Creepy Music/Soundtracks

[Murongo]

Hey, our group recently started a Call of Cthulu campaign. We always like to have music to match our campaigns, but its tough with creepy/scary ambience music, because its not something you just run to best buy for. Right now I have:
Silent hill music
Oblivion dungeon themes (not creepy in the game but try them on their own, they can be pretty ominous)
Some of the songs off Pink Floyd's "saucerful of secrets"

Does anyone have any ideas for other music? The music itself shouldn't be scary, like random loud noises or anything, just looking for dissetling ambience kind of stuff. Obviously since its call of cthulu, a darker theme is preffered.

[Indoril]

Silent Hill is good. Never played Oblivion.

Resident Evil background music can be unnerving, and some of the dungeon music from the Bhallspawn Saga (Baldur's Gate, Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate 2, and Throne of Bhall) can be pretty creepy too.

Some stuff from the later levels of the original DOOM games would work also. Specifically the music from levels where you actually started descending into Hell.

[Karsh]

Yuki Kajiura. She's a Japanese composer who comes up with some pretty haunting melodies. I recommend "Chiisaki Doukeshi" in particular.

[Amotis]

Ah, we had this same problem. I recommend Schoenberg (a 20th century german composer). His tonal stuff is more ambiance (especially the very nice 'Grave' movements) and this atonal stuff is very unsettling to anyone who hasn't had much experiance to 12-tone music.

Godspeed You! Black Emporer is a good choice, dark and moving ambiance. So is Mogwai's Happy Music for Happy People album, whos' title is one of the most ironic things ever.

[mikeejimbo]

There is a group called "Midnight Syndacite," or something along those lines, that produces creepy music that they advertise is good for Call of Cthulhu campaigns. One of my copies of one of their albums is on loan to my RPG group.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn O))). They are drony music with an incredible atmosphere and ambiance, and the members of the band will go to crazy lengths to get the sound right (on one of their albums the locked a claustrophobic black metal singer in a coffin to get the sound of voices beyond the grave)

[Folie]

I like the music on Mannheim Steamroller's Halloween album. Some of the songs on that are electronic versions of classical pieces, but others are pure ambiance, so I highly recommend those.

[GolemsVoice]

I found a track on the internet, on the site of a band called Summoning, which is from the band Grabesmond. It is called "In diesem schwindenden Licht". Pretty scary, if you set it to the right ambience. And it is 20 minutes long.
And, if you can somehow get that, take some music of the age you are playing (works best with music of the 20s, I think), and somehow change it. Imagine a house full of beheaded corpses, only the grammophone still repeating part of some happy song, because somone fell on it. Kinda like the music from the Fallout I Intro.

[Thomas]

Midnight Syndicate is very gothic music; I'd only use it for Ravenloft, never CoC.

For CoC, we always play a Blair Witch 2 soundtrack CD on repeat, very very quiet. It's weird nature ambient music, unintrusive and mood-setting. (This one - the other soundtrack has different music that I'm not so fond of.) We've also used a Twin Peaks soundtrack CD, but I think that one didn't go over as well.

The Requiem for a Dream soundtrack is great - very creepy. The Vidoqc movie music is very good, too. From Hell's music is a bit more gothic and Ravenloft-y, but might still suit you. The Eyes Wide Shut soundtrack CD has several good songs, but several inappropriate ones, too - you'd have to make sure to only play the appropriate ones.

[mikeejimbo]

I like the music on Mannheim Steamroller's Halloween album. Some of the songs on that are electronic versions of classical pieces, but others are pure ambiance, so I highly recommend those.

Oh yeah, and if you play the sound effects CD that comes with it as well, then you'll have even more ambiance!

[Golthur]

Do a Google for "dark ambient mp3", that'll get you what you want.

Some Aphex Twin works well for me, as do a bunch of freebies I got of the internet from indie bands. Just make sure you use something that's more or less background noise - no vocals, no overpowering melody, just a level of unsettling noise running in the background.

[Talyn]

This is more "action" than "creepy," but I've used the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack to good effect in my game.

[Truffles]

first song in coheed and cambrias newest cd. Keeping the blade
Thriller- michael jackson. Just make the skeletons dance.

[valadil]

Try out a band called Sephiroth. They record the nightscape in primevil forests and play tribal drums over that sound. Very atmospheric and creepy. Some albums get a little more industrial than that but I'm they have some material that fits what you're looking for.

[mikeejimbo]

first song in coheed and cambrias newest cd. Keeping the blade
Thriller- michael jackson. Just make the skeletons dance.

This is an excellent plan.

The PCs are surrounded by dark hooded cultists (It's Call of Cthulhu, there's gotta be dark hooded cultists), and you start playing a track. It has a low drumming sound, which rises in volume and tempo, and other instruments join in, building to a crescendo. As the cultists close in on the players, the music gets louder and louder, and then suddenly the head cult-leader comes in and holds up his hands. There is a loud crash, and a sudden halt in the music.

Then he takes off his hood. It's Michael Jackson! Thriller starts playing and everyone dances.

[Thomas]

Try out a band called Sephiroth. They record the nightscape in primevil forests and play tribal drums over that sound. Very atmospheric and creepy. Some albums get a little more industrial than that but I'm they have some material that fits what you're looking for.

I think you mean primeval, but where the heck do they find one of those? A forest that's existed since... what do we count as the "first age" ? The dinosaurs?

[Amotis]

Maybe the petrafied wood gives it a darker feeling?

[mikeejimbo]

I think you mean primeval, but where the heck do they find one of those? A forest that's existed since... what do we count as the "first age" ? The dinosaurs?

Nah, they just use time machines to record their music in the past.

