GENERAL
I am all onboard with using any platform I have to promote this Canadian power metal band. Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, they are now based in Vancouver and signed with Napalm Records. Formed in 2007 by vocalist Brittney Hayes (a.k.a. Brittney Slayes) and her partner/band drummer Scott Buchanan, they really made their mark with the releases of the concept albums Apex (2017), and follow-up Apex (2020); the pair form an award-winning power metal tour-de-force, and the inspiration for this post. They are currently releasing singles from their sixth album Phantoma (Ph4/NT0mA), which is a variance from the power metal roots by layering in some synth, which sounds incredibly counter-intuitive, but works incredibly well.
I first heard this group flipping through Youtube reaction videos and watched their breakout single from the Apex album, Awakening (Youtube link to the playthrough video). Do yourself a favour, give it a listen through.
As an aside, they are a band that also have some ‘street cred’ within the gaming community. They have posted numerous Youtube videos of D&D sessions, which dovetails very nicely into the crux of the post below. The storytelling of their Apex and Abyss albums certainly feel like they could have been influenced by gaming culture.
DISCUSSION
Band Line-up
Brittney Slayes (Vocals)
Scott Buchanan (Drums)
Grant Truesdell (Guitars)
Andrew Kingsley (Guitars)
Nick Miller (Bass)
Official Links
Characteristics and Environment
Power Metal. A sub-genre of heavy metal, it combines traditional elements of metal (loud/distorted guitars, dense bass and drums, vigorous vocals), but often overlays a symphonic or melodic/uplifting sound with operatic vocals, often referred to as a ‘wall of sound.’ A classical example is Rainbow (fronted by the great Ronnie James Dio and guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore); more contemporarily, the Finnish band Nightwish, DragonForce, and many others. They often layer “sword and sorcery” imagery into their lyrics, as well as siting Iron Maiden as an influence. Unleash the Archers is no different, and the symbolism in the verses for these two albums is heavily laden with fantasy/RPG plot hooks.
Concept Albums. For those not familiar with the term, a concept album’s tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. Essentially the songs tell a portion of the story that the album collectively conveys. Rolling Stone magazine has a list of the Top 50 Concept Albums. In this case, Unleash the Archers set out to create a set-up that literally awakens with the opening track “Awakening” from Apex, which is then continued and resolved by the last track of Abyss, aptly named “Afterlife.” From a storytelling perspective, the two create a beast of imagery, supported by Brittney’s soaring vocals and some utterly fantastic musicianship by the band.
From Apex to Abyss (The Story)
Apex. Described in the first four songs, the protagonist (the Immortal) is cursed to follow the orders of whoever awaken them. The Matriarch, a powerful sorceress, looking to exploit his invulnerability, awakens the Immortal to gather the power she needs to achieve ultimate supremacy/godhood. What is revealed is that she needs the souls from her four sons. The Immortal must drag them back alive, and she promises to set him free. Tracks 5, 6 and 7 deal with the first three sons (The Politician, the Sorcerer/Cult Leader, and the Supreme General). In Track 8, the fourth son is discovered to be a decent man who wants to be alone with his family; they become friends, but the Immortal is bound to deliver him. The Matriarch goes through with her ritual, gains ultimate power, then betrays the Immortal. She orders him back to his mountain prison in ‘Apex.’ He’s pissed, but knew it was coming and is bound to obey.
Abyss. The opening track is the Immortal dreaming of the vicious acts he was ordered to accomplish. He awakes in the title track, exploring the spaceship, and the third track has him reminiscing and regretting past acts. Finally, the son of the fourth son from Apex is introduced as the one that woke the Immortal. He wants the Immortal to exact his revenge against the Matriarch. Realizing the Immortal is awakened, the Matriarch threatens them and sends her four sons after them. The Immortal fights them off/leads the escape. In ‘Faster than Light’ they flee, before the Immortal-Matriarch showdown in ‘The Wind That Shapes the Land,’ ending with the Matriarch’s demise. The grandson and Immortal part ways, the Immortal set free. Asked to stay and use his power for good, he is tempted by the ghosts of his past to ‘go forth and conquer,’ but he stays the course and elects to find people he can help.
INSPIRATIONAL HOOKS
General. There is a whole lot of options to unpack here. I could write an adventure module for PFRPG on the Apex album alone, and it works for Rifts with only a few modifications. A second module could be developed from Abyss. Here are some campaign ideas drawn from Apex:
The Matriarch. As an NPC, she engages the PCs to track down some weapon component required to advance her scheme. There could be several clues that need to be hunted down before we ever find the hiding place for this ultimate prize. What is not revealed until the PCs finally track down the hiding spot is that the weapon is a slumbering warrior in magical stasis. I would add that their instructions to awaken the being requires a final component that links to the Immortal to the Matriarch (e.g. a lock of hair, a drop of blood, a jewel with an embedded piece of soul) so the PCs can’t gain control instead. The Immortal is effectively a Djinn (e.g. from Alladin) or some other being with superpowers.
