It has been a good long while since the Battle Bards walked the road that led them from the Shire to Mordor, but now they're back in Lord of the Rings Online -- and they have a lot of positive things to say about this beloved soundtrack. If the word "quaint" can ever be used as a recommendation for a score, it has to be done so here! Tune in as these three Minstrels share a few favorite tracks you may not have heard before.

Episode 139 show notes

• Intro (feat. "Let Us Sing Together," "Rivendell," and "Urgent Errands")
• "Coronation of Aragorn"
• "Mug in Your Hand"
• "Brigand's Tale”
• "Night in the Shire"
• "Malthellam, the Steward of the Vale"
• "Tavern Lore"
• "Cape of Belfalas Housing"
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Hamblepants and Jaedia
• Jukebox picks: "Chicken Illuminati HQ" from Guacamelee 2, "Menu Music" from Kingdom Hearts 3, and "Towergrounds" from Forgotton Anne
• Outro (feat. "Battle of Pelennor Fields Final Victory")

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

Boy howdy, is it time for another highfalutin Battle Bards episode? Shucks, looks like! In this week's show, the trio saddle up for a ride through the tumbleweeds and mesas of western MMO tunes. It may be slim pickins, but the pickins are actually pretty good!

Episode 138 show notes (show page, direct download)

• Intro (feat. "Renewal" from Fallen Earth, "Ashe" from Overwatch, and "Crimson Hills" from Aion)
• "Calm Guitar" from Crossout
• "Thermock Hold" from WildStar
• "Way Out West" from LEGO Worlds
• "Main Theme" from Wild West Online
• "Eyes of Ice" from Aion
• "Cool Ranch Tumbleweed Explorer" from Pirate101
• "Main Theme" from Dino Storm
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Katriana and PanagiotisLial
• Jukebox picks: "Legend of the Eagle Bearer" from Assassin's Creed Odyssey, "Into the Wilderness" from Wild Arms, and "Escape" from Return of Obra Dinn
• Outro (feat. "Antique Cowboy" from Ragnarok Online)

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

The Amiga series of computers is renowned for its amazing sound -- and the terrific scores that video game composers were able to wrangle. In this episode of Retro Reprise, Syl joins Syp for a look and listen back at this machine and the tunes that carry on its legacy!

Show notes 

• Intro (feat. "Space Ninja" from Lotus 3)
• "Theme" from Deflektor
• "Ending" from Fuzzball
• "Hymn to Aurora" from Horace Wimp
• "Theme" from The Humans
• "Theme" from The Carl Lewis Challenge
• Outro (feat. "Theme" from Hero Quest)

What's your hero's theme? If you play League of Legends, you know the answer to that already, because every hero in that game has his, her, or its own musical motif, from the dour to the delightful. In this episode of Battle Bards, the crew turns to this popular MOBA to see what heroic themes are pure ear candy.

Episode 137 show notes

• Intro (feat. "Elementalist Lux," "Odyssey Login," and "Snowdown 2018")
• "Irelia"
• "Arcade Ahri"
• "Dragon Trainer Tristana"
• "Kindred"
• "Lulu"
• "Tahm Kench"
• "Braum"
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Mika, Thomas, and Katriana
• Jukebox picks: "Warsongs: Silver Scrapes (ProtoShredanoid Remix)" from League of Legends, "Can't Wait Until Night" from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and "Stars at Our Backs" from Monster Hunter World
• Outro ("Jinx, the Loose Cannon")

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

Ever feel like the Battle Bards have covered every MMO soundtrack in existence? It's actually far from true, and today's episode is Exhibit A to prove it. The team looks at seven online RPGs that have never had a single track featured on a Battle Bards show -- and it's a fun discovery process! So settle back as we roll out 100% debuts!

Episode 136 show notes

• Intro (feat. "Terminus" from Pantheon and "Main Theme" from Otherland)
• "A Harsh Winter Fell" from Camelot Unchained
• "Intro Theme" from Rising Force Online
• "Aman's Theme" from Lost Ark
• "Outdoors" from The 4th Coming
• "Sea of Hakanas" from Riders of Icarus
• "East Sea Plain (night)" from Dream of Mirror Online
• "The Magic Shop" from PlaneShift
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Mika, Theldos, Myre_Test, Mike, and Raphael
• Jukebox picks: "Sea Theme" from Heroes of Might and Magic IV, "Dog" from MineCraft, and "Cave" from Blue Dragon
• Outro ("Lorencia" from Mu Online)

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

It's Battle Bards vs. Battle for Azeroth -- and only one victor will come out of this alive! Actually, the podcast trio is delighted to have another World of Warcraft expansion to explore and investigate. Will it be destined to obscurity as this x-pack apparently will be, or does the score rise above and beyond Blizzard's design flaws? Find out in today's show!

