I like to think I am immune from the effects of nostalgia. I had to painstakingly fish for lobsters in order to collect enough gold to purchase a set of rune armor. But that doesn't mean I'm an easy person. Indeed, my palate has sharpened as I've gotten older. I suppose something more than a licensed, professionally produced metal cover of the Runescape theme moves me...

Oh, never mind. This shit rules. [Last week, Jagex released RuneScape: Battleaxes and Ballads, an officially licensed metal covers album of old-school RuneScape music. As a journalist and a critic, I'm happy to report that it's a great album, and the RuneScape theme, officially called "Scape Main," is one of those songs that, while waiting for me to be able to log in on my Windows XP desktop in 2005 It was already unreasonably hard in its original form, given that it was something I could only listen to. But the metal cover of Battleaxes and Ballads sounds like how my 12-year-old self would have remembered the original theme. This is an accomplishment.

Remixes of the album by composer Mykel Dunn featuring other OSRS bangers like Sea Shanty 2 (shout-out to Port Sarim) are classified as "battle metal" in the press release. Is it some sort of non-denominational cousin of Viking metal? I'm no expert.

Produced in partnership with Laced Records, a game soundtrack record label that has been involved in the release of special edition albums for Namco Bandai, From Software, and Capcom, Runescape: Battleaxes and Ballads is also available for pre-order as a vinyl LP; when it ships in October, you'll be able to hear the old-school RuneScape remixes in a deliberately old-school format. Also red is why they don't make LPs unless they're in fun colors: my tastes have sharpened as I've gotten older.

If you're not swayed by crimson records, feel free to listen to the full album on YouTube; "RuneScape: Battleaxes and Ballads" is also streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud It is also available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud, so there are plenty of options for recreating memories of barbarian village music "barbarianism" in heavy metal. The village of RuneScape, where the barbarians were located. Every once in a while they drop a rune of chaos. It's wonderful stuff.