Get pumped for LOTRO: Mordor with wallpaper art and a soundtrack interview

While Lord of the Rings Online players are chewing over the Mordor pre-order packages, there are a few free ways that fans can get pumped up about the expansion. For starters, Composer Chance Thomas appeared on an episode of NPR’s Music Respawn to talk about his return to the game to score Mordor. He stresses that his contributions aren’t just an imitations of the soundtracks from Peter Jackson’s films.

“People assume all the time that I take the movie themes and re-work them,” Thomas said. “I went to the source! I took from the source material the feelings, the ideas, the colors, the themes, and the harmonies that are a reflection of that world.”

If music isn’t your bag, what about gorgeous concept art? This year, the studio has commissioned renowned Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith to create three pieces for Update 16, 20, and 21. The Mordor wallpaper in particular is drop-dead awesome, and you can download all of them to your computer for use. You can check them all out below.