A year of Battle Bards and awesome MMO music
If you are not familiar with Battle Bards, it’s an MMORPG video game music podcast that was co-created by Massively OP’s Justin Olivetti back in 2013. For years now, the Battle Bards team of three have gathered together to tackle favorite and noteworthy pieces of online game music in a spirited back-and-forth manner.
This year was no different, and over the past 12 months Battle Bards has put out about two dozen shows that will forever live on (in infamy). While creating and mixing these shows take a long time, they’re worth the effort to produce, since VGM is “evergreen” and doesn’t become obsolete.
With that in mind, we thought that you might like a list of all of the episodes that the team produced this year for your listening enjoyment over the holiday break. Which was your favorite? What topics and game soundtracks would you like the Battle Bards to tackle in 2018? Let them know in the comments!
Battle Bards Episode 112: MMO minigame music - It’s time to take a diversion to play — and listen — to the minigames tucked inside of our MMOs! The Battle Bards haul out their last show of 2012…
A year of Battle Bards and awesome MMO music - If you are not familiar with Battle Bards, it's an MMORPG video game music podcast that was co-created by Massively OP's Justin Olivetti back in 2013. For years now, the…
Battle Bards Episode 111: Cabal Online 1 and 2 - The Battle Bards are always up for a musical bargain, and on today’s episode, they’ll deliver two MMORPGs for the price of one (sitting)! It’s a look at two rather…
Battle Bards Episode 110: Acoustic guitar - The Battle Bards are quite familiar with the power of the strummed guitar and lute, knowing that such simple instruments can bring down walls, devastate armies, and dethrone monarchs. But…
Battle Bards Episode 109: Club Penguin - When you’ve got a club full of penguins overseen by the Mouse House itself, you know things are going to get both wacky and weird! Club Penguin may not be everyone’s go-to…
Battle Bards Episode 108: Vampires and werewolves - Here’s a musical episode that you can really sink your teeth into! Your… ear teeth? In any case, the Battle Bards are evaluating our Dark Masters this Halloween season to…
Battle Bards Episode 107: Blade and Soul expansions - After 50 episodes, the Battle Bards have made the brave decision to revisit the hallowed lands of Blade and Soul to look at two of the soundtrack expansions. The team…
Battle Bards Episode 106: Early access themes - Instead of looking back at MMORPGs this week, the crew of Battle Bards launches forward into early access! What would a show about music from MMOs that aren’t even officially…
Battle Bards Episode 105: Uncharted Waters Online - Set sail for amazing adventure and an assortment of audio discoveries! This week, Cap’n Steff and her lackeys board Uncharted Waters Online to see what bounty this soundtrack holds. It…
Battle Bards Episode 104: Something wicked this way comes - And lo, as the Battle Bards walk through the zone of the shadow of death, they will fear no evil, but they will listen to evil’s soundtrack because that is what they…
Battle Bards Episode 103: Wurm Online - You think you’ve heard strange MMORPG soundtracks before, but Wurm Online is about to take you to the odd frontier. With two distinctive soundtracks that skew away from typical composition,…
Battle Bards Episode 102: Pure joy - Is it even possible for pure joy to be derived from MMORPG music? Whether or not, the Battle Bards are going to take a serious stab at it in today’s…
Battle Bards Episode 101: Ragnarok Online - As the Battle Bards cruise into their second hundred episodes, it’s time to cover a very long-lived fantasy MMO from 2002, Ragnarok Online. The game has an… interesting soundtrack and…
Battle Bards Episode 100: Centennial spectacular! - After four years and over 700 MMORPG music tracks, the Battle Bards have arrived at their 100th show! For this centennial spectacular, Syl, Steff, and Syp reminisce about the most…
Battle Bards Episode 99: Tropical resort - The Battle Bards are on vacation at a tropical beach paradise! In the team’s 99th episode, they examine beach, resort, and island music cues from MMORPGs. Can it still be…
Battle Bards Episode 98: Perfect World International - Perfect World — it’s not just a massive games publisher, it’s also an MMORPG! The team at Battle Bards timidly tiptoe into this unknown soundtrack, not sure of what may…
Battle Bards Episode 97: The sound of magic - “Magic can be ANYthing!” The forces of magic run deep within MMORPGs, casting shadows of wonder wherever we look — and listen. In today’s show, Syl sparks a musical revolution…
Battle Bards Episode 96: SWTOR expansions - [AL:TOR]“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” With those words, you know you’re in for a rollicking good adventure — and some impressive and spellbinding music to…
