Recommendations for Ambient Music

By Arcdestroyer, in Black Crusade Game Masters

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I am a new GM and I really want to impress upon my new players a sense of bleakness, despair and horror that is the Warhammer 40K universe. It is my hope use music to help draw players into the setting and keep them immersed. I haven't done a lot of digging, but so far I have found that the new Evil Dead 2013 soundtrack and even the video game Dead Space soundtrack lends itself well to the ambience I'm shooting for. Maybe even John Carpenter's The Thing soundtrack might work. I'd love to hear any further recommendations for what others have found works for their game sessions.

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This may seem an odd suggestion, but since it isn't just bleakness, despair and horror, but actually Dark Ages in Space bleakness, despair and horror, maybe Gregorian chant?

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Found Space Marine the soundtrack for the Warhammer 40k it has tracks that are great for ambient music too.

Edited by Arcdestroyer
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I'd suggest Battlestar Galactica - the soundtrack has great drums and quite a few scenes that can be used for the scifi as well as the supernatural aspects of a Black Crusade game.

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Personally, I use anything from Two Steps from Hell. They used to make movie soundtracks; but split off on their own and now make great albumns of pure symphonic majest. Go hit them up on youtube to sample the tracks; you won't go wrong.

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I like to get either really arrhythmic techno or big bass doom/drone and turn it down to just the edge of hearing. This way it doesn't overpower conversation, but there are no truly silent moments, and there is always a feeling of something happening just out of sight.

I played this during the first session of my campaign:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6NChw3LiY&list=PL1yYEMwtFZHNP6hwp1lgEEQqkfFXIeqcS

I used this for yesterday's session:

http://sunn.bandcamp.com/album/the-iron-soul-of-nothing

I try to mix in less stressful songs for normal sessions, but for the whole time that the players are exploring a hollow mountain that is actually an ancient Yu'Vath facility, it will be Sunn O))) the whole evening.

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Two Steps From Hell indeed, UncleSickey. Two Steps From Hell indeed.

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if you can find it, the sound track from dawn of war 2 works really well.

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During warp travel/on-ship sessions I play 'Toxic', by Brittany Spears, on repeat at a very low volume in the background.

Players get a little twitchy around the edges, just like PCs would during warp travel.

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Hi:

Some ideas:

LUSTMORD

NOX ARCANA

ARCANA ( Serpent Rouge )

DEAD CAN DANCE

SWANS (early & latest)

DEVIN TOWNSEND

NILE

DIMMU BORGIR/MORBID ANGEL

OST CONAN THE BARBARIAN (in planet, in Vortex)

BLACK SABBATH 13

...

HtH!

L

Lest I forget

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the bear and the maiden fair :)

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if you don't like rock and roll horror soundtracks then us villan songs like

be prepared

friends on the other side

poor unfortunate souls (original or otherwise)

red wedding rains of castamere insturmental

and other tvtropes villain songs.

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ps and in the dark of the night anastagia movie

sorry only know movies and tv mostly.

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I like to use,

Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell Album

Anything DIO

Skyrim Full OST

Nox Arcana

God of War

Game of Thrones

Edited by Drama
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two steps from hell, immediate music, most music from 40k games, gregorian chanting and the deadspace/borderlands sound tracks are all staples for me

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Nick Cave - stuff like Red Right Hand, Tupelo, Up Jumped the Devil

Bauhaus - pretty much anything

some of Tom Waits's stuff, like Underground or Just The Right Bullets

If you can find it, a lot of E Nomine's stuff is really good - German techno with Latin chanting. Try Vater Unser, Im Zeichen Des Zodiaks, Heilig, or Deine Welt.