Krazy/Killer Band Name Of The Week: Bolt Thrower

Bolt Thrower could be one of my fave band names ever. It evokes an angry god or ancient Roman weapon. Either way, it's destructively kickass. The origin, however, is much nerdier (and yet just as cool) than you'd think...

The Coventry, England death metal band took its name from a weapon in the popular tabletop war strategy game Warhammer. The band based some of their lyrics and artwork on the game, with some of the art actually provided by the game's publisher, Games Workshop.

Eight albums and 30 years of brutally heavy compositions about war, death, plague, more war and more war brought the band a devoted following (including British radio legend, the late John Peel!) until their breakup in 2015 due to the death of drummer Martin 'Kiddie' Kearns.

The connection between metal and role-playing/tabletop gaming is a perfect one, but how many folks actually played Bolt Thrower whilst playing Warhammer? Inspiring for some, discombobulating for others.

Either way, a killer name.