Epic Music needed.

[joe]

So, next weekend my party is going to, for the first time meet with the great evil of my campaign world. Basically, he's a powerful demon who is ascending to earth after being imprisoned for thousands of years.

In anycase, I want to make his ascension as dramatic as possible.

I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for music that would fit a scene of a powerful world-destroying hell-beast ascending to earth. Preferably something with ominous chanting and starts soft but pulls into a dramatically upbeat after a brief period.

Also, I want to avoid anything too familiar. I think it'll come off more cheesy than epic if I use something that the group knows well. Because of this, I'm direly avoiding "O Fortuna" and "One Winged Angel" (Sephiroth's Theme)

This aside, any ideas? Any suggestions would be welcome really. ^_^

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antarctica is full of ominousness, with some good scary bits. Especially Part III, Landscape, which brings in a massive blast of cathedral organ at about 9 minutes.
Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (either part, they both follow similar patterns) has a nice build up to loud, mad scary and dangerous sounding music - it's all about human sacrifice, too.

[ChurchillSalmon]

He Who Brings the Night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep5Ly6nfl9c)

[dsmiles]

Lux Aeterna (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Ma4BvMUwU) is awesome, but no chanting...

[Scorpions__]

Epic Meal Time on Youtube has some really good music during their eating montages.

Avatar has a pretty amazing soundtrack, as does Lord of the Rings.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra may have some music that would be appropriate.

And of course 300 has some pretty epic music, as does Troy.






DM[F]R

[joe]

You guys are amazing. Thanks! ^_^

[JamesonCourage]

ES Posthumus' Arise or Unstoppable might be fitting.

Two Steps From Hell - White Witch has some choir in it, so you might like it, though I'd say the buildup is minimal. He Who Brings The Night is okay, but I personally strongly dislike the twist in music at about 1:17, though you might like it (it is, after all, based on taste). You can also try Destiny of Mankind, it might be what you're looking for.

[Radar]

Beginning of Ship of Luna (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiSd6XmD8Mk) is quite good.

Legacy of Kain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZnKMYdt40Q&feature=related) could serve the purpose as well (no chanting though).

Vision of Escaflowne has some choice epic music pieces: 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVdMQUrYlk4&feature=related), 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydo7Y4CljYc&feature=related), 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSlNHi6wgQQ).

There are also compositions like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi8vJ_lMxQI), or that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOCEvBGF7GI&feature=related) (both really good).

[some guy]

You could use the OST of Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness for the build up.

Forest of the dead/Graveyard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H63hFQNv1xE&feature=related) could be used for building pre-tension. Skeletor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9AWFW_vtCw&feature=related) maybe for the moment just before the final moment. Heroes are in a hurry, cultists preparing etc. etc.

On a different note, Building the deathcoaster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBXU1kckSdQ&feature=related)/ The Deathcoaster/ Manly Men should be the theme for every adventuring party.

[The J Pizzel]

There's a band I've recently found called Epica. They have a lot of symphonic sound to them, but their clearly heavy metal. My wife thinks they sound like a movie soundtrack.

[Derjuin]

Moving Mountains (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjlBCAx6330&feature=related) by Two Steps from Hell?

[slaydemons]

Lux Aeterna (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Ma4BvMUwU) is awesome, but no chanting...

this is indeed an epic song and i was going to suggest it until i saw you had damn you and your epicness

[supermonkeyjoe]

I recommend Gustav Holst's The planets- Mars, the bringer of war. There's no chanting but it's incredibly subtle and pretty perfect as background music :smallwink:

There's a sample on the wikipedia page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Planets

I also like Uranus :smallcool:

[nhbdy]

Nox arcana's Legions of darkness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmSseTq37Rs they also have a lot of other great background music to use, I'd check them out if I were you.

[Arutema]

I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for music that would fit a scene of a powerful world-destroying hell-beast ascending to earth. Preferably something with ominous chanting and starts soft but pulls into a dramatically upbeat after a brief period.

Allow me to recommend Awakening the Chaos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ZXAxr5hF4) from the BlazBlue series.

From the same series there is also Sword of Doom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5GERga8qnE), though it is less slow-building.

