Post your favorite mood music...

This is actually for personal reasons. I'm starting a new campaign tomorrow, and I'm looking for new music. I already picked up some cool stuff (which is a free download) by Tapsa Kuusniemi and Matti Paalanen. Anyone have any other gems they'd like to share?

They're not free, but I'm a big fan of certain movie soundtracks. While some, like Conan, are obvious, I've recently found myself making substantial use of Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Sleepy Hollow (for darker games).

JVisgaitis said:

This is actually for personal reasons. I'm starting a new campaign tomorrow, and I'm looking for new music. I already picked up some cool stuff (which is a free download) by Tapsa Kuusniemi and Matti Paalanen. Anyone have any other gems they'd like to share?

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I don't suppose you could provide a link to those downloads?

The Eberron soundtrack is just wicked.

I like heavy metal music that fits with what I'm going for, especially for tough battles. For instance, I played Immolation's Swarm of Terror when the group had to tackle a Monster of Legend Hellwasp swarm.
Other than that, I reccomend classic older rock in the background because its usually pretty high quality and liked by the most people. Its rare when somebody will bust your balls for spinning Clapton, Rush, Queen, Rolling Stones, Led Zep, etc. For me I don't like the music to be a big part of the campaign unless used to make a fight against an important critter memorable. If i may be so bold to reccomend rap like:
Gangsta rap
Anything with Viktor Vaughn in it
Any rap that is a little older, out of the mainstream, or upheld as quality.
A lot of people say they "hate" rap. I don't think they've ever head rap. I like to listen to goofier bands like the Beastie Boys and Dangerdoom and MC Chris for the goofier campaigns like Hackmaster.

Camille Saint-Saëns - "Danse Macabre"
Soundtrack to 13th Gate and Bram Stokers Dracula and City of Lost Children.

THose are my four favorite for suspense horror ish

I'd rather suggest something along the lines of what you're looking for as there's quite the plethora of music out there. I will say that if you're looking for a "campaign theme" then it should be something that you play at the beginning/end of each adventure to keep the feel (like beginning or end credits of a show/movie).

Here's some general suggestions...

"Valley in the Clouds" by David Arkenstone: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...1/104-7794654-8856721?s=music&v=glance&n=5174
It's new age with melody. Great for everything from spooky to ethereal (not in the planar sense although that could work too).

"Lionheart" by Jerry Goldsmith: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000014UA/104-7794654-8856721?v=glance&n=5174
I use A LOT of Goldsmith in my music. Scores such as this one have great themes, tender moments, and fantastic battle cues.

"Willow" by James Horner: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...8/104-7794654-8856721?s=music&v=glance&n=5174
Whether you love or hate the movie, you can't go wrong with using this as a D&D soundtrack. Action and adventure abound in this, one of Horner's best compositional outings. For a more well-rounded Horner experience, I also have to point you to Titanic: The Essential James Horner: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...7/104-7794654-8856721?s=music&v=glance&n=5174

For great horror music, check out Diamanda Galas "The Law of the Plague"/"Plague Mass" Trilogy.

Scary stuff.

Try the soundtrack to the computer adventure "The Longest Journey" - can be legaly downloaded here: http://www.longestjourney.com/download/music/

(While you're there, check up on what must be the best adventure since "Zak McKracken"... )


EDIT: You might want to check out some of the "Medievil Bands" that are popular in europe (germany in particular), for example Corvus Corax, Saltatio Mortis, Helium Vola, Qntal, Estampie. There are more, but I can't remember...

Mouseferatu said:

They're not free, but I'm a big fan of certain movie soundtracks.

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I don't really mind if they are free or not, as when I work I always have some sort of soundtrack playing in the background. Right now my big kick is the Halo 2 Volume One Soundtrack. I kinda have reservations about using well known soundtracks though.

Mouseferatu said:

I don't suppose you could provide a link to those downloads?

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For Matti Paalanen, he used to post here and that's where I got the link from. This is where all of his music is: http://www.mikseri.net/users/?id=61143 All of the music is very very well done, but not all of it is suitable for D&D (at least my purposes). There is a ton to pick from though. I have 88 songs which is just under 5 hours of music...

For Tapsa Kuusniemi, I believe I found his music on the same website or linked from Matti Paalanen's page. His stuff (Tapsa's) is especially good, as its a soundtrack based on Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. I'm running/playtesting the Black Wind tomorrow as part of my new ongoing Broken Isles Campaign, so the tribal drums and such fit perfectly.

I collect orchestral movie soundtracks both because I love to listen to them and because they are great for use in my game as mood music. Some of my favourites in my collection are:

Stargate
The Mummy
Braveheart
Gladiator
Sleepy Hollow
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Conan the Barbarian
Dragonheart