Heart Record. The song is based onFive Nights at Freddy’s. Specifically, this song focuses on Five Nights at Freddy’s 6 and the lyrics portray a sense of strong emotions and history tied to the game that many fans have come to love.
4Rainy Day - Ice Nine Kills
“Become A Soldier For The Controller.”
If you are a hugefan of horror moviesthen you will definitely want to check out Ice Nine Kills. The metalcore band has brought their own love for the horror genre and all of their songs are based on popular series and pay homage to every corner of the genre.
Their song Rainy Day takes great inspiration from both theResident Evilgames and movies. The song is one that would be on a zombie-killing playlist and listening to the lyrics there are quite a few references, including a huge nod to the Umbrella Corporation.
3Not Ready To Die - Avenged Sevenfold
“Burn It Down, Control ‘Em All.”
Call of Dutyis arguably one of the biggest game series in the world. The game has spawned a huge fan base including many celebrities, athletes, and musicians alike. Popular heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold is among some of those fans and has had the honor of writing multiple songs for the game series.
Their song Not Ready to Die was written specifically forCall of Duty: Black Opsas an Easter egg for the zombies gamemode. What makes this song even so much better is knowing that it was written with the lore of the game in mind and features an interpretation of the Black Ops Zombie theme song.
2Ludens - Bring Me The Horizon
“Some Resist The Future, Some Refuse The Past.”
Another video game-inspired song from Bring Me the Horizon is their track Ludens. This song is based onDeath Strandingand was even a part of the official soundtrack for the game known as Death Stranding: Timefall.
The song itself takes many inspirations from the game and other genres such as industrial and nu metal, even taking inspiration fromThe Matrix. Singer Oliver Sykes wrote the lyrics that were centered around the human race and its ability to adapt, while also keeping the themes of Death Stranding.
1Video Games - Tenacious D
“Maybe Once In A While, A Little Bit Of Fallout 4.”
Tenacious D is a band that fans know can both rock your face off while being comedic thanks to the musical prowess of the duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Listening to them, you can see the many bands before them that inspired them. Jack Black is also no stranger to video games, as he was the voice of the main character in the heavy metal-inspired game Brutal Legend.
The band’s song Video Games showcases the love of video games by Jack Black as he takes you on a journey with his lyrics and the music video. A few video games such asGod of War,Fallout 4, andRed Dead Redemptionare referenced in the song. If you have a love and passion for video games, this song perfectly encapsulates that love.
