Continuing on in our series of background music for role-playing games we look at the Norwegian Black Metal band turned increasingly electronica band Ulver.

Continue reading Music for role-playing games: Ulver

Having music play in the background of a game is a fairly divisive issue – some love it, some hate it. However, I have found that if you pick the right music it can add a real ambiance to the game that players will enjoy. Over the years I have discovered a few bands that are not particularly well known, but are great for background music whilst gaming. This week I am going to write a series of articles highlighting musicians and bands that I have found to work well in a role-playing game environment.

Zoë Keating

I discovered Zoë Keating through a random tweet by @wilw (Wil Wheaton) describing how impressed he was with her music. I thought I would check it out, and I was quite stunned by it. Zoë Keating is a cello player who uses multiple tracks and loops to build up each song. The mood can be quite dark and haunting but always beautiful.

Continue reading Music for role-playing games: Zoë Keating

No really…

Most Australians probably don’t need much of an introduction to the band Tripod, three guys and one guitar who sing funny songs about being, well, three guys with one guitar. They are a regular staple on the comedy circuit and are, despite being very funny, excellent musicians as well.

Well, I will get to the point… I just, out of curiosity just checked out their official website. For anyone who played D&D back in the day (think AD&D 1, 2) their website is going to have you in stitches… I don’t want to ruin the surprise – go check it out here:

Official Tripod Website

For those of you who want a taste of what is to come, here is a sample song on YouTube…

Update: found this too… bloody funny…

There is an edge of scepticism that I always develop when I hear about a strongly themed band. You know the ones – bands themed on horror stories, movies, the matrix, zombies, etc… Usually their only appeal is the theme itself, and the music is, well, kinda sucky. This all changed when I received an email from a friend of mine in the moshpit at PAX (what a wonderful nerdy age we live in…) of a band called The Darkest of Hillside Thickets.

Heavily themed on the writings of HP Lovecraft, these guys have released four albums (The Shadow Out Of Tim, Cthulhu Strikes Back, Spaceship Zero and Great Old Ones). I have heard their album The Shadow Out Of Tim, and I can honestly say its fantastic. The album is that good that my friend who sent the picture above from the concert bought 3 copies of their CD after the show (to give to friends…). For those that don’t believe me – you can download one of their tracks on their website.

These guys really know their stuff. The Shadow Out Of Tim follows the story of a marine biologist who discovers something he shouldn’t – with typical Cthulhu’isc results. The album concludes with a song sung in Egyptian. Yes, that’s right, Egyptian. Not bad for a band from Canada…

The Darkest of Hillside Thickets know two things very very well – their Cthulhu mythos and how to make a great album. There albums are available on iTunes, and I strongly recommend getting them…