The Dark Stampede Takes to the Rivers and Inferno – Music of January 2021

Welcome to the first monthly recap in music of 2021! The more I do these, the more it gives me the chance to add in new things to my taste based on bands I love, just discovered, or rediscover songs/artists from my childhood.

As I put together this month’s songs, I realized there were a lot of golden oldies here so you get the pleasure of enjoying them too while I get to feed my nostalgia!

Amanda Marshall – Dark Horse

I remember hearing this on the radio a lot. Before Katy Perry, there was Amanda Marshall with a song of this name. It came back on one night, so I tracked it down and listened to it again.

I like this Dark Horse song better it’s beautiful, and it seems to tell a story and the music video is simple and Amanda is gorgeous. It makes me miss music videos like this where it was just about the artist singing. No sex appeal, they were just fully dressed and it was about their talent, not their looks or the amount of cleavage they could show. If I was a singer, that’s how I’d want to perform. There are so many good songs from the 90’s that I miss and I’m glad there are still radio stations out there willing to play them. It makes me feel like a kid again.

Hans Zimmer – Stampede

One day, I woke up and decided to watch The Lion King after a such long time had passed, and all the memories just come flooding back to me. I was able to rekindle that love I had for the movie, when I watched it so many times. I never loved it as much as the Disney Princess films, but it still stayed in my heart to another level.

No matter how old I get, this track never fails to give me goosebumps, even tears. What can I say, it’s one of the parts of the original movie that was made so flawlessly that it stays with you forever, no matter how devastating. My favorite part starts at 1:46 as it’s a track that just keeps getting more emotional and epic.

Hans Zimmer is a genius. I can’t listen to this alone without the entire scene replaying in my head. Admit it, you always worry whether both Simba and Mufasa both survive, even though you already know only the former does. Scar truly is a classic villain. No I have not seen the remake, and I don’t know if it will ever be able to replicate this scene or the soundtrack.

Robyn – Do You Know (What It Takes)

Another classic from my childhood that I used to hear on the radio all the time, and I could never figure out the name of it. Maybe because I thought the word “taste” was used in the chorus which I used to narrow down my search, but I had it wrong the whole time!

But, I’ve found it now, that’s what matters. Now that I hear it again, it’s still catchy and once again gives an example about what I miss about pop music. Today’s pop songs have either become really repetitive, or the chorus is just a fast instrumental to make it easier to dance to.

Epica – Rivers

Oh my God, this song is gorgeous it’s actually giving me Tides of Time vibes and Simone looks stunning as usual. This is the third single Epica has put out prior to the release of their new album and I think this one is my second favorite now.

Which one of my favorite characters will have the honor of having this song dedicated to them, I wonder? I haven’t heard a ballad by Epica this good since the other one I mentioned, it’s not a masterpiece, but it’s definitely close to one!

Orden Ogan – Inferno

Last but not least, Final Days is almost here so let’s celebrate it with ANOTHER new single by Orden Ogan. This is now my second favorite out of the three they have released. It’s catchy and powerful, it makes me think of how much the world has gone to shit, but let’s not burn it down in real life!

It also makes me think of DOOM Eternal, which I started playing a few days ago, like the first one was simple and now this one gives me even more than I had before with everything destroyed on Earth from the demons, but there’s more to it all in the lore and places I’m about to go. It’s like, as soon as I start a game, the story kicks in and I have so many questions how things get started, not just with this game, but with any game.

The music video rocks too, Seeb looks hot as usual and the others just as much. Now I see why they were requesting clips of fans at bird’s eye view, but it doesn’t dominate the video so I’m not jealous over those who appeared in it. Don’t burn me down Orden Ogan, abduct me instead! ❤

That was January, I have begun to worry about the future now, not in relation to the pandemic, but it on other ways in a current situation of my professional life and I really hope things turn around. Other than that, I’m doing okay, I just wish I could see everyone’s smiles again.

👽Emily