Monday, February 12, 2018

Weird Fantasy Musical To-Do List

So I've really been into the band Comus lately. Specifically, I picked up Song to Comus: The Complete Collection, which I believe includes almost all of their work, after listening to some of their music on Youtube. And oh boy, did First Utterance knock my socks off, presumably leaving them in a muddy crevice somewhere in the woods for a creepy little girl to find while she's off communing with unwholesome cosmic spirits. As previously mentioned, I've also been greatly enjoying Swans for a little while now, and I've been trying to use spooky and weird music here and there as both background music while gaming and a general source of game-related inspiration.

I've also been collecting music recommendations from strange places like the Lamentations of the Flame Princess community, the TV Tropes Nightmare Fuel page, and this video from Youtube reviewer Grim Beard.

The point is, I want to listen to some new stuff. Especially some odd stuff, and some scary stuff, and some gloomy stuff. Stuff that fits in well with horror or weird/dark fantasy gaming, or even just fantasy or science fiction gaming in general. So here's my musical to-do list. If, for some reason, you need a d50 table of bands your priest probably wouldn't approve of, here you go. If you have any suggestions, hey, why don't we make it a d100 table?
  1. Agalloch - The Mantle
  2. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde
  3. Amebix - No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings
  4. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Try Not to Destroy Everything You Love
  5. Black Sabbath (I mean, I enjoy their greatest hits CD, but I should probably check out their actual full albums, you know?)
  6. Briton Rites - For Mircalla
  7. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Mettallicus
  8. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
  9. Coldworld - Autumn
  10. Cradle of Filth
  11. Curved Air
  12. The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
  13. Dream Theater
  14. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
  15. Frank Zappa
  16. Gallowbraid - Ashen Eidolen
  17. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
  18. Gentle Giant
  19. Godspeed You! Black Emperor (I really enjoy Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, and I'm thinking I'll probably try Luciferian Towers next.)
  20. The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li
  21. GWAR
  22. Hawkwind
  23. Iggy Pop
  24. Jess and the Ancient Ones
  25. Jethro Tull
  26. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
  27. Locrian - Return to Annihilation
  28. Nadja - Radiance of Shadows
  29. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
  30. Om - Pilgrimage
  31. Opeth
  32. Pink Floyd (I like The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, so I figure I should see what else they've done.)
  33. Reverend Bizarre
  34. Sahg - Sahg I
  35. Samael - Ceremony of Opposites
  36. Slayer - Reign in Blood
  37. Sleep
  38. Sunn O)))
  39. The Sword - Age of Winters
  40. Throbbing Gristle
  41. Tool
  42. Tom Waits (I have Bone Machine, but I need to get more of his work, or at least a copy of Real Gone.)
  43. Upwards of Endtime - Sadly Never Fore
  44. Van der Graff Generator
  45. Vattnet - Settler
  46. Vintersorg - Orkan
  47. Witchfinder General
  48. Wolves in the Throne Room
  49. Wreck & Reference - Want
  50. Yes
If an album title is listed, that's probably where I'll start with that band, before moving on to their other work if I end up liking them. If no album is listed, then I'm probably not sure exactly where to begin yet.
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8 comments:

  1. MagusFebruary 12, 2018 at 4:36 PM

    I personally go for generally heavier stuff than much of this, but I can say that (in particular) Alcest is fantastic. (Especially later albums, like "Les Voyages de l'Ame" or "Shelter")

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    1. Justin StewartFebruary 12, 2018 at 5:19 PM

      Cool! I'll probably check them out sooner rather than later, then. And if you have any recommendations, no matter how "heavy" or "light," I'd be glad to hear them.

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    2. MagusMarch 29, 2018 at 6:05 PM

      Sorry to necro. Haven't been on.
      Also sorry for the tone of my previous comment: it sounds, and is, SUPER pretentious. (I will try again.)
      I try to use music during gaming when I can, but it's usually pretty subdued stuff (except during combat, haha). So, I'll start with some of what I actually use during play, then some stuff that I wouldn't use during an actual game but is sort of game-inspiring, and finally some stuff I just like!