The Immortal. I’d have this as an NPC of prodigious power and high Attributes. Perhaps not quite the power of the entries from Conversion Book 2: Pantheons of the Megaverse, he would have several thousand Hit Points/SDC and a high Armor Rating, or loads of MDC with high regeneration. He would also have Attributes that provide significant bonuses, and likely Unprincipled (perhaps started as Principled or Scrupulous due to being forced to do evil). What would be interesting is just how this Immortal came to be. Something would have been done to gain such high Attributes, immortality, and martial capabilities. Perhaps this was a pact with a god/alien intelligence, something ingested, an ornament or magical tattoo from a lost magic that is activated once the Awakening Ritual is concluded? Perhaps he was duped into the role, chasing after ‘ultimate power,’ and found out there was a second side the coin?
The Ultimate Plan. The Matriarch has not informed the PCs on her ulterior motives, which is to collect the souls of her sons. None of these folks are good, and they hold sway over serious power bases. Are the PCs onboard with the downfall of the sons? Are they going to assist, or try to counter the Immortal? What about the secondary and tertiary effects of killing the sons?
The Politician. His downfall might cause civil unrest and plunge the continent into anarchy. Perhaps he presents certain favours and courtly rewards for helping stop the Immortal. Are the PCs even capable of stopping him? Do they help stem the tide of disorder as an after-effect? Are they now considered agents of the civil wars that erupt and blamed for the resultant chaos? This can be a great set-up for a court intrigue kind of adventure.
The Sorceror/Cult Leader. With a swath of cult-like worshippers, I’d have them holed up in a mountain retreat that is the cultural and religious center of the world – heck, maybe even make the retreat a mountain/cavern dungeon-dive. The guards may be chaff, but this might be an arcane-heavy set of encounters, where PCs are up against significant spell casters and/or monsters they summon for help. I’d throw a series of golems as elite guards as well. The Immortal is required to bring the brother, but the impact to the faithful will be devastating. Imagine the impact kidnapping a religious figure would have? Do the PCs support the move? Are they going to try and support the magic users in stopping the Immortal?
The General. This one would likely require the Immortal to assume the role of a warrior or courier to get close enough. As he does so, his battle to subdue the General will not go unnoticed. At this point, he must fight through the “10,000” soldiers who wish to protect their beloved general (e.g. the ‘Spaniard’ from the film Gladiator). Are the PCs going to help carve a path to assist, or somehow try to stymie the Immortal’s mission? This could be a series of running battles with soldiers supporting the General, perhaps culminating with a siege on a fortress.
The Fourth Son. I would play this one off the table, but it could be that the PCs are sent far and wide to try and track down someone who is actively trying to live a private life. He is definitively not as impactful as his brothers, but his relationship with the Immortal is key to the story. He reminds the Immortal of his life before his transformation, perhaps demonstrating what a life with free will is like. Do the PCs allow this simple man to be taken? Do they find him and deliver him to the Immortal, or even to the Matriarch herself? This latter option allows the Immortal to develop a reason to interact with the brother to determine what makes him different, as well as resentment to the PCs for upstaging him or outperforming him. This could establish a nice series of adventures as the PCs try to track down the final brother.
The Sacrifice. The Matriarch eventually gains access to her sons and performs the ritual. This makes her a supremely challenging antagonist who may or may not turn on the PCs. She will view them as lesser beings and annoyances. Any direct challenge will likely mean facing off against the Immortal, as she has more important things to attend to. From here, PCs can either make their escape or fight the Immortal (and likely lose). I would have the Matriarch become the antagonist for a series of adventures, directly or indirectly.
Building From There. Adventures would implicate the PCs to find a way to stymie her plans, and/or gather the artefacts or items needed to ultimately defeat her. Alternatively, there could be no discernable connection to the Matriarch other than her influence over the world. The PCs navigate the adventure to resolution completely unaware how they impacted the Matriarch until the ultimate boss conflict where they are presented a way to overcome her powers and either kill or banish her.
CONCLUSION
The fact that Unleash the Archers are a great Canadian power metal band is good enough reason to listen to the two albums Apex and Abyss. Both concept albums are jam packed with hooks for adventures. What really shines through is the band’s love for TTPRGs and the concepts/themes that feed into the industry. They also have several Youtube videos of them playing D&D 5E (don’t hold it against them).
So there we have it. The idea of drawing adventure queues from a musical source isn’t anything new. What Unleash the Archers provided was a pair of classic power metal albums with some great music, and a series of prompts that generate a massive number of adventures and at least one clear campaign, possibly a second. The NPCs and antagonists are already developed, the relationships and general dispositions already fleshed out. There is still more than enough room for a GM to play around with things and develop to their liking. The settings for the conflict with the three principal brothers aren’t very well defined, but for a GM with a bit of imagination, there’s a plethora of options and approaches.
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