@phelimint has been chronicling his fitness journey through running via a challenge that he has organised for fitness. Recently, he posted about different sorts of music influencing and pushing him further on runs. He talked of his wife's suggestion that metal might do the trick.

I started writing a comment on what would be a great metal/hard-rock centeredplaylist, and I've come to the conclusion that this would be better served as a post, to explain my reasoning in greater depth.

Plus, I love to talk about music that I love and I do love metal.

Track 1:

Photo taken by me, at "An Evening with Machine Head", at The Gov, in Adelaide.

Ghosts will Haunt by Bones - Machine Head (6 minutes and 6 seconds)

"These ghosts come haunt my bones, They won't leave me alone."

The opening track of the running playlist opens with a searching guitar riff, which could easily be mistaken for a solo, backed by aggressive drums and a speculative riff, which fades into a descriptive observation of a haunt, implying suffering, and a certain hatred between two beings.

It is unclear if we are hearing this from the perspective of the ghost, or the person being haunted. In any case, you don't have much time to speculate, as the track goes from whispered, calm vocalisations to increasing aggression, frustration, and the pitiful cries of a tormented man, before an excellent, technical guitar solo.

A high tempo, high quality track.

Track 2:

In This Moment - Blazin (4 minutes 20 Seconds) (10:26 total run time)

This track is led by an aggressive guitar riff, in what appears to be typical drop d tuning. Pounding drums, and the powerful vocals of Maria Brink combine to bring a song that's great driving and exercising music.

The main line in the chorus is "We're not gonna stop tonight, we're gonna burn this city down", and the track has a constant, relentless pace. It sounds tacky compared to the sheer technicality of Machinehead before it, but it pumps you up like nobody's business.

Track 3

Just Drive - In this Moment (3 minutes 27 seconds) (13:53 total run time)

Another high energy song, but with some lapses in tempo, and powerful, inspiring lyrics about moving. It's designed as a driving song; but the quiet moments and the ebb and flow in this track make for a good way to catch your breath, and be engulfed in the powerful delivery of an almighty, inspiring noise, before it all suddenly comes to an end.

Track 4

Epica - Monopoly on Truth (7 min 11 seconds) (21:04 total run time)

(This youtube version has the intro ""karma" mixed in)

This track from Epica perfectly captures their style - complex arrangements, and the incredible contrast between Mark Jansen's guttural death metal - style growls and Simone Simons' clear, soprano vocalisations. This track has segments where the bass drum sounds like a horse galloping at full tilt, contrasted with different tempos between vocals and instrumentation.

It's also a fantastic lyrical arrangement, talking about the acts of censorship, and people receding into safe spaces:

Can we trust all the facts
And believe that the fancied wise are just and needed?
Do we want to rely on the views
Of the righteous ones who are succeeding?
You look all around and you see
All the things that are not meant to be
Then you know it's time to let them go

There's so much going on in this song, you definitely need to listen to it multiple times in order to extract all the possible meanings. There's even parts sung in Latin.

Track 5

Arch Enemy - Hybrids of Steel (3 min 49 seconds) (24:53 total run time)

An Instrumental piece - driving guitars, a persistent solo like riff, and a few good tempo changes - it sounds like a national anthem if there was going to be a nation full of metal heads. Perhaps Finland / Denmark some of the Nordic countries could adopt this as a National Anthem. It would definitely work well as such.

Not much else to say, than this is the perfect break to lead into a final track.

Track 6

Halestorm - I like it Heavy (4:55) (29:48 total run time)

This track is a homage to most of the hard rock acts and metal bands that have come before, and deals exquisite lyrical fan service to them all, essentially acting as a musical journey through Lzzy Hale's musical inspiration.

The track has references to movement, and the energy you find in a mosh pit at any concert, before the guitar fades away to a solo, acoustic dirge about the day after.

'Cause if there's a Hell, I'll meet you there
And if there's a Heaven, they're serving beer

Let it all sink in, and then hit the shower.

TLDR: Youtube Playlist.