Music to Game to: Undersmile - Narwhal

I listen to a lot of music (over 41 days worth in 2018 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.

Undersmile – Narwhal

Sludgy, epic, female fronted doom metal, Narwhal has a maritime theme that makes it perfect for throwing on while you run Ghosts of Saltmarsh. The sprawling tracks feature thudding drums and guitar riffs that wash over listeners like crashing waves. The vocals provide a haunting atmosphere without being distracting.

Vocals?...Yes
Music Genre(s)… Doom Metal
Perfect for… Dark, maritime themed fantasy where you want to evoke epic storms, crashing waves and titanic monsters moving inexorably towards land.
If you only grab one track, make it... The massive and menacing track, “Berk”, which moves between roaring riffs and quieter haunting passages, provides a good taste of the heavy and inevitable sonic-scape of the album.

Music to Game to: The Bug vs Earth - Concrete Desert

I listen to a lot of music (over 41 days worth in 2018 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.

The Bug vs Earth – Concrete Desert

I’ve featured Earth before, with my very first Music to Game to highlighting the two album epic Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light. On Concrete Desert, Earth’s Dylan Carlson collaborates with The Bug, dub/electronic producer Kevin Martin, for an album inspired by Los Angeles in particular and America more broadly. The result is a vast album, where the empty spaces of the American west meet a dystopic futuristic sound. A ghostly menace fills the tracks, which bear names like “Don’t Walk These Streets, givng them a bit of neo-noir flavor, making this album a great soundtrack for a modern, sci-fi, or post-apocalyptic game.

• Vocals?...Yes, but only on the bonus tracks
• Music Genre(s)… Doom, Electronic, Dub
• Perfect for… Modern or post-apocalyptic games set in vast, empty spaces or crumbling cities.
• If you only grab one track, make it... the epically haunting “American Dream” which features an eerie guitar melody that seems to wander a wasteland of drifting sand and broken promises.

Music to Game to: Ufomammut - Snailking

I listen to a lot of music (over 41 days worth in 2018 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.

Ufomammut – Snailking

Cosmic in scope and psychedelic in feel, Snailking is fantastic doom metal for games where you want mix of heavy riffs and chilling synths. There are some samples used on the songs which could be a little incongruous for high fantasy games, but overall the sweeping epic feel of the album provides a great sonic backdrop.

• Vocals?...Yes, in Italian and also samples. 
• Music Genre(s)… Doom Metal, Psychedelic Sludge
• Perfect for… Games with epic combats that could benefit from a backdrop of doom laden riffs.
• If you only grab one track, make it... “Lacrimosa” which features heavy riffs and thudding drums amidst swirling synths.

Music to Game to: SUNN O))) - Black One

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.

SUNN O))) – BLACK ONE

The purveyors of sonic doom took a decidedly bleak direction with Black One, resulting in an album that drips with hopelessness, claustrophobia and terror—this, of course, makes it a fantastic album to have as the soundtrack for any number of horror RPGs. The droning riffs of base and guitar give the songs a sense of implacability… these are not tracks to play when the party faces down a ferocious dragon but rather for when they have to stay one step ahead of an immensely ancient and potent vampire who will surely slay them unless they can remain just outside his grasp until the coming of dawn. This can be unsettling and anxiety inducing music, perfect for putting your players on edge as their characters cope with terrifyingly patient adversaries.

• Vocals?...Yes, heavily distorted
• Music Genre(s)… Black Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Experimental, Dark Ambient
• Perfect for…Dark horror games where the PCs are relentlessly pursued by implacable horrors given the shape of humans across wind blasted stony stretches or deep below the earth in forgotten caverns.
• If you only grab one track, make it... the epic subterranean “Báthory Erzsébet”. The vocals for the track were recorded inside of a casket, which sounds like a gimmick but lends the vocals a desperate, desiccated sound that underline the ominous and claustrophobic dread of the song.

Music to Game To: Free Nelson Mandoomjazz - Awakening of a Capital

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.

FREE NELSON MANDOOMJAZZ – AWAKENING OF A CAPITAL

It’s easy to see a bit of Lovecraftian influence from the song titles on Awakening of a Capital, The Stars Unseen, The Pillars of Dagon, Erich Zann and Beneath the Sea all fit, but undoubtedly Howie would find the free jazz, doom metal inflected stylings degenerate and unpleasant – which, when you think about it, is probably what you want to serve as a soundtrack for a cosmic horror story. But another song title is the most evocative for me, and sometimes I think would serve well for as a theme song for certain D&D PC’s… “Poking the Bear” which stands out as the most playful of the album. Overall the album would serve well to bring a slightly discordant and jazzy background to any game of 20th or 21st century horror, balancing melancholic doom with a more propulsive free jazz style.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)… Doom jazz, free jazz
• Perfect for… 20th century games of cosmic horror.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The spasmodic and squawking “Poking the Bear”, where a yawping and frantic sax melody flies fitfully over a driving and insistent bass line and steady drumming and could serve well as the theme song for the more impulsive PCs of many a gaming table.

Music to Game to: The Gate - Island Virus

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.

THE GATE – ISLAND VIRUS

Right out of the gate, the first track of this album is titled “Black Bird of Death Spewing Death Puke,” to give you an idea of what you’re in for. This is deep, apocalyptic tuba rumbling, backed mostly by double bass and drums. Having been a high school marching band tuba player, I’ve a deep fondness for the instrument, and Dan Peck, who leads the The Gate and blows the horn, uses it to create skull-vibrating and sinister tones. With the double bass and more uptempo drumming, the album draws more on free jazz than doom metal, but it cannot help but be thunderously deep. While many doom jazz albums can tend towards the ethereal and haunting, Island Virus is grounded and sinister. Perfect for any game where unlucky investigators wander foggy seaside towns and face down horrid fish people.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)…Doom, Tuba, Doom Jazz,
• Perfect for…Early 20th century horror games, any game where you want to add a rumbling darkness.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The doleful and deep, “Back to the Sea,” where the tuba functions as a bringer of mysterious doom and gloom like a mammoth reptilian creature plodding back to the oceanic depths.

Music to Game to: Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Black Earth

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.

BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE – BLACK EARTH

I wish I still remembered how I discovered Bohren & Der Club of Gore, and through them, the sub-genre of Doom Jazz, but alas that has faded into the mists of my memories. What hasn’t faded is my love for this music-- Black Earth is a perfect example of Doom Jazz in my mind. Slow, even plodding, mellow, melancholic and haunted with a pervasive sense of gloom. It fades effortlessly into the background, letting you forget it and then sending swirling tendrils out to keep you just ever slightly on edge, its dissonances and sinister undertones always lurking below the surface to keep you uneasy without clamoring for your attention. Which is not to say there aren’t beautiful moments too, but they are every bit as haunting and reinforce the ghostly atmosphere instead of undercutting it.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)…Doom Jazz, Ambient
• Perfect for…Any game where you want a haunted, noir-inflected backdrop. Horror games where you want to subtly reinforce the tension and uncanny feelings instead of relying on shrieking violins ala Psycho.
• If you only grab one track, make it…”Skeletal Remains”, which morphes slowly from a slow and sad piano, saxophone duet into something decidedly sinister with the addition of haunting and echoey synths and a switch from smooth saxophone style to one that conveys a barely restrained frenzy at times.