While the game itself never fascinated me, Aion’s soundtrack is easily in my personal Top Five in terms of quality and variety. The game boasts a stunning array of tunes that is far more vast than you’d think at first, and it offers an astonishingly good ratio of listenable-to-forgettable tracks.
I had thought I heard everything this OST had to offer, but a recently released playlist showed me that, nope, there were a hundred or so tracks that my ears hadn’t feasted upon yet. Well, time to remedy that! So in today’s column, I’m going to share with you six more intriguing tracks from this masterful fantasy score. Let’s get it started already!
“Abyss Battle”
Need a pulse-pounding trance track to score the next epic 17-minute boss battle you fight? This right here should fit that need! Sure, it’s obscenely long, but I found it great background music that added a lot of energy to whatever mundane task I was doing (just… don’t make hot coffee while this plays).
“Illuminary Obelisk”
Or if you’re looking for a more conventional epic action track, this might suit your bill. Eastern MMOs have no compunction against hiring some electric guitar player to come in and shred her or his way all across such tracks, and I found this really thrilling for that element alone.
“Asteria Fortress”
This is more of a moody, atmospheric piece with female vocals and sparkly instruments attempting to create a place of peace and majesty. I’ve wavered back and forth on liking or disliking this (I’m not usually a fan of someone humming loudly for a while), but I think it’s worth a listen or two to make up your mind about its virtues.
“Hell of Ruin”
Usually tracks with “Hell” in the name don’t end up being sweeping and inspirational tunes, but this one absolutely is just that. Stick it out for the first two minutes, because there are great things ahead as the strings and electric guitars lift you up and create an anthem worthy of your in-game accomplishments. A knock-out track.
“Elysean Village”
Whew! After all of that, we definitely need a peaceful village tune, and “Elysean Village” hits the spot perfectly. It’s mainly a piano- and flute-driven track that exudes happy tranquility with a simple yet catchy melody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL88cy6oKUA
“Enos Forest”
Enough of the electric guitar — how about some lovely acoustic Spanish guitar instead? This is such a relaxing melody that’s played with a lot of heart and more than a bit of sadness. It’s an interesting choice for a forest zone, but I think it is moody enough that it just might work.
MMOs are meant to be heard as well as seen, and chances are that music ties your memories to these games more than you might realize. Every two weeks Jukebox Heroes listens through a game soundtrack and picks out the highlights to share and discuss. And if you like this column, then don’t miss the author’s MMO music podcast, Battle Bards!
