Orchestrating the Destruction
When I write I listen to music, like many authors. I have to listen to tracks that don’t include intelligible lyrics, otherwise I find I start unconsciously incorporating words and even phrases from them into the writing – the hypnotic state that comes upon me when I’m in full-flow translates that sort of input directly to the fingers, it seems.
So, I mostly listen to orchestral and soundtrack music to act as a backdrop to the bolters blazing. Each project I work on has its own playlist, often with some overlap from my existing library but often incorporating specific types of music to subtly or not-so-subtly reflect the mood and atmosphere of the setting or story. A recent subscription to Apple Music means that I am now also under no financial constraints regarding the number of albums I put into the library, and can add or take away albums and even individual tracks as and when they prove suitable or not.
At the moment I am working through book #8 of The Beast Arises. All Black Library fiction is action- and war-focused but this series in particular is about massed war, and the volume I am working on is almost continual battle from start to finish. Getting some grand, martial music is a good start for Space Marine drop assaults and Imperial Knights laying waste to their foes, but it’s also important to find some tracks that add a bit of pacing to the playlist; for more reflective scenes, maybe the soundtrack to a stirring speech or creating the mood the stealthy approach of an assassin.
So, here is my playlist for The Beast Arises Book #8, perhaps you might want to listen to it while you are reading.
300 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Tyler Bates
Aliens, James Horner
Army of Two: The 40th Day, Ea Games Soundtrack
Batman Begins – Original Motion Picture soundtrack, Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
Battlecry, Two Steps from Hell
Blood of the Dragon, Nox Arcana
Cataclysm vol. 1 – Heroes, Erik Ekholm
Cataclysm vol. 2 – Power, Erik Ekholm
Cataclysm vol. 3 – Kingdom, Erik Ekholm
Dredd (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Paul Leonard-Morgan
Dune, Toto
Epic Adventure and Action vol. 01, Epic Score
Epic Adventure and Action vol. 08, Epic Score
God of War: Ascension (Original Soundtrack), Tyler Bates
Holst: The Planets, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis
Mad Max: Fury Road (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Version], Junkie XL
Percussion Power: Intense, Cinematic & Explosive, Tyler Lee Bates
Selected tracks from The Science Fiction Album, various Artists
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), James Horner
The Dark Knight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
Verdi: Messa da Requiem, Katia Ricciarelli, Shirley Verrett, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado & Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano
Wagner: The Ring Without Words, Berlin Philharmoniker
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, Doyle W Donehoo
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (The Soundtrack), Sascha Dikiciyan & Cris Velasco
You can also see this playlist on the iTunes store.
If you’d like me to post my play list for future books, or if you enjoy listening to it as you’re reading along, let me know in the comments.
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