Episode 135 show notes

• Intro (feat. "The Grand Bazaar," "Drustvar," and "Freehold")
• "Pride of the Seas"
• "Crimson Forest"
• "Might of the Zandalar"
• "Zuldazar Zandalari Lament"
• "The Motherlode Dungeon"
• "Time and Tide"
• "Tiragarde Sound Tavern (Night)"
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Pedro Macedo Camacho (Composer, Star Citizen), Katriana, and Jinxed Thoughts
• Jukebox picks: "Pallet Town" from Pokémon Let's Go, "Hunting Path" from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and "Another Voyage" from Chrono Cross
• Outro ("Dive Bar C")

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

On this episode of Retro Reprise, Syl drags Syp back to her childhood playing on the Atari ST -- and the tunes that made this machine so memorable. Do these tracks withstand the test of time? Find out -- if you dare!

Show notes

• Intro
• "Theme" from Wizball
• "Theme" from Toki
• "In-Game Music" from Bubble Bobble
• "Theme" from Wonderboy in Monsterland
• "Theme" from Mousetrap
• "Theme" from Xenon 2: Megablast
• "Theme" from Bard's Tale
• Outro

It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas! And, er, Halloween! Well, the Battle Bards were never much for subtlety, so you must excuse their efforts to sandwich two holidays -- and their related MMO soundtracks -- into one amazing yet confusing show. Whether you like to be spooked or Santa'd, this episode's got the score for you!

Episode 134 show notes 

• Intro (feat. "Xmas Jazz Theme" from Lineage II, "White Christmas" from Ragnarok Online, and "Wistmead" from Lord of the Rings Online)
• "Halloween 2018" from Black Desert
• "Halloween" from Elsword
• "Ice Day for Penguins" from RuneScape
• "Jingle Bells" from Dragon Nest
• "Frostfell" from EverQuest II
• "Winter Wingding" from Glitch
• "Gotham Winter Holiday" from DC Universe Online
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Scott, Cynalus, and Zinn
• Jukebox picks: "Village of Rynoka" from Moonlighter, "Train Heist" from Red Dead Redemption 2, and "Bloody Tears" from Super Castlevania IV
• Outro ("Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from Lime Odyssey)

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

The sparkling majesty of space beckons to the hearts of the Battle Bards -- and up there they discover the Star Citizen soundtrack! In today's episode, Syl establishes that she's not a "scifi nerd," Syp causes an international crisis, and the team comes together to hand out praise to this rich score. 

Episode 133 show notes (show page, direct download)

• Intro (feat. "Main Theme," "A Symphony in Motion," and "First Light")
• "Scifi Homage"
• "Bishop Speech"
• "Majesty of Space"
• "Hero March"
• "My Home"
• "Leir III"
• "Main Theme Happy Variation 1"
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Cyclone Jack, Scott, Ken, and Katriana
• Jukebox picks: "Marble Gallery" from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, "Overture" from Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and "A Jaunty Tune" from Death's Gambit
• Outro ("The Ballad of Big Benny's")

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!

Steam-powered tech, airships, clockwork machines, and automata are the source of inspiration for this week's episode of Battle Bards! The team scrounged the landscape of MMOs for music from and inspired by steampunk games. It's a wild grab bag of themes, so fire up your phonographs and give it a listen!

Episode 132 show notes

• Intro (feat. "Operation Gnomeregan" from World of Warcraft, "The Refugee" from City of Steam, and "Main Theme" from Arcanum)
• "Main Theme" from Black Gold Online
• "Lands of Igsh" from Allods Online
• "Through the Epoch" from City of Steam
• "Login Theme" from Divine Soul
• "Ganedine" from Neo Steam
• "Town" from Guns of Icarus
• "Adventure Awaits" from Deepworld
• Which one did we like best?
• Listener mail from Video Game Music Soundtrack OST and Katriana
• Jukebox picks: "Dark Forest" from Rise of Nations, "Lakrum Beach" from Aion, and "CrossWorlds" from CrossCode
• Outro ("Menace of the Underdark Character Creation" from Dungeons and Dragons Online)

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• Special nod to Video Game Music for his excellent repository of MMO soundtracks!