TOLKIEN-inspired Band Names

There are also alot of Prog and Power Metal bands that make CD's with titles along the lines of "Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings."  I know i've seen at least 3 bands do this, I'm not really sure of any more bands directly named though.

I think there was a death metal band called Cirith Ungol, and you'll probably find a number of death/black metal bands with strange names have taken them from Tolkien.

There is a band called Rivendell. I only know one song of them.
Isn't Amon Duul not some sort of hill in one of the Tolkien books?

Lot's om inspiration from Tolkien, but knights and swordsman in general as well.

There's a really hardcore black metal band called Gorgoroth.

there is a band called kandalf too

Here's an article you might find interesting ...

CAN you believe that in just a couple of months the third Lord of the Rings (LOTR) movie will be upon us? I remember coming out of the cinema after Fellowship of The Ring and thinking that it would be impossible to wait for The Two Towers. Now the final instalment of the trilogy, The Return of the King, is coming.  

There is no doubt that J.R.R. Tolkien’s works on Middle Earth stand astride the whole fantasy genre. But a lesser known effect of the man’s imagination is the extraordinary influence his themes have had on the world of music. 

Yes, I know, when you think of music and LOTR, it’s Howard Shore’s orchestral music and Enya ballad’s, May It Be, that come to mind. Amazingly, by the time those recordings were made in conjunction with Peter Jackson’s epic films, more than a dozen albums had already been recorded by various artistes, all in praise of the series!  

I actually got my first taste of LOTR-inspired music from hard rockers Led Zeppelin, whose singer/lyricist Robert Plant thought little of making random references to Tolkien’s works in his songs. Thus classics like Ramble On (“in the darkest depths of Mordor”) and The Battle of Evermore (“the ringwraiths ride in black”) hint at characters in LOTR, without really clarifying what they mean.

Led Zep, it appears, were about the only people who tried to tackle LOTR in a subtle manner. Other ‘70s rock bands like Rush (Rivendell), Camel (Nimrodel), Argent (Lothlorien) composed lengthy pieces in honour of some of the more fascinating places in Middle Earth.

Swedish keyboardist/guitarist Bo Hansson took the whole endeavour one step further and recorded an entire album in 1972 called Lord of the Rings, featuring a dozen songs which convey the majesty of the original stories. It became his most successful recording. 

Another notable attempt to capture LOTR in the form of music was made in 1978: as accompaniment to Ralph Bakshi’s brave but ultimately flawed animated movie, Leonard Rosenman wrote a series of medieval-themed pieces for the soundtrack. 

Of course, Tolkien’s influence spawned more than just musical works. The number of musical acts who actually derived their names from his writings is astounding.  

As far as I know, US prog band Mithrandir, New Zealand folkies Lothlorien, ‘80s sensations (Sil) Marillion, jazz-fusion band Shadowfax, Austrian outfit Gandalf, Swedes Isildur’s Bane, Spaniards Galadriel and American prog-metallists Illuvatar represent just a few of the recording artists who have drawn inspiration from this seemingly bottomless well. 

The early ‘90s saw another wave of interest in LOTR. German heavy metal-meisters Blind Guardian’s Tales Of Twilight World touched upon the trilogy. Across the border in Holland, Johann De Meij gained much attention with his stunning neo-classical composition, Symphonie No 1: Lord of the Rings. The latter work has been recorded a number of times but the performance by Pierre Kiujpers’s Royal Military Band (1994) is widely considered to be the one you should look for. 

In recent years, New Age keyboardist David Arkenstone (Music Inspired by Middle Earth), Celtic folk outfit Broceliande (The Starlit Jewel), ‘70s rock legend Rick Wakeman (Songs of Middle Earth: A Tribute to the Lord of the Rings), and Tennessee rockers Glass Hammer (The Middle Earth Album and A Journey To Dunadan) have all weighed in with their own LOTR-themed albums. 

Finally, there is the Danish-based Tolkien Ensemble, who devote their entire musical outfit to ... well you guessed it ... songs about LOTR. In the late ‘90s, the band, which features the compositions of one Caspar Reiff, released two acclaimed albums, namely A Night in Rivendell and An Evening in Rivendell. 

After the release of The Two Towers, the Tolkien Ensemble re-recorded parts of their earlier albums for a new release called At Dawn in Rivendell. Besides the band members, the recordings feature Christopher Lee (who plays Saruman in the LOTR movies) reading poems and even singing a tune! 

Dick Heath wrote: Moogtron III wrote: There is or was a band called Shadowfax.   Laid back jazz rock fusion on the Windham Hill (?) Label!!!!

I read this about them on the AMG - site (www.allmusic.com):

Originally a blues band, the trio soon began exploring chamber jazz and folk; even medieval music began creeping into the mix, appropriately enough for a group named in honor of a horse from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series.

As far as I know, groups have used almost every major name, place name and concept from LOTR as band names.  To name just a few () that I am aware of from various genres - some of whom are admittedly obscure (if not flat-out local) - in no particular order:

Galadriel, Mithrandir, Gandalf, Aragrorn, Legolas, Gimli the Dwarf, Arwen, Eowyn, The Grey Pilgrim, The White Wizard, Gollum, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Strider, The Nazgul, The Council of Elrond, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Bard of Dain, Moria, Orthanc, Saruman, Sauron, The Searching Eye, Gates of Mordor, Mount Doom, The Ring of Power, The Uruk-Hai, Bywater, Brandywine, Smeagol, Paths of the Dead, Dead Marshes, Dark Tower, Corsairs of Umbar, The Palantiri, Treebeard, Entwash, Fangorn, Helms Deep, The Black Gate, Shadowfax, Isildur's Bane, Illuvatar, Cirith Ungol, Gorgoroth, The Shire, Mirkwood, Shelob, Bombadil, Barrowwight...

I could go on.  And yes, I have actually seen all of these names - and more - in print, whether in "major" publications (e.g., Shadowfax, Isildur's Bane) or in local publications for local clubs (e.g., Shelob).

As an aside, Wakeman's "Songs of Middle Earth" is actually nothing of the sort.  In an e-mail conversation with him recently, Mr. Wakeman told me that he had nothing to do with that album, and in fact dislikes it.  It is simply selections from two earlier albums, re-named with LOTR names.  When I asked him why he never did a concept album based on LOTR, considering that the concept was "tailor-made" for his style of writing, he told me that it had already been "done to death" and that he didn't think he could add anything useful to the "musical conversation."

Peace.