A Hundred Albums? Part 6
| Written by: | Darkside Momo |
| Published: | November 28, 2017 |
Hi everyone!
This sixth article... Well, it's way late. But November is NaNoWriMo month after all, and as it was my first take in partaking in this world writing challenge, it came first. But I did it, and so we can come back to our original schedule
.And well, that's the perfect opportunity to go all soundtracks and geekeries. And by soundtracks I mean as much real soundtracks, as albums that became soundtracks for one or more of my imaginary worlds. And then there's some pure geeky stuff (who said Power Metal?)
As always, they're listed in personal discovery order. Best enjoyed while pen-and-paper roleplaying, obviously!
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Soundtracks and Geekeries
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Soundtracks and Geekeries ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII OST (1997) Simply put, this is a four-and-a-half-hour long madeleine de Proust. This game changed my life, almost twenty years ago, and this soundtrack still boasts impressive tunes. Link: Let's start with a YouTube link. |  |
 | Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side (1995) Did I mention there would be some power metal? Well, I guess Blind Guardian are the quintessential band for fantasy nerds (also see Rhapsody below, of course). Just check the eponymous song and you'll understand why (if you don't already know). Link: another YouTube playlist. |
| Demons And Wizards - Demons & Wizards (1999) Two of the best power metal songwriters and musicians pairing up for a collab? Hell yeah! Filled to the brim with great songs, it has all the power without the cheesiness (hey, even the ballad is good)! Link: one more YouTube upload. |  |
 | Rhapsody (Of Fire) - Power Of The Dragonflame (2002) More refined than Symphony Of Enchanted Lands, a bit darker too, this is a fantastically epic and well written album. What a conclusion to the first half of the saga ! So... " believe it, it's the Dragonflame. " (and I must add that songs from this album and Demons & Wizards found their way on my best DnD campaign soundtrack) Link: yes... YouTube |
Disillusion - Gloria (2006) |
I put these two together because they're both main parts of the perfect soundtrack for a world of mine - one influenced by FF VII among other things, and in which Ulver's Perdition City fits very well too. For both of them, that more or less prevalent industrial edge really gives an urban / post-modern despondant feel, which suits me just fine.
Funilly enough, both have some other things in common - apart of their shared sheer awesomeness, that is. Both are from German bands, and both got reviled because they weren't the death / melodeath average fans were used to - though Gloria did get much less flak than Feel Sorry For The Fanatic... ending in both marking the start of a hiatus for the band.
Anyway, both are albums I would take on a desert island anytime (well, with Odium too).
Link: Feel Sorry For The Fanatic is here on YouTube, and you'll find Gloria on YouTube too!
| Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight OST (2008) That movie! That soundtrack! Link: Here's the enlarged version on YouTube for you! |  |
 | Hawkwind - Warrior On The Edge Of Time (1975) This is not Hawkwind's most famous album... But it's the one I really like. And, even if I'm not a fan, the fact that it's loosely based on the Eternal Warrior stuff by Mickael Moorcock - who did write some lyrics - certainly helps. That, and this old-school 70's vibe, so reminiscent of old D'n'D, too! Link: The full trip is here on YouYube |
| Abney Park - The End Of Days (2010) Abney Park are an electro-goth rock who turned into steampunk music's spearhead. I stumbled into them while reading some Weregeek comments, and I HAD to have one of their albums in there, but which one? I discovered them all at the same time, so the choice wasn't that easy. And while I'd counsel either Aether Shanties (for its sky pirates theme) or Lost Horizons (first half is filled with fantastic songs) for starters, this The End Of Days is clearly my favourite. It's the most somber, and... See my sig in the forums? The song's from here. Link: Here are a few songs on YouTube! |  |
 | Skyclad - Forward Into The Past (2017) While this album won't stand the test of time as 'best Skyclad album ever', it certainly is the best of the Kevin Ridley era. What made it so special for me is that music-wise, I totally hear a return so some old Skyclad roots... And most importantly it has an obvious storytelling bias (as seen in the intro, outro, and the excellent "Words Fail Me"), and it was the only album I listened to while attending this year's Imaginales festival (fantasy litterature ftw!). Link: It's on BandCamp! |
Previously...
Part 5
or start at the beginning here
To be continued... here!
Credits for my pic goes to Nicolas Jahan!
 | Written on 28.11.2017 by Once your regular Hellfest reporter, now retired. I (strangely enough) listen to a lot of metal. And enjoy good beers, comics, novels and role-playing games. |
Comments
Comments: 25
Visited by: 254 users
| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62002  |
Few good bands but BG well wrong albums
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Karlabos Posts: 5735  |
Aww that Hawkwind album is so good. People are gonna go all hate because of classics worship but Hawkwind is far better than Motorhead. Lemmy should have sticked to it Btw Morgoth's youtube link doesn't work :3
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089  |
Written by Karlabos on 29.11.2017 at 02:03 fixed, thanks Well I honestly can't say if Hawkwind are better than Motorhead or not, as they're really different... and I like stuff by both (but you won't find any Motorhead album in my top 100, however). But in the end it was for the best that Lemmy was kicked out of Hawkwind; I mean, who would refuse two great bands instead of just one?
