
Looks like I'm actually able to be stereotyped for once! I'm a miniature wargamer who is also a huge metalhead, so that's what's usually playing whenever I paint and also when I game (with likeminded opponents; I do tend to be considerate towards those of lesser taste

).
But truth be told, it's just about anything but current pop music. I have taken a real liking to eighties feelgood music for instance, such as Huey Lewis and the News, Stan Bush, King Cobra, Kenny Loggins and a plethora of other, usually soundtrack related, songs. You know; from Rocky, Kickboxer, Karate Kid, Iron Eagle, Commando, Transformers etc. The ones that make you pump your fist in the air and go 'Yeah!' ('Never surrender!')

Then there's the whole Synthwave/New Retro Wave corner, which is a mix of eighties inspired electronic music, often combined with a healthy dose of metal. Groups like Pertubator, Carpenter Brut, Dance with the Dead, Gunship, Scandroid or Meteor.
Soundtracks are pretty good too. Last night we played a game of Grimdark Future, pitting my Necrons against my mate's Eldar, so naturally I put on the Terminator soundtrack(s)! But I also still love the ones from The Abyss, Lord of the Rings or Jurassic Park for instance.
Classically, I really like the Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt; it really helps getting into, for lack of a better word, a painting trance, if you will. But only when I have an entire day to paint, which is not very often at all I regret to report.
Coming back to the metal though, when painting I like playing Melodic Deathmetal such as Amon Amarth, Dethklok and Archenemy, but also the classics such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, ACDC and Metallica.
Then, I also love 'fairytale metal' such as Nightwish, After Forever, Epica and Within Temptation. And when I'm in a truly brütal mood, I tend to play stuff like Slipknot or Orbit Culture.
A guilty pleasure are the hairmetal bands, such as Mötley Crüe, W.A.S.P., Europe, Quiet Riot, Poison, Skid Row etc. But also modern interpretations of the genre, such as Steel Panther and Crazy Lixx.
I usually tend to match the chosen music to the subject matter of the miniatures on my painting table, but as you can tell from the above, there is a prevalent general theme of riffs and powerchords...
