Heavy metal and Dungeons & Dragons were a match made in hell

The November 1987 edition of UK RPG magazine White Dwarf was advertised as a Thrash Rock Special. Your eyes and minds have been devastated by White Dwarf for the past ten years, now its time for your ears to get it! an ad in the back of the previous issue warned. The magazine came with a free flexidisc whose single track, Blood For The Blood God, was specially written and recorded by British thrashers Sabbat for WD. Printed on the disc are the words Based on Games Workshops Warhammer fantasy roleplay game, making Blood For The Blood God the first ever official RPG tie-in metal record.

Two years later, death-grind band Bolt Thrower released their second album, Realm Of Chaos: Slaves To Darkness, on Earache Records. The albums cover art came courtesy of Nottingham-based RPG maker and retailer Games Workshop. Many of the song titles and lyrics related directly to the stores own sci-fi fantasy RPG, Warhammer 40,000 of which members of Bolt Thrower were dedicated players. Copies of the album were even sold in Games Workshop, alongside the usual miniatures and rulebooks....

Perhaps the most overtly RPG-inspired band of the moment are Gygax. Named in honour of D&Ds creator, the Californian four-piece play Thin Lizzy-esque hard rock with themes lifted directly from the players handbook.