---- My Author's Blog (in French)  "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| Karlabos Posts: 5735 |
Written by [user id=159927] on 29.11.2017 at 02:12 Oh yes. FFVI may not be my favorite as a game but the OST is by far the best Uematsu ever came up with
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by [user id=159927] on 29.11.2017 at 02:12 tbh while Blind Guardian are as classic as it gets in the Power Metal field, their quality tends to be very, very hit and miss (and on the whole more miss than hit if you ask me). But if you didn't like either Imaginations..., Nightfall..., or Somewhere Far Beyond, don't bother. These three are the best they released (but I also have a special place for that oft-maligned Night At The Opera) As for FF7, that's my fave, period. Only after there's FFTactics (huge Matsuno fan here), and FF6 too (fail to save the world? Yep. And Terra's Theme)
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| Desha delicious dish Posts: 817  |
Written by Karlabos on 29.11.2017 at 02:29 I mean most of them hold up to this day, but V and VI are just way above all else imo. (On a barely related note, everyone check out the Silent Hill origins and NieR soundtracks)
---- You are the hammer, I am the nail building a house in the fire on the hill
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by Desha on 01.12.2017 at 08:54 I only know Silent Hill 1 OST, which is one hell of an industrial nightmare. Excellent stuff
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| Desha delicious dish Posts: 817 |
Written by Darkside Momo on 01.12.2017 at 11:01 Yeah but only the first one has that really disturbing oppressing sound to it. The other ones went for a more sad/melancholic sound. The Origins/zero soundtrack I'd describe as "intriguing"
---- You are the hammer, I am the nail building a house in the fire on the hill
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by Desha on 01.12.2017 at 15:20 I'll check those, then!
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| FYA Destroyer Posts: 827  |
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by FYA on 02.12.2017 at 08:40 Yep - and after all I already picked Vagrant Story's too (one that won't make the final 100 cut but that I love a lot is Final Fantasy Tactics's OST too - some songs are average, but there are [url=final fantasy tactics antidote in the snow]true[/url] gems in that one)
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
Love Demons And Wizards but I probably like their second album more  They should release a new album already!Same goes for Blind Guardian, I prefer earlier albums like Somewhere Far Beyond but Imaginations From The Other Side is also very worthy! Their albums are also a bit of a hit and miss for me, but generally good. Great picks though for the power metal realm, even though I never got into Rhapsody Of Fire. Also, I remember listening to Disillusion albums many many years ago and liking them, but I never go back to them for some reason. Anyway, I love the pic of the article eheh
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by BloodTears on 05.12.2017 at 13:17 Agreed for a new album, but tbh I found the second pretty bland Written by BloodTears on 05.12.2017 at 13:17 Then get to it  I'm sure you'll loveBack To Times Of Splendor at the very least Written by BloodTears on 05.12.2017 at 13:17 Good times for sure! Twas taken during the craft beer festival in Toulouse at the end of October - in the glass there' some Improved Old Fashion by Brooklyn Brewery (can't say I was overwhelmed by it, however)
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
I'm kind of an undercover Hawkwind fanatic, love the band and have a ton of their stuff both from their classic 70s era and more recent. Warrior On The Edge Of Time is fantastic, but I slightly prefer Hall Of The Mountain Grill, personally
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 21.12.2017 at 18:54 why be undercover?
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Darkside Momo on 21.12.2017 at 19:06 Just saying they're probably not a band most would expect I'm all that into based off of what my tastes on here suggest, but I actually am quite nuts about them
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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VIG
Account deleted Written by Auntie Sahar on 21.12.2017 at 19:34 I assumed you would like them. You like proggy stuff.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=159927] on 21.12.2017 at 19:36 I like prog that's really psychedelic, spacey, and jammy, which is more characteristic of the early prog of the late 60s and 70s era than anything else. Back then there seemed to be a lot of crossover between the burgeoning prog and psychedelic rock movements, like Pink Floyd are another band that comes to mind along with Hawkwind as one that really tapped heavily into each. You don't really see that fusion as much nowadays
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=159927] on 21.12.2017 at 19:40 I'm sure it's out there to some extent, and Hell, I wouldn't be at all surprised if my ignorance of some of it is just due to the fact that I don't really actively seek out new prog to listen to. Now and then you do get some really cool psychoprog metal bands too, like that's probably why Hail Spirit Noir have left such a strong impression in recent years. They definitely go at both and I remember when I first heard Pneuma I couldn't shake the feeling of "black metal Hawkwind" I had afterwards 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Karlabos Posts: 5735 |
Written by [user id=159927] on 21.12.2017 at 19:40 Bandcamp disagrees
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 21.12.2017 at 19:34 It didn't come unexpected, with all the psychy-trippy stuff you like
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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