Jump to content

Music To Raise The Dead


Black Rose

Recommended Posts

Completely aside from any other ways this title could be used, I'm making a request both here and on the Fantasy Hero sub-board. I'm looking for music that either references (by lyric choices) necromantic concepts and images or evokes the feel of necromancy. I have several songs to which I listen to put me in the proper mood, but I'd love to hear what y'all recommend. Note that I'm posting this at three in the morning, so I'll save making a list of my own until I'm more conscious. :o

 

Thanks to all of you in advance, and for those of you who have good ideas and don't post them :mad::P:thumbdown

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

... Once again, I betray my musical roots in the bombastic rock of the early and mid 1970s....

 

"The Black God Dances with the Enemy Spirits" is off Emerson Lake & Palmer's Works album; I think it's an instrumental arrangement of a piece by Prokoviev, but you can use a piece with a title like that.

 

"Gates of Babylon" by Blackmore's Rainbow Long Live Rock N Roll album isn't quite necromantic; it's more about seduction by the infernal.

 

"E Minor 5/9 Minor/5" by Triumvirat from Mediterranean Tales: (across the waters) is another instrumental which many people feel to be profoundly unsettling (to me, in the way witnessing a necromantic ritual would be unsettling); it's named for the chord which dominates the piece.

 

Much of Vangelis's Heaven and Hell album will feel tormented, in the sense of capturing the lamentations of the damned. Very few lyrics here (though there's lots of nonverbal choral presence).

 

John Fogerty is a more mainstream artist some of whose best work suggests a fascination for catastrophe (Bad Moon Rising and Run Through the Jungle were top 40 hits in his work with Creedence that dwell on this theme); the title cut of his Eye of the Zombie album is a natural for your necromancy theme.

 

Many old English folk songs are pretty bloody-minded and could be interpreted as bumping up against necromancers; many of these were done with rock instrumentation by Steeleye Span, though many musicians who dabble in Celtic music have performed them also. "Little Sir Hugh" is one of these; it is the story of a noble child who is murdered in a black magic (probably necromantic) ritual.

 

Some of these are favorites of mine (listed before here). I haven't thought about necromancy much in my games, or music that would be appropriate for such a campaign; I'll have to look over my collection at home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

"Bella Lugosi's Dead", Bauhaus

 

"Waking the Dead", Suicidal Tendencies

 

"Living Dead Girl" and "Dead Girl Superstar" are just loud and fun, not so much spooky. I used them as the basis for my undead schoolgirl character, Sleepwalker.

 

There are so many more, but I'll be darned if I can think of any without my music collection nearby.

 

[Edit]Now, If your'e *really* hard up for music, I made something about 4 or 5 years ago using Acid Music Pro, some sound effects, and some loops. It's 2 minutes long and about 2.5mb. It's called Thief in the House of the Dead ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

on the classical front...

Danse Macabre, obviously.

 

A Night on Bald Mountain.

 

Holst's The Planets, especially Mars, Bringer of War and Saturn, Bringer of Old Age

 

Carmina Burana has some bits I might be inclined to include.

 

 

On a non-classical front, Cradle of Filth has quite a bit of potentially useable music of a dark and gloomy variety

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

Glenn Danzig's Black Aria is quite good for a necromantic feel. It is Electro-classical, and likely the inspiration for things like Midnight Syndicate and the rest of the synth-gloom genre.

 

Also, track 66, "Invocation" from Danzig's IV album is quite evocative, if more demonic than necromantic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

