Music Monday: 5 More Awesome Songs to write Sci-Fi (or horror) to

After last weeks post looking at five songs that helped inspire me when writing a sci-fi novel,  I found I still had a bunch of awesome songs left on the playlist I began curating for that very purpose. 

Without all the usual fanfare then, here's five more great songs that you might want to check out when writing science fiction, horror or similar themes.

1) Blind Guardian - Valkyries
Yep, I listened to an awful lot of power metal when writing my novel. Again, it's the speed, the action, the energy, the penchant for over-dramatic tales of the far-off lands of fantasy that make songs like the swooping Valkyries so ideal for this kind of writing.

2) Iced Earth - Birth of the Wicked
I remember, back in the long-haired heights of my heavy metal worshipping youth, being quite the fan of Florida's Iced Earth. Then, after I got a bit older and started listening to Bob Dylan instead, I forget about almost completely until it came time to dig out some inspiring background music for my story. Songs like Birth of the Wicked, and indeed much of their catalogue really gets the adrenalin pumping, and no matter what it is you're writing, songs like this should easily keep you motivated.

3) Sonata Arctica - Black Sheep

I couldn't tell you with any certainty what it is about Black Sheep in particular that stood out from the many inspiring, anthemic tunes laid out by Sonata Arctica, but needless to say it did it's job; carrying me away to another world entirely and helping me to roam loose in my own imagination.

4) Helloween - Where the Sinners Go

It's probably fair to say that I listened to Helloween more than any other band whilst working on my novel, and for good reason; the mix of genres, styles and influences they incorporate across their catalogue means you're never too far from the perfect writing song. In this case, for some of the more violent scenes of my story, it was Where The Sinners Go.

5) Sabaton - Coat of arms

And we end back on the power-metal theme with the mighty Sabaton, their music as powerful, fantastical and able to transport you to another realm as any on this list. Like a lot of these bands, I could have picked any of Sabaton's tracks, but nothing gets my creative juices flowing quite like Coat of Arms.