[grimbold]

on the LOTR soundtrack you should find something
i cant give a specific song but the soundtrack has a lot of variety

[flabort]

If you just want epic music, look up the band Crush 40. I like it, at least. Recent discovery of mine.

For epic villain music... I've got nothing.

[Dr.Epic]

LotR or something from Space Odyssey. Maybe something from 300 or the Matrix trilogy.

[Yora]

Legacy of Kain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZnKMYdt40Q&feature=related) could serve the purpose as well (no chanting though).
Man, I have to dig this game out again once I finished Dragon Age. :smallamused:

I also like to recommend Mantis Hymn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvqyR3BG24s) on occassions like this.
I actually think the MGS1 version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMasLUmBzkc&feature=related) is better than the one from MGS4, but that one is a bit dated with its synthetic PS1 sound. Mantis Hymn 2008 does much more appeal to our modern standards of awesome music.

[Frozen_Feet]

A list of songs I have used, or would use, in similar situation:

Judas Rising (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jazmdoxlpY)
Hellrider (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDfOiHHXf28)
Schwarze Sonne (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFROltjS7Ws)
Now, Until the Moment You Die (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHkQfzsvh5E)
Unlaced (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn5RaYO4e9M)
Whisper of Apocalypse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NArFIVt9t1Y&feature=related)
Whatever this song's called (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OJhZ8PQj-U)

[Edan]

Don't forget a few "classics" (pun intended).

Verdi; Requiem, Dies Irae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDFFHaz9GsY)

My personal Favorite Mozart- Dies Irae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1C-GXQ1LdY&NR=1)

Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o) (the video is pretty cool too).

[Mr.Bookworm]

Crimson King (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CFMQtwIwCQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcV7 BYSxsKhw&ei=JNZaTfnEEtCjtgfzupXUCw&usg=AFQjCNGIN2cCbpUAC9r2k0Yf-k2yhTf4Dw), and lots of other stuff (readily available on Youtube) by Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, and Wizards and Demons. A lot of power metal, really.

[Choco]

A lot of good suggestions, but a problem I have run into when trying to do the same thing is that the better and more appropriate the music is for this kinda scene, the harder it is to actually work INTO the scene. Unlike a movie, where they can show the ascension with the music playing, you gotta talk over the music to describe the scene. So either the music is drowning you out, or it's gotta be in the background, or you pause the game just to listen to the song. And loud world-shattering music don't do well in the background...

[Frozen_Feet]

Video game music is actually a good option exactly because of that - it's, to a point, "meant" to be drowned out by other sound effects.

Still, if you're going to use music, don't think about it too much. Just put a track on play and keep talking. For dramatic impact, lower your voice and keep a few dramatic pauses so the music sounds through.

Keep volume control handy so you can fade the music away if the situation suddenly goes from dramatic to goofy. Have Yakety Sax ready as a back-up track.

[flabort]

Or some sort of heroic music on hand if the mood goes from 'impending apocalypse' to 'Big Bad Heroes', or whatever.

[Radar]

(...)
I actually think the MGS1 version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMasLUmBzkc&feature=related) is better than the one from MGS4, but that one is a bit dated with its synthetic PS1 sound. Mantis Hymn 2008 does much more appeal to our modern standards of awesome music.
IMO it's partialy nostalgia. It's the same reason I prefer my old DOS games with crude MiDi sound without samples - that's the way I remember them. I mean, how can this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHMeYxSFNm0&feature=related) be not epic?


(...)
Whisper of Apocalypse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NArFIVt9t1Y&feature=related)
Whatever this song's called (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OJhZ8PQj-U)
From Bleach I'd rather choose this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7LsaOKQc0E&feature=related) or that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKV6lx9crAs&feature=related). Which reminds me of another very popular anime with good soundtrack - this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbiCw779b2I&feature=related) would be right for some epic enemy. Those obviously can only be used effectively, if none of the players watches the shows, otherwise it will distract them too much.

Alternatively this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Q0y-Alw3g&feature=related) piece (more precisely starting at 1:40) would scare the living hell out of anyone, who did watch Slayers series.

Another interesting choice out of a less known (at least now) anime, would be Mutation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evcmsR57Xo4) from Akira.

[Chaos rising]

There is actually a user on youtube who creates mixes of epic music from videogames and movies. Just go on youtube and type epic music and several of them should come up.