The Tea Party - Transmission

Laether Strip - the entire Seranade For The Dead album

Skeletal Family - She Cries Alone

Testament - Souls Of Black

C-tec - the Darker album

Controlled Bleeding - In Dark Waters

Ministry - Cannibal Song

Slayer - the South Of Heaven album

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

  • It is Finished, - Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack
  • Poer Natus Est Nobils - the fist song off of Chant. Or really anything by the Monks of Santo Domingo, for the ethereal feel.
  • Shelter from the Storm - Blood on the Tracks, by Boby Dylan. For the reasoning behind the ritual.
  • Pride (In the name of Love) - U2, RAttle and Hum. Another ode to passion and (potential) ressurreciton.
  • The Halleluah Chorus - Handel. For the big moment.
  • The 2001 classical bit - for when the event occurs.
  • Duel of the Fates - for that general, frenzied, classical music feel
  • Blackened - Metallica, And Justice for All - for all your speed metal needs. Also Through the Never (from the Black Album)
  • Break on Through to the Other Side - the Doors, from The Doors
  • Loose Yourself - Eminem, for that "I really HAVE to get this effect off, or else we're screwed" feeling
  • Superman Theme Song and that classical bit from 2001 - for when the event finally occurs.
  • Jurrasic Park Theme Song - well, it was a KIND of technological ressurrection....
  • Take the Power Back, by Rage against the machine - for the justification for the Necromatic ritual
  • Sympathy for the Devil - to show the person behind the ritual
  • Sound of Silence, by Simon&Garfunkel (the original, from Wednesday Morning 3 AM) - for walking the paths of the Dead.
  • Mr. Weegie 2, East 99 Eternal, by Bone Thugs N' Harmony - for the urban shamman feel.

OK, because I had to mention them...

  • Get up, Stand up - Legend, by Bob Marley.
  • Stayin' Alive, by the Bee Gees
  • Another One Bites the Dust, by Queen

 

For a bit more Creepy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

Rebirth, track 13 of the soundtrack album The Mummy by Jerry Goldsmith.

 

This is the music for Imhotep's revival. It is 8 minutes and 33 seconds, and it's highly varied, containing a variety of moods including copious amounts of comic adventure, which suits the movie. It's also very Egyptian-flavored (Hollywood Egyptian, but that is fine for this.)

 

The Crypt, track 8 of the soundtrack album The Mummy by Jerry Goldsmith.

 

At 2 minutes and 33 seconds, this is much more concise and sticks mostly to one mood, which is likely the one you want - provided you want big Egyptian magic.

 

Crowd Control, track 12 of the soundtrack album The Mummy by Jerry Goldsmith.

 

This is great music to get those zombies rolling forward to attack - but only if you think there can never be too much B-movie Hollywood Egyptian cornball bravado in your game, which is exactly what I do think, but that may not suit you.

 

Terminator Revives, track 18 of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day soundtrack album by Brad Fiedel.

 

This is the music for after the terminator has been impaled by the T1000, and he turns back on, drags out the spike that's impaled him, and returns at a crawl to the attack. It's 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and it's simple and crude but tells the right story. Give it a listen, see what you think.

 

Relapse, track 10 of the Voices of Light CD by Anonymous Four.

 

This is the music for when Joan of Arc has been beaten down and recanted her (true, divine) visions, and the violin solo express her alone, spiritually dying. That's it, nothing left to see, she's done... Then no she's not done! She "relapses" into her "heresy", that is into divine, self-sacrificing courage and bold life. This would be for a divine, virtuous resurrection, like the return of Gandalf, not for routine necromancy. It's 3 minutes and 43 seconds, and it's beautiful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

First, let me thank you all - again - for giving me your thoughts on this topic. I'll be looking for all the songs mentioned in the near future. Now for me....

 

I have to be honest, when I think of Necromancy, there's a whole lot of other sorcerous concepts mixed in; it pretty much epitomizes dark "forbidden" magic IMO. So often, my necromancers will also have an element of demon summoning and the flashier magics mixed in, because it looks cool in my mind's eye. That said, this is my list of music; I feel I should add that if I don't mention someone or some song that seems obvious to you, I may very well have never heard it, so bring it up.

 

