Friday, May 11, 2018

Music to Game To: Seven That Spells - Cosmoerotic Dialogue with Luciver

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.

SEVEN THAT SPELLS – COSMOEROTIC DIALOGUE WITH LUCIVER

A Croatian band that self-describes as “modern, aggressive psychedelic wall of sound incorporating polymetrics and occasional Viking funeral rites, hailing from the 23rd century where rock is dead,” Seven that Spells is not the music for an understated session of roleplaying delicate trade negotiations. They are very much the band whose albums you toss on when your high level D&D pcs finally make it to the bottom level of the dungeon to battle a dracolich or when you need the soundtrack to a fantastic space battle. When these songs blast full speed ahead, it feels as though they’ll never let you take a breath, but there are enough slower and softer moments as well, they just never arrive until you absolutely need to take a gaps for breath. This is an album to put on when you want to give your game a propulsive urgency.


  • Vocals?...Yes, in Croatian, mostly wordless though.
  • Music Genre(s)…Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock
  • Perfect for…Epic fantasy battles where the PCs struggle to catch their breath, psychedelic tinged science fiction games.
  • If you only grab one track, make it…the album closer and perhaps softest track on the album, ”Torture Vessel from the Triangle World”, which builds slowly, bit by bit with growing intensity, until it reaches a shimmering peak.

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