If you’ve landed on this page, we have something in common - we love heavy metal. 

 

The team at Hunters Entertainment also love it loud. They love it so loud, they've created a new role playing game that, for a relative newcomer to gaming like myself, can best be described as Dungeons & Dragons forged in mosh pits and fashioned by heavy metal. It’s called GODS OF METAL: RAGNAROCK, and it’s a game where guitars physically slay, drumsticks actually impale, and vocals literally pierce the soul.

 

When they asked me to shape a sonic landscape inspired by their louder than life fantasy realm, I jumped at the opportunity - and the results are the two disc, 16-track, vinyl-only compilation that brings us together here. The LPs are inspired by RAGNAROCK just as much as the game itself was inspired by the GODS OF METAL that grace the albums, and the gatefold cover doubles as a tabletop screen during gameplay. Seven of the tracks are exclusive to to the album, and the music will only be available on vinyl - there will be no digital streaming, no CDs, and you won’t find this in record stores. It’s also strictly limited to 5,000 copies worldwide, Once this run of vinyl is sold out, there won’t be another - I know we’ve all heard that before, but we actually mean it!

 

If this sounds as killer to you as it did to me, I invite you to dig deeper and explore the world of RAGNAROCK via our Kickstarter campaign, which is active now through February 21, 2021. The album is only available there, and only bundled with the game. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know a lot about Kickstarter before this project, which is why I wanted to offer this quick overview of how the vinyl came about, while highlighting a few of the most relevant album bundles:

 

• The $50 album package also includes a PDF of the game (a $20 value on its own). This is essentially what the vinyl, with all its inserts, would cost at retail - so it’s a great value when coupled with a digital edition of the 250-page game book.

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• For $100 on Kickstarter, you get the vinyl, a separate ‘AVATARS OF METAL’ CD that will feature more original music, written for and inspired by the game, as well as a digital copy of the game’s instrumental score…think epic background music to play while your four-stringed battle axe beheads you a path through RAGNAROCK. That’s three times the heavy - PLUS you’ll get a hardcover copy of the 250-page game book (as well as a PDF).

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• The $250 Kickstarter package is great for metal fans who are already into gaming. You get all the music mentioned in the $100 package, plus a deluxe, faux-leather bound version of the game book, a custom set of six 4-sided dice (D4, in gaming jargon - and of course they’re made of… METAL!), a tray to roll the dice in, and a six pack of pins celebrating the Gods of Death, Doom, Mosh, Shred, Style and Glory. If you’re like me, you were confused at first, but it’s all starting to make a little more sense… 

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• The $300 Kickstarter package is my favorite. Whether you’re in a band, or know someone in a band who you’d like to help, this package lets you submit one song for consideration to be included on the ‘AVATARS OF METAL’ CD compilation mentioned above. I will personally be listening to every track submitted, and curating that ‘AVATARS OF METAL’ release along with my heavy new friends at Hunters Entertainment. Whether you do it for the ego trip, the marketing opportunity, or a combination of both, it’s a hell of a deal. We’ll be announcing more of the bands involved in the vinyl and the CD compilation in the coming days and weeks on Kickstarter, so be sure to keep checking back for updates. 

 

I know I just threw a lot at you, but hopefully you’re starting to get as excited about this game as I’ve been over the past several months. I’m a huge vinyl nerd, and we’ve spared no expense and cut no corners when it comes to production.The same can be said of the game. Trust me when I say, GODS OF METAL: RAGNAROCK is a world like you’ve never seen before - and a world you may never want to leave. 

 

I look forward to seeing you there… Who knows, maybe we’ll all start a band together! 

 

-PAUL GARGANO 

godsofmetalmusic@gmail.com