Jukebox Heroes: MMO music for epic fights

This week I’ll be hijacking a question sent into the podcast that I thought was particularly apt for Jukebox Heroes to tackle. It comes from reader Chris, who has a rather interesting thought exercise to share.

Chris writes, “If you had to choreograph a fight scene in a movie (an EPIC one, of course), what MMO song would you pick? It’s a practical question, actually. My kids are martial artists, and they regularly perform for audiences or compete in tournaments where music is expected. We’ve used lots of music over the years, and we are ALWAYS looking for new stuff. So, Justin, when you see yourself in an epic fight scene, what’s the MMO song you hear? And, yes, you can pick your own weapon.”

Obviously my weapon would be “giant death robots with kill-ray hand cannons,” but as for the music? That’s going to take some winnowing down! To help out Chris and perhaps entertain you, here are six MMORPG music tracks that I could see being used for the soundtrack of an epic fight scene.

“Ambush from Three Directions” from Age of Conan

Sometimes all you need is some rather excellent percussion to build excitement, especially if you’re going for a martial arts battle. This track might be a bit short for a long battle, but it could serve well for a prelude to one!

“Two Pistols and an Open Frontier” from WildStar

For the purposes of this particular column, I did two things to test a track’s worthiness. The first was to try to imagine people engaging in a fight with the music playing in the background (to see if it fit). The second was to blast the music way up to see if it was suitably epic and intense. I think this track acquits itself well, very well indeed, with rising action, strong horns, and pounding percussion. Gave me goosebumps, at least.

“Martial Instance” from Age of Wushu

If you’ll forgive me for dipping into eastern martial arts MMOs for inspiration for martial arts fights, I’d say that this would be an excellent addition to any bout of intense action. It’s loud, it’s fast, and it doesn’t let up.

“4SquareP” from The Matrix Online

C’mon, how can you have an epic fight sequence and not include something from The Matrix? This track might be a tad simple, but its thumping bass and energetic electronica should provide enough energy for listening audiences.

“Cataclistic” from Runes of Magic

It’s surprisingly tricky to track down MMO tunes that leap out of the gate strong — many of them take time working themselves up to the good part. No so with this track: It immediately erupts with violent drums and violins, later adding on a chilling choral climax.

“Alonewolf” from Rusty Hearts

I don’t know how fast you want these fights to be, Chris, but if they can keep up with the pace of this track, then it would be something to see. I’ve always been an admirer of Alonewolf for its action-packed rock-and-roll tune. Leaves me out of breath every time I hear it.