Battle Bards Episode 94: Drakensang Online - [AL:Drak]Do you find the German language to be inherently terrifying? Then you’re going to love the soundtrack to this German MMORPG! Actually, it’s quite lovely and a diamond in the rough,…
Battle Bards Episode 93: It’s a madhouse! - It’s taken this long, but the Battle Bards have gone completely and irreversibly insane in the membrane! Today the team cracks open the door of the MMO music funhouse to…
Battle Bards Episode 92: Dragon’s Prophet - Strap in for a fiery ride across the skies in today’s episode of Battle Bards! While Dragon’s Prophet was not fated to last long — at least in North America…
Battle Bards Episode 91: Forest Tales - Take a stroll through the trees and become totally lost in the foliage, drinking in the sounds of the forest with today’s show, as the Battle Bards go hiking through…
Battle Bards Episode 90: Wizard101 - Expecto MMOsium! The Battle Bards have donned their robes and taken to casting nasty spells on each other with their wands, all in the spirit of today’s soundtrack — Wizard101.…
Battle Bards Episode 89: Nightfall - When the sun goes down, the Battle Bards’ work has just begun! In this week’s episode, the crew explores nighttime music cues in MMOs, chasing the ever-elusive feel of what…
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Battle Bards and Massively OP are my two favorite podcasts.
The music in an mmo is as important as the textures and the lore of the world. It brings things to life in a way that sticks to you, often longer than the time you spent in the game.
I only played Wildstar for a handful of months, it was fun, but it was not long lasting – but I still listen to the amazing music (one track is still my wake-up alarm every day) – and when I hear the music, I remember when I heard it, where I was and recapture a glimpse of the struggle or mystery I was wrestling with at the time.
When I hear the EverQuest track, I’m revisiting Norrath and the friends I had there. There are so many worlds that I have loved my time in, and their music remains on my phone so that I can revisit the feelings and memories I had made in them.
A weak or generic soundtrack lacks the gravity. When I hear the theme music for World of Warcraft, it makes me miss it. The music alone has caused me to return to a game after a long stint away. If the music doesn’t grab me, then the game is far less likely to live on in my memory in the same way, and I am less likely to want to revisit it – simply because I don’t think about it the same way.
Thank you for letting me tag along with you on your own personal journeys through the music of the mmo-verse. Your show always brightens my workday.
Yeah, I do seem to recall the Wildstar music being very good.
Am always so happy to hear from our listeners – thanks for following us and enjoying the show! <3 Games come and go but the music is forever, it's a big part of MMO nostalgia for me too.
For me SWTOR has the best mmo music by far. Not only the iconic John Williams themes, but the original music is excellent and completely in keeping with Star Wars. I also very much like Jeremy Soules’ upbeat and jaunty great hunt march and some of his Ascalon tracks in GW2, and the Romulan theme in STO. Also love the eerie ambient music of EVE, even if I didn’t stick with that game.
My fav game music by far though has to be Fallout New Vegas. The use of the retro, rat pack, and old C&W music was nothing short of brilliant and definitely gave the game loads of personality, and as icing on the cake Inon Zur’s ambient score was quite good too. Honorable mentions to the original Deus Ex, the original StarCraft, and Homeworld.
Forgot to mention the wonderful Revan theme from SWTOR, which I believe was lifted from the original KOTOR games. It’s very majestic and always brings a smile to my face when I hear it.
Thanks for posting the vid. Yes, SWOR original music is fantastic. The Revan theme is a standout and very recognizable. You know it as soon as you hear it.
They have the Revan theme on the jukebox in the Ord Mantell Cantina, and I always make a point of playing it when I’m there. ;)
Heh. All this time, and I didn’t even realize it. I’ll check it out. Thanks!
Love Battle Bards. :)
It is a reminder that music is a very important element in MMORPGs. I love these tracks and have many game OSTs in my library of music. Sometimes I wonder of these musicians artistry gets overlooked because there work is featured in games. I hope that is not the case.
But truly, the music found in games, especially MMO/MMORPGs, is second to none.
Fortunately quite a lot of VGM composers receive their due honors nowadays! :) Glad to hear you’re enjoying the show!