  • 3 Doors Down -- Dangerous Game
  • Adrian Alexis -- I Want To Be A Vampire
  • Aerosmith -- Take Me To The Other Side
  • Alan Parsons Project -- Can't Take It With You
  • Alan Parsons Project -- Cask Of Amontillado
  • Alannah Myles -- Black Velvet
  • Alice Cooper -- Gimme
  • Alice Cooper -- Feed My Frankenstein
  • Alice Cooper -- Nothing's Free
  • Ayreon -- Abbey of Synn
  • Ayreon -- Isis and Osiris
  • Ayreon -- Valley of the Queens
  • Ayreon -- Temple of the Cat
  • Blue Oyster Cult -- Don't Fear The Reaper
  • Boston -- Higher Power
  • Chris de Burgh -- Don't Pay the Ferryman
  • David Draiman -- Forsaken
  • Depeche Mode -- Sea Of Sin
  • Depeche Mode -- Stripped
  • Depeche Mode -- World In My Eyes
  • Depeche Mode -- In Your Room
  • Diamond Rio -- One More Day With You
  • Dido -- Resting Here With Me
  • Disturbed -- Down With The Sickness
  • Drowning Pool -- Let The Bodies Hit The Floor
  • Evanescence -- Going Under
  • Evanescence -- Bring Me To Life
  • Evanescence -- My Last Breath
  • Fuel -- Innocent
  • Jezebel Red -- Ever and All
  • Kamelot -- Lost and Damned
  • Kamelot -- The Spell
  • Kamelot -- Elizabeth I: Mirror Mirror
  • Kamelot -- Elizabeth II: Requiem for the Innocent
  • Kamelot -- The Haunting
  • Kamelot -- Soul Society
  • Kamelot -- Nothing Ever Dies
  • Kansas -- Dust In The Wind
  • Lordi -- Last Kiss Goodbye
  • Lordi -- The Deadite Girls Gone Wild
  • Lordi -- The Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead
  • Meatloaf -- Original Sin
  • Metallica -- Sad But True
  • Metallica -- Through The Never
  • Metallica -- Fixxxer
  • Oingo Boingo -- Weird Science
  • Oingo Boingo -- Don't Fear The Reaper
  • Oingo Boingo -- No One Lives Forever
  • Oingo Boingo -- Pictures of You
  • Most of the Lost Boys Soundtrack, especially Cry Little Sister
  • Queensryche -- Slient Lucidity
  • RA -- Crazy Little Voices
  • Rasputina -- Transylvanian Concubine
  • Rob Zombie -- Living Dead Girl
  • Lots from Sarah McLachlan, especially Building A Mystery and Possession
  • Sting -- Wrapped Around Your Finger
  • Sting -- Mon Over Bourbon Street
  • Tool -- AEnima
  • Transformers soundtrack -- Hunger
  • Voltaire -- Dead Girls
  • Within Temptation -- the whole album The Silent Force, especially Forsaken, Angels, It's The Fear

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

Only related by the thinnest of of extrapolations ... if listened to in the context of a Deadlands game and a Harrowed (i.e., undead) gunslinger, Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" takes on an interesting new meaning. I doubt that meaning is transferable outside that genre, though.

 

It could be argued that anything by the Grateful Dead or Dead Kennedys is fair game for your Necromancy theme. :rolleyes:

 

It turns out I posted the lyrics for "Gates of Babylon" (which I mentioned in my first post in this thread) here

 

Going further back in (musical) time, the Guess Who's "Hang on to your life" is another possibility.

 

Another composition tape I made was "Visions of the Power of Darkness", which dwelt more on presentations of the Devil rather than necromantic magic. That included

 

"Friend of the Devil" from Grateful Dead

"Old Man Down the Road" by John Fogerty

"Race with Devil on Spanish Highway" by Al DiMeola (an instrumental; it's his kick-a$$ concert encore piece)

"Sympathy for the Devil" mentioned above

"Prince of Darkness" from Indigo Girls

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

A lot of how I view magic (in both games and fic) is as a headgame versus the 'danes. Since "most people" have no idea what your true limitations are, it's in your best interests to dazzle and baffle them -- they should never have a real grasp of just how weak you might actually be. Minor casual illusions and evocations -- lighting a fag with the tip of your finger, a finger-snap to start or stop something minor, or (my favorite) a little bit of TK to casually draw a drink to your hand -- these all add to the persona of a mage.

 

As such, a lot of the music to which I listen to put me in the mood for such things evokes that feel of wonder. I'm going to go through my list (which I wrote while quite sleepy, mind you), and make some comments.

 

3 Doors Down -- Dangerous Game -- mostly due to the fact that I first head it while reading a Harry Potter fic, I still see this as a spell duel

Adrian Alexis -- I Want To Be A Vampire -- dude, come on, the name says it all! also, it's got that "face I present to you and you react" vibe going.

Aerosmith -- Take Me To The Other Side -- another one of those "I was doing something else at the time and this got fixed in my head" songs

Alan Parsons Project -- Can't Take It With You -- if you can't see the Death motif in this song....

Alan Parsons Project -- Cask Of Amontillado -- more for the dark theme and the glorious lines "you who are rich and whose troubles are few, may come around to see my point of view".

Alannah Myles -- Black Velvet -- really about Elvis, true, but the images evoked are too rich for that alone.

Alice Cooper -- Gimme -- this and Nothing's Free used to be on constant loop on my player for a while, just for the "deal with the devil" flavor.

