To soothe the savage player
by Amanda Rivera 
Oct 30th 2007 at 1:03PM
Recently Blizzard added a lot of great new music tracks to the game, but some of my personal favorites happen to be the older, traditional compositions if you will. I have actually found myself missing the old Inn music, despite getting the new tracks stuck playing in my head (as is happening at this very moment, as a matter of fact.) As much as I am in love with the Lament of the Highborne, I find the music in Auberdine to be equally stirring.
Perhaps it's the simple fact that I know the original music so well. My characters grew up with that music, and it seems strange to walk into a place and hear something unfamiliar. I suppose music makes me more nostalgic than I realized.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Nails Oct 30th 2007 1:11PM
being undead, the music of the undercity always beings me back to memories of level 20-30
ah, good times
the best memory ive had with WoW music, though, is definitely while playing on a trial account for the first time ever, being level 3 or 4 or something, and walking into stormwind for the first time. wow that was cool
adamj Oct 30th 2007 1:13PM
I've had the music turned off for over 2 years. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever heard any music in any zones higher than STV or so.
Tufnel Oct 30th 2007 1:13PM
My hands-down favorite piece of music plays in Terrokar Forest. It is a slow series of chords rich in, but also very careful in its treatment of dissonance--it reminds me very much of the earlier organ works of Olivier Messiaen.
Then, a melodic line appears over a second statement of the chords, which seems to be a variation of the second theme from the title music (both original and BC).
Heraclea Oct 30th 2007 1:13PM
I'm rather fond of the "orc" music that plays in places such as Zeth'Gor, with the male chorus that sings "Gooh! Gaah" or whatever it is.
Worst music ever, though: Brewfest.
vyndreen Oct 30th 2007 1:14PM
Currently I'm feeling that the music in Terrokar is my favorite. It's menacing, yet important-sounding, if that is possible.
Pre-BC: definitely Shadowprey village in Desolace. (i'm sure this music is elsewhere, but it was my first introduction to it)
Brasson Oct 30th 2007 1:17PM
Brewfest, the wah-wah trombone version of the login screen music. Always brings a smile to my face.
Todd Oct 30th 2007 1:18PM
The Bone Wastes in Terrokar Forest is one of the most beautiful, and haunting, music in the game.
Todd Oct 30th 2007 1:19PM
Bump!
Chris Anthony Oct 30th 2007 1:20PM
My favorite WoW music, hands down, is the Thunder Bluff theme. In second is the Song of Elune from the soundtrack, which is a beefed-up version of the Teldrassil music.
I say this, however, never really having paid attention to the music in Outland - but then, since Jason Hayes left, the music really hasn't been the same. On the other hand, if I understand correctly, David Arkenstone has been working on some of the recent music (such as the Darkmoon Faire and the new tavern themes), so I'll need to pay more attention to them, too...
vtwenning Oct 30th 2007 1:23PM
The music that plays in the winter areas like the Dwarf starting zones and Winterspring. It really gives a feeling of being alone in the cold wilderness. You can download it here: http://www.fileplanet.com/116750/110000/fileinfo/Ironforge-Music
This says its Ironforge music, but its not.
Anyway, it amazes me that there is music this good in a game this size. Especially since most people don't even listen to it.
Candina@WH Oct 30th 2007 2:03PM
Worst Music -- Barrens. Simply because as a new player it took me a month of playing to figure out, hey! I can turn this off...
Buckshot Oct 30th 2007 1:24PM
I used to dig the Stormwind music, but now it's turned off, it gets to repetitive. I always listen to xm40 Deep Tracks, xm7 the 70's, or xm51 XM Music Lab on the PC while playing. They need to add a mp3 player in game, that would be deluxe.
me Oct 30th 2007 1:29PM
I was just thinking of this last night.
I think my favorite music is in the night elf newbie area. I think partially because I like the slow haunting feel, and partially because it reminds me of when I first started play.
Buckshot Oct 30th 2007 1:27PM
I used to dig the Stormwind music, but now it's turned off, it gets to repetitive. I always listen to xm40 Deep Tracks, xm7 the 70's, or xm51 XM Music Lab on the PC while playing. They need to add a mp3 player in game, that would be deluxe.
Buckshot Oct 30th 2007 1:28PM
bah, f'ing double post
Bolus Oct 30th 2007 1:32PM
I've never heard any music beyond the intro screen and first zone music. I've had it off since launch and generally listen to last.fm or my own music while playing. I don't know how WoW music could even compete with custom radio stations.
So my favorite in game music is out of the game. I think the only game I've played with music on in the last year was Metroid Prime 3.
Vad Oct 30th 2007 1:36PM
Please don't send links that require users to sign up for stuff. As for music, I am liking the instance music from Diablo...now thats nostalgia.
Ghen Oct 30th 2007 1:36PM
My music settings are at about 10%. Just enough to be present but not truly audible.
Kiero Oct 30th 2007 7:37PM
To this day, I still wish they'd invest more time into lengthening the music tracks for the various locations. The music that's there is pretty good, but it really is too short for the amount of time spent in the locations. As such it gets repetitive and a lot of people just turn the music off, which is a shame.
Another thing I hope Blizz does eventually is implement event-driven music, ie. something that plays when a group engages another in pvp, or when a raid starts a boss fight. I've been playing a lot of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess recently, and what happens in that game is that there is some music that plays as you're wandering around, but when you engage an enemy, slightly more aggressive music starts playing. Something like that would be a wicked addition to WoW, I think. It would certainly make me turn on the music again.
To answer the question in this post though, my favourite piece of music in the game would have to be in Stormwind.. it's just so epic! But way too short... it feels unfinished, somehow.
My least favourite would have to be the stuff that plays in places like the Barrens... probably because of the time spent there... it's so repetitive!
Vestras Oct 30th 2007 1:57PM
I often have vent on so I keep in game sound turned off, or I am listening to my own music, so sound effects are on, but music is off. I feel I have missed soem good stuff reading some of this...Maybe I will try that today.