# Compose the ultimate old-school Dungeons and Dragons playlist. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882 "2017-12-08T04:34:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/1 "2017-12-08T04:34:17Z")
You’re playing Dungeons and Dragons with your buddies that you used to play with in the old days. And of course, in those days when you played D&D there was music going. So what has to be on the playlist? The obvious of course: Led Zeppelin. Ramble On, Misty Mountain Hop. And the also obvious: Blue Öyster Cult. Veteran of the Psychic Wars, Black Blade, Godzilla. And the still more obvious: The whole Heavy Metal soundtrack. But I don’t want bands or albums, I want tracks. And so to pick three, it’s Heavy Metal, Mob Rules, and Heavy Metal/Takin’ a Ride). Then you’ve got your Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Number of the Beast, Iron Man. So we’ve got a theme going here. But maybe your adolescent gaming group didn’t listen to heavy metal as the soundtrack for gaming. But to make it on the list the music has to have some sort of thematic connection to D&D, somehow. I mean, maybe you listened to Taylor Swift, but you can’t just throw out Taylor Swift without justifying Taylor Swift. What’s the connection between the music and the gaming? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/2 "2017-12-08T04:50:40Z")
Tumblin’ Dice? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/3 "2017-12-08T05:05:13Z")
Dio, for sure. Holy Diver, Rainbow in the Dark, Man on the Silver Mountain. Also, if you are going to have a basilisk, medusa, or cockatrice: ELO’s “Turn to Stone.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/4 "2017-12-08T05:22:19Z")
Rush: “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” and “The Necromancer” Anything by any Viking Metal band ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/5 "2017-12-08T06:22:22Z")
“Rainbow in the Dark”? How many prismatic sprays can one party cast? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/6 "2017-12-08T06:35:48Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > “Rainbow in the Dark”? How many prismatic sprays can one party cast? Color Spray. Spammable first-level spell. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/7 "2017-12-08T08:05:52Z")
I guess [“Dungeon Master”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oclDVweTR4) by Visigoth is as on-the-nose as you’re going to find 🙂 There are a bunch of RPG references throughout the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/8 "2017-12-08T08:31:49Z")
I’m not really familiar enough with their music to recommend particular songs, but the playlist should have something from [Kyuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyuss) – since they were formerly known as [Sons of Kyuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_Kyuss), which was a direct reference to a 1E AD&D monster, from the [Fiend Folio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Folio). ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/9 "2017-12-08T11:49:40Z")
In the Hall of the Mountain King -Grieg Flight if the Valkyries - Wagner Mars, Bringer of War - Holst Other tracks in the “Classical Thunder” collection White and Nerdy - Weird Al Most of the LOTR soundtrack (too many to list) Brian ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/10 "2017-12-08T12:08:54Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Rush: “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” and “The Necromancer”. Beat me to it. Jethro Tull: “No Lullaby,” “Minstrel in the Gallery,” or “Dun Ringill.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/11 "2017-12-08T12:45:09Z")
Jesus, no, people, cod-rock metal is so cliche. Wouldn’t have it anywhere near my table. My D’nD soundtrack is _Aeon_-era Dead Can Dance (_[Fortune Presents](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLvZvjkLrtg)_… is all about the whims of chance) and the[Dream Warriors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWGBe12KxO8). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/12 "2017-12-08T12:48:39Z")
Hadn’t heard either of those. They definitely would set the right tone. You’re too hip for D’n’D! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/13 "2017-12-08T13:03:36Z")
I was going to say the entire Uriah Heep “Demons and Wizards” album but the OP wants tracks only, so let’s go with the opener, “The Wizard”, and the closer, “Paradise/The Spell”. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/14 "2017-12-08T13:30:07Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Rush: “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” and “The Necromancer” Pretty much the whole _Fly by Night_ album. “Rivendell”, Hello? If you’re going to “The Necromancer” on _Caress of Steel_, you have to flip the record over to “The Fountains of Lamneth”. That said, _Farewell to Kings_ works well (up until “Cygnus X-1” anyway) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/15 "2017-12-08T13:43:55Z")
Anyone remember Manowar? My memories are foggy but include lots of references to medieval battles. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/16 "2017-12-08T18:17:39Z")
My group was a lot more mellow. My DM generally had Renaissance playing. Usually the albums _Scheherazade and Other Stories_ or _Ashes are Burning_. The song “[Carpet of the Sun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upIlhve5r-g)” stands out in my memory. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/17 "2017-12-08T20:14:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Jesus, no, people, cod-rock metal is so cliche. Wouldn’t have it anywhere near my table. > > My D’nD soundtrack is _Aeon_-era Dead Can Dance (_[Fortune Presents](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLvZvjkLrtg)_… is all about the whims of chance) and the[Dream Warriors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWGBe12KxO8). It’s a cliche because that’s the way it really was. For some anyway. The group of guys I met in college used to listen to The Smiths and The Cure. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/18 "2017-12-08T20:28:07Z")
[Where there’s a whip.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y) ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/19 "2017-12-08T20:29:31Z")
Heather Alexander with the March of Cambreath must be played for large battle: or maybe this version with the Avengers: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0k9v2SkiTxU/maxresdefault.jpg "The Avengers' March of Cambreadth (polished)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k9v2SkiTxU) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882/20 "2017-12-08T20:31:59Z")
Led Zeppelin’s “[The Battle of Evermore](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_3yDImIQYU)” would be my top choice for such a list. It’s got a folk music sound, Tolkein-inspired lyrics and it was made by people that look as if they could themselves be D&D characters. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compose-the-ultimate-old-school-dungeons-and-dragons-playlist/803882.md?page=2)