[Mr Horse]

The Unquiet Void - "Poisoned Dreams"
Camanecroszcope - "Echoes ov who lieth dead but ever dreameth"
Fantômas - "Delerium Cordia"
Herbst9 - "Eta Carinae"
Inade - "The Crackling Of The Anonymous"
Anything by Lustmord
Trent Reznor's Quake soundtrack

Especially the first two are excellent for Cthulhu related stuff - i mean, both The Unquiet Void and Camanecroszcope are basically "Cthulhu" bands. EEEVIL STUFF. Cultists chanting, doomy, textured soundcapes and menacing, multi-layered arabian choir galore!

I'll also second the Sephiroth suggestion, and basically a lot of Cold Meat Industry related bands such as Atrium Carceri, Memorandum, Arcana, Maschinenzimmer 412 (MZ.412)/Nordvargr/Goatvargr, BDN, IRM, In Slaughter Natives etc

and if you want to get into the really heavy classics, stuff like Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey, Psychic TV (esp. Cathedral Engine) and Coil isn't bad for something like this either...

hmm...
and then there's stuff like
Squaremeter / M2's latest album (i forget the name), Troum, Kraken, Crno Klank, Okkulth, Stratvm Terror and Cordell Klier

Depending on your setting, you might also want to check out
Dead Hollywood Stars
Earth
Khanate
Black Dice
Bereft
Stephen O'Malley's solo work
Philth
Cevin Key
Mental Destruction
Wolf Eyes
Mindflayer
Duncan Avoid
Kobe
Hecate
Horologium
Opaque
Ars Moriendi

erm. I guess this list is extremely long. If you want to know anything specific about any of the bands/albums i mentioned, just ask.

[mikeejimbo]

E Nomine can be pretty creepy, especially if you know Latin or German. But in that case, it would probably be distracting and less like the background music you'd like.

Speaking of Latin, there seems to be a lot of it in this thread.

[YPU]

I found that while playing midnight syndicate’s official rolpaying music adding in a track from advent children, the one from the final face of. Although the song has “sephirot” in it, its very darkly gothic and gives a feeling of doom and despair. Great for a final battle. Ow and while playing a cthulu campaign the pc’s should probably die or go insane during the final face of. What system and sourcebook are you using by the way?

[F.H. Zebedee]

The first Big O OST has some GREAT music for Cthulu, with very dramatic cues and a good "Dark Revelation" vibe. Just need to make a playlist or something instead of just popping it in though, because if one thing ruins in ambience, it's "BIG O BIG O BIG O BIG O BIG O!" randomly blaring out of the speakers when you're trying to be serious. (personal experience here.) The second one is also good, but has less of the dark, horror vibe tracks. (I think they're like $10 each on Amazon, IIRC.)

Good tracks on the first one:
Stoning, Name of God, The Storm, Spirit, Apparel (very odd one), The Great, False, Touch, Weep For, The Process, Sin

[Thomas]

Ow and while playing a cthulu campaign the pc’s should probably die or go insane during the final face of.

That's the old, dull way. Kind of makes it hard to play a campaign. It's fine for one-offs, but campaign games tend to assume most of the PCs make it.

[YPU]

That's the old, dull way. Kind of makes it hard to play a campaign. It's fine for one-offs, but campaign games tend to assume most of the PCs make it.

True, but its rather anti cthulu that after facing the before named old one any sentient creature comes out alive, let alone sane. Although the original story does suggest that using modern technology one can get away but will spend the rest of his live as a madman.

[John_D]

The Dawn of the Dead soundtrack (I'm thinking the original here) goes here there and everywhere in terms of mood, but keeps the overall feeling that at some point things are going to go very very wrong.

Did anyone else here get Aluminium? It was a collection of White Stripes songs reworked for orchestra. To be honest the almost-title track Aluminum is the only one that would fit the bill for this, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[Lord Sidereal]

Anything by mastadon, but that may be to fast.

[Thomas]

True, but its rather anti cthulu that after facing the before named old one any sentient creature comes out alive, let alone sane. Although the original story does suggest that using modern technology one can get away but will spend the rest of his live as a madman.

Actually, if you look at the two actual Lovecraftian archetypes of or models for Call of Cthulhu adventures - The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and The Dunwich Horror - you'll notice that the protagonists do, indeed, survive and "win," because they are not tempted by forbidden knowledge. (The same is true of many other Lovecraft stories.) Destruction in CoC, as in other games, should be wrought by played/character choices, not the overwhelming odds. In CoC, the choices have to be even more careful and the bad consequences are even more horrible, but the same principles apply.

[mikeejimbo]

Actually, if you look at the two actual Lovecraftian archetypes of or models for Call of Cthulhu adventures - The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and The Dunwich Horror - you'll notice that the protagonists do, indeed, survive and "win," because they are not tempted by forbidden knowledge. (The same is true of many other Lovecraft stories.) Destruction in CoC, as in other games, should be wrought by played/character choices, not the overwhelming odds. In CoC, the choices have to be even more careful and the bad consequences are even more horrible, but the same principles apply.

Eek, my character is screwed then.

"Spells? Hell yeah! I'll teach you this one for that one... are you sure you don't want Unspeakable Oath? I could use Summon Chosen of Hastur"

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Might I humbly suggest finding some circa 1920's tunes? Especially if the recordings of them you find sound like they're being played on an old turntable.

It's unnerving to hear that when you find unspeakable horrors.

[Amotis]

Might I humbly suggest finding some circa 1920's tunes? Especially if the recordings of them you find sound like they're being played on an old turntable.

It's unnerving to hear that when you find unspeakable horrors.

I suggest you stay away from irony. We tried this and it just killed the mood.

I also suggest staying away from anything with metal in the title unless it's post-metal, as acutal songs will become a distraction.