      For the table:
      Thom Brennan - Mist (ambient)
      Jeremy Soule's Skyrim Soundtrack
      Apocryphos, Kammarheit, and Atrium Carceri - Onyx (dark ambient)
      Ulver - Riverhead (ambient/soundtrack)
      Instanpitta - Exiled (medieval)
      Lustmord - The Word as Power (dark ambient/classical)
      Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (ambient)
      Sinke Dûs - Akrasia (dark ambient)
      Northumbria - Helluland (ambient)
      Desiderii Marginis - Hypnosis (dark ambient)
      Aythis - The Illusion and the Twin (medieval/ambient)
      Hammock - Mysterium (neo-classical/ambient)

      For thinking about gaming:
      Insomnium - Winter's Gate (melodic death metal)
      If These Trees Could Talk - Red Forest (post-rock/post-metal)
      Ovid's Withering - Scryers of the Ibis (progressive death metal)
      Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side (melodic death metal)
      Monuments - The Amanuensis (djent)
      Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - Nachthexen (stoner doom metal)
      Be'lakor - Vessels (melodic death metal)
      This Will Destroy You - Self-Titled (post-rock)
      Black Tongue - The Unconquerable Dark (downtempo deathcore)
      Legacy of Vydar - A Hundred Miles (melodic death metal)

      Stuff I just like:
      Astronoid - Air (???)
      Orbit Culture - Rasen (progressive/melodic death metal)
      Trna - Lose Yourself to Find Peace (post-metal)
      Modern Day Babylon - The Ocean Atlas (djent)
      Erra - Augment (progressive metalcore)
      Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails (progressive death metal)
      Bury Tomorrow - Runes (metalcore)
      Fit for an Autopsy - The Great Collapse (deathcore)
      Mgła - Exercises in Futility
      Dan Terminus - The Wrath of Code (synthwave)
      Toxic Holocaust - Chemistry of Consciousness (thrash)

      Whoops, I was thinking just like 3 or 5 of each. Oh well. xP

      Delete
    3. Justin StewartApril 5, 2018 at 9:26 PM

      I don't mind a "necro" post. I'm just happy to have a conversation about stuff I enjoy. And I don't think you were too pretentious, but I appreciate your courtesy. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely keep them in mind.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 15, 2018 at 1:59 AM

    Hi Justin. First of all !THANK YOU! for mentioning "Comus". I never heard of them, currently listen to a few tracks and find them WONDERFUL. I will buy the album.

    In regard to your search for music (and if it has to be music rather than RPG mp3 tracks) try songs from "Shanghai Lily Dublin" (especially "Angel Band" and "Apocalypse"), so might find them rather tame compared to "Comus". Another band I like to recommend is "Rasputina" (listen to "Gingerbread Coffin" and "Transylvanian Concubine"). Medivial-themed music can be provided by "Faith and the Muse", so I guess only their songs "Cernunnos" and "iago´s demise" are weird enough for you =). From the Finish band "Angelit" you may like "Virtual Áigi". They often sing in an old dialect of their language (that even some born there do not understand), this track is dark and glooming (the others are often very joyful).

    In regard to sountracks, the OST to the movie "Only Lovers Left Alive" has some good tracks (other are..well, not to my taste).

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    Replies
    1. Justin StewartFebruary 16, 2018 at 1:27 AM

      Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely add them to my list. And I'm glad you're enjoying Comus. Their album First Utterance makes me actually want to try playing a druid in D&D...a creepy, merciless druid, obsessed with "nature, red in tooth and claw" as Tennyson put it.

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    2. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2018 at 2:24 PM

      Before I forget it... listen to "Weg nach unten" from the German (Fun)-Band "Knorrkator". It has a nice, slow pace and since your fellow are unlikely to understand the German language, it might be creepy for them =)

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    3. Justin StewartFebruary 18, 2018 at 9:00 PM

      Will do! Thanks.

      Delete

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