Music to Game to: Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I & Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

EARTH - ANGELS OF DARKNESS, DEMONS OF LIGHT I and EARTH - ANGELS OF DARKNESS, DEMONS OF LIGHT II

Tackling these two albums together for my first foray into ‘Music to Game To’. They’ve been in heavy rotation as gaming music since I got them in 2012. Don’t let the Doom Metal label scare you off or lead you to expect wailing riffs; these two albums are an hour and forty-five minutes of darkly shimmering harmonies. All in all the music conjures up an atmosphere of doomed romanticism– a sense of steady and heroic determination in face of tragedy. Evocative and lush, and while it rewards deep listening and careful attention, it doesn’t demand it, making it some of the best music I’ve found to have playing in the background of a fantasy RPG session.

• Vocals? None, it’s all instrumental, making it great for a gaming soundtrack.
• Music Genre(s)... Doom metal
• Perfect for... Slightly dark games where the heroes undertake epic quests against long odds.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The opener off Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I, “Old Black”, which starts slow and mournful and marches steadily to a crescendo of wailing cello.