Turbonegro
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Jukebox Heroes: Age of Conan's soundtrack
I'm going to be honest with you: I've been putting off this particular column for months now. I've been dreading it, really. Because what I say next is probably going to turn off a lot of you who seem to worship this score like nothing else I've seen: I only kind of like Age of Conan's soundtrack. It's not really my favorite, nor in my top 10. And I know that this goes really against the feelings for this score that I've seen professed in Jukebox Heroes and elsewhere. You know what? That's OK. Musical preferences are some of the most subjective things in the world, and we can't be expected to like everything, right? If Age of Conan's soundtrack gets people listening to more MMO (and even video game) scores, then that's a win for our niche-within-a-niche-within-a-niche hobby. This score (and all of Age of Conan's subsequent music) was composed by Norwegian Knut Avenstroup Haugen. He won several awards for his work on the game, including the International Film Music Critics Association Award for Scoring Excellence. If you're interested in the man, Massively's Jef Reahard did an interview with him back in 2010 that makes for good reading. Otherwise, let's head onward and I'll share my personal favorites from the original game score!
Rock out with Turbonegro's Conan tribute, "Destroy All Monsters"
Norwegian punk rock band Turbonegro have added their Age of Conan soundtrack contribution "Destroy All Monsters" to their Myspace page. From reading the group's website, it becomes clear that they're at least a little bit loopy; but that's the way we love our rock-stars, right? They sat down for an interview with IGN, in which we find out that the band has ruthlessness, masculinity, and of course, swordsmanship in common with old Conan, and that they have progressed to the child-eating stage of their careers.The track was performed live at the Age of Conan launch party, and we're told that a high-def clip of this occasion will be available soon. The soundtrack for the game will launch in Norway on the 30th of June, and in August for the rest of the world.
Rock Band 2 to feature Turbonegro, Funcom announces
Yeah, you read that right: Funcom, the creators of the Age of Conan MMO. The Norway-based studio has name-dropped "Rock Band II," despite there being no official word of the sequel from the folks who develop, publish and distribute the Rock Band franchise. Joining the ranks of two consumer surveys and a Bo Diddley obituary as unofficial bearers of Rock Band 2 news is Funcom's press release for the Age of Conan soundtrack, which proudly touts fellow Norwegian deathpunk rockers Turbonegro (or "Turboneger" as they're known around Oslo) as feature acts on the disc, who, oh by the way, are also in "the game Rock Band II."And did you hear? Bad Religion has also been linked to the Rock Band sequel. Guitarist-songwriter Brett Gurewitz hit his Twitter watchers with this message last month: "Seven meetings and four executive decisions later, back at Sound City putting the finishing touches on 'Sorrow' for Rock Band 2."[Via Shacknews]