Alice Cooper -- Feed My Frankenstein -- to answer Arkham's comment; yeah, I know, but the first time I ever heard this song was with Alice accompanied by Rob Zombie. And Rob always brings the freaky.

Alice Cooper -- Nothing's Free -- the perfect "sold my soul and gotta pay" song, IMO. The phrasing of the choruses, where they spell out what you're not free to do, while implying you are, is beautiful.

Ayreon -- Abbey of Synn -- more for the dark magic vibe, really; "another man died today, like the one before, with blackened tongue and blackened fingers", I mean come on. Though I swear I will one day pull out The Deadly Book of Laughter and smite some heroes good.

Ayreon -- Isis and Osiris -- people from various times and cultures caught in the afterlife, and their comments on same. Lovely.

Ayreon -- Valley of the Queens -- not as good as Isis and Osiris, IMO, but its got a nice mournful melancholy tone.

Ayreon -- Temple of the Cat -- it's got the line "He lies here in the Temple of the Cat, dead. He will rise again from the Temple of the Cat." Also a great religious feel.

 

Added in as I was relistening: Ayreon -- Dragon On The Sea -- really about Drake opposing the Armada, but with lines like "Tall ships that rain down thunderbolts and flames," "Take your fleet where darkness falls and turn the night to day," and "Dragon ships they keep on sailing, on to Nova Albion. While the waking world is sleeping, dragon ships are sailing on." you can see the imagery.

 

Blue Oyster Cult -- Don't Fear The Reaper -- do I really need to say? Also, I love Oingo Boingo's cover of this.

Boston -- Higher Power -- deep bass line and a nice religious feel on this one, completely aside from the imagery. The Serenity Prayer, followed by "Thy will, not mine, shall be done. Amen." really makes the song, IMO.

Chris de Burgh -- Don't Pay the Ferryman -- listen to the song, and you'll see what I mean.

David Draiman -- Forsaken -- great vampire song, 'nuff said.

Depeche Mode -- Sea Of Sin -- mostly for the sin references and elements, really. What can I say? I like sin.

Depeche Mode -- Stripped -- primarily due to a misinterpretation of the lyrics, where I thought "Let me hear you make decisions, without your television." was actually "Let me hear you make decisions, without your deadly visions." Still stuck in my head like that.

Depeche Mode -- World In My Eyes -- for the divination aspects of Necromancy, and also because I simply LOVE this song.

Depeche Mode -- In Your Room -- great imagery, just listen.

Diamond Rio -- One More Day With You -- for a (rather romantic) look at what one man would do to get back what he lost. I tend to hear "lost my love" country songs in a death frame of mind.

Dido -- Resting Here With Me -- if you can listen to this without getting a glimpse of a girl who's holding on to a dead love, I'm impressed.

Disturbed -- Down With The Sickness -- much about the taint of darkness coming through. The last bit with the screaming at mommy can be ignored.

Drowning Pool -- Let The Bodies Hit The Floor -- look at the name, man!

Evanescence -- Going Under -- I was really in a mood when I first heard it, so it's stuck in my head as a Death song. then again, it is Evanescence, and much of their work is pretty death related.

Evanescence -- Bring Me To Life -- if ever I could craft a resurrection song, this would be it. Just listen to the song and try to see it from the perspective of a dead soul being brought back.

Evanescence -- My Last Breath -- very pretty and nice "I'm dying and I want to say goodbye" song. great imagery.

 

 

Looking at my music choices, I've realized that I listen to an awful lot of depressing-type music. :eek: Geez. Oh well, it's what I like -- emotionally evocative music.

 

Tune in next time, when I go through some more of these songs and my reason for putting them on the list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Goradin

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

AmadanNaBriona,

Many talented Fool,

 

Is totally right on on this one, Holst the planets is one of the best tracks for gaming and covers a gamut of useful songs. It will be in the classical music section.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

Oingo Boingos "Dead mans Party"

Alot of oingo boingo or Danny Elfman was into the Dead.

i cant think of the punk band But the song was Spell Bound.somthing and the Banshees...

Live:Lightning crashes..

Metalica Enter sandman

Cure:Killing a Arab.ok so i like the sound of this song....

Ac Dc Hells Bells..

Ok i am sitting here thinking and right now i am drawing a blank so i will come back with more later

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Music To Raise The Dead

 

If you're looking for a Kansas song in this collection, let me recommend instead of "Dust in the Wind" the song "Child of Innocence" from the Masque album. It's sung from the point of view of death itself!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...