Ever since Led Zeppelin sang about the darkest depths of Mordor in their song “Ramble On,” The Lord of the Rings has had a long history of appearing in music.
From the progressive rock of Bo Hansson, to the black metal of Summoning and dungeon synth of Hole Dweller, LOTR has been particularly inspiring in the realm of heavy metal and its adjacent genres.
The escapism of Middle Earth and epic metal goes both ways, as composer Bear McCreary and Meshuggah singer Jens Kidman discovered while scoring a scene from the upcoming second season of the Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
In an exclusive behind the scenes featurette (watch below), McCreary elaborated on the collaboration, which came about when he was tasked with composing the music and theme for the massive hill-troll Damrod featured in the new season.
“Damrod is a troll that makes a mighty entrance,” explained McCreary. “There are elements of heavy metal music that are undeniably appropriate for this troll.”
Thus, McCreary tapped Kidman and drummer Gene Hoglan to provide the guttural vocals and percussion, respectively, for the original song “The Last Ballad of Damrod” — a full-on symphonic death metal crusher that plays while the troll lays waste to his enemies.
McCreary had high praise for the Meshuggah frontman, comparing the way he screams to “the way an expert violinist plays.”
The song is included on the original soundtrack for the series’ second season, which is set to release digitally and on streaming services on August 23rd with a vinyl release forthcoming. Composed by McCreary, the soundtrack also features another vocal collab with singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright, as well as additional vocals by series stars Sophia Nomvete, Benjamin Walker, Rory Kinnear, and Daniel Weyman.
“I am honored to continue forward on this journey, bringing the events of Tolkien’s Second Age to life on the screen,” remarked McCreary in a press release.
The new season of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power will debut globally on Prime Video on August 29th.
To get Kidman’s perspective on “The Last Ballad of Damrod,” we floated the extreme metal vocalist a few questions via email. Below you can watch the exclusive behind the scenes clip, and read our brief Q&A with the Meshuggah singer.
What does it mean for you to be part of The Lord of the Rings franchise?
Jens Kidman: It’s an honor to be a part of such a legendary story as The Lord of the Rings. Having my voice associated with a creature like the troll Damrod is very exciting. I could never have imagined anything like this would happen when I saw the first movie back in 2001. And to be a part of the soundtrack too, is mind-blowing.
How did the collaboration come together?
JK: I had done some work with Bear McCreary on his album The Singularity that came out earlier this year, and he asked me if I would be interested in working with him on the second season of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power. I’ve never been apart of any film scoring before but it kind of felt natural to me to be a part of an orchestra because I’ve always seen myself more of an instrument than a vocalist in my band Meshuggah.
What was it like working with composer Bear McCreary and drummer Gene Hoglan?
JK: It was a lot of fun and a bit scary, but Bear is such a professional and easy-going dude I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. He put his trust in me and let me do my thing even though I had no experience in anything like this. Gene, I have known for many years now. I got to know him back when we toured North America together in 2003 when he was playing drums in Strapping Young Lad. He’s such an amazing drummer and I’m happy we could reconnect in such a fantastic project after all these years.
What was your approach to recording the vocals?
JK: Since this was a totally new experience for me, I didn’t really know exactly what they expected from me. I pretty much just decided early to do what I do best and ride the vibe this project gave me. My approach was to just be myself and try to get that ferocious and brutal urgency to come through and glue together with what this story is telling you right at that moment you’re watching it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season Two: Amazon Original Series Soundtrack) Tracklist:
01. Old Tom Bombadil (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
02. Rhûn (feat. The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices)
03. Life in the Canyon
04. Golden Leaves (feat. Benjamin Walker)
05. Cirdan’s Perfection
06. Stone Singers (feat. Sophia Nomvete)
07. Sandstorm at the Well *
08. Eregion
09. Emissary at the Forge
10. Shelob
11. The Pyre (feat. Raya Yarbrough)
12. Estrid
13. The Great Eagle
14. The River-daughter (feat. Raya Yarbrough)
15. Barrow-wights
16. Forgiveness Takes an Age *
17. Candles on the Tide (feat. Clydene Jackson) *
18. Army of Orcs
19. The Last Ballad of Damrod (feat. Jens Kidman)
20. Battle for Eregion
21. Durin’s Bane*
22. Last Temptation
23. The Staff
24. Old Tom Bombadil Reprise (feat. Rory Kinnear and Daniel Weyman)
35. The Sun Yet Shines
* = excluded from the vinyl release