chance-thomas
Latest
Chance Thomas announces official end to his LOTRO score
While the Lord of the Rings Online score will go on, Chance Thomas' contributions to it will not be a part of the future of the game. The composer announced that despite personal and fan efforts to bring him back, Turbine has declined to use him for future releases, citing tight resources. "Looks like we've come to the end of an era," Thomas wrote on a Facebook post. "I need to thank you for your remarkable support over the years. I'm not sure a composer could have a better playground than Middle-earth, or a more gracious community to share it with." Thomas composed the music for the base game as well as the Mines of Moria and Riders of Rohan expansions. He recently contributed to the score of Dota 2.
Hear snippets of Chance Thomas' Dota 2 score
Composer Chance Thomas has revealed his latest project: creating a Compendium score for Dota 2. In a new behind-the-scenes video, you can see Thomas conducting a choir and orchestra as they perform snippets of various tracks for the popular MOBA. Thomas previously worked on MMOs such as Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online. You can watch the Dota 2 soundtrack video after the jump!
Jukebox Heroes: Helm's Deep's soundtrack
Well this was a particularly pleasant surprise! As the resident Lord of the Rings Online writer around these here parts, I've been pretty excited about this week's Helm's Deep release. I totally did not expect Turbine to give away the entire soundtrack for free on SoundCloud a week ago, especially after selling Riders of Rohan's score as a digital album. But that's what happened, and I am very much not complaining. While the esteemed Chance Thomas did not compose the second part of the Rohan saga, the studio did make the effort to create an original score in-house instead of just rehashing previous tracks. The result is an album of 25 new tunes for us to evaluate in anticipation of the next chapter of LotRO. So I threw out my original plans for this week's column, microwaved up some coffee, and gave the new score a listen. It was difficult narrowing the field down to six standout tracks, but the coffee was strong and so was my will. Let's take a listen through Helm's Deep, shall we?
Jukebox Heroes: Starting your MMO music collection
I love seeing people turned on to MMO music, particularly after it's gotten such a bad rap over the years. But for the new fan, it can be a daunting proposition to start up a collection. After all, it's not as if you can go down to your local vinyl shop, peruse a stack of 45s, and come out with a full set of SOE's greatest hits. Only a fraction of MMO scores are available for purchase these days, with the rest being free, packaged in with collector's editions, out of print, or just tucked away inside of game files somewhere. So how do you get started on building up a robust library of MMO music? If you don't have deep pockets, which scores would I recommend you pick up first? Well, my friend, I've given it some thought and have put together a guide to six essential purchases that will get you off to a great start. Don't thank me; thank music. And also me because I did this hard work.
Jukebox Heroes: A few of my favorite MMO soundtracks
I could hear some of you thinking in disbelief last week, "If Age of Conan isn't one of your top MMO scores, what is? And just how much am I not sending you a Christmas card this year, you loser?" You were kind enough to just think it and not say it, but I could hear it even so. As we've mentioned countless times in this column, musical tastes are subjective. What's appealing to you may not be for me and vice-versa. What more is that musical tastes -- and favorites -- are always shifting around. I listen back to the jams that I enjoyed in the '90s and absolutely pity my younger self for such a deficiency in his musical diet. So I thought that I'd take a week off our normal soundtrack reviews to bring to you my current top six favorite soundtracks. This list comes with the caveat that it's always subject to future changes as I continue to listen through more soundtracks for this column.
Jukebox Heroes: Riders of Rohan's soundtrack
It was a good day last week, a very good day indeed, when news that Turbine had finally released the Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan soundtrack for the enjoyment of all. I wasn't sure before that moment whether this score would see a proper release, but I had hopes because Turbine had done so with the original score and Mines of Moria. Riders of Rohan is the first major addition to LotRO's soundscape since Moria, and I'm sure I wasn't alone in clasping my hands together in excitement when I heard that Chance Thomas was returning to score it. We had heard several tracks from it leading up to the expansion's release, but the big question was whether the quality of these pieces was an anomaly or was indicative of the entire soundtrack's excellence. I wish you could see me grinning right now for the answer to that. Riders of Rohan instantly jumped to my top 10 favorite MMO soundtracks of all time, and I couldn't stop gushing about it to friends as I gave it my initial listen-through. Hit the jump to hear my highlights from it.
Lord of the Rings Online reveals Riders of Rohan soundtrack
Whether you play Lord of the Rings Online or not, there's no doubt that the game boasts stunning visuals and an impressive music score. With less than a week to go until the Riders of Rohan expansion is released, today Turbine teased players with a sample of the expansion's incredible soundtrack. To capture the sound of Rohan, composer Chance Thomas spent five years digging through the Lord of the Rings lore and pulling out every reference to sound or music for inspiration. The result is an orchestral soundtrack with an open and hopeful tone that captures the feel of the plains of Rohan. Chance's aim with the soundtrack is to really set the tone for each area and to evoke emotions from players that will enhance their game experiences. "Every part of Middle-earth has its own character," he explains, "and we've tried to give it its own voice." Read on to watch the Sound of Rohan preview video in HD or preview all 23 tracks in the iTunes store.
Jukebox Heroes Extra: Five exclusive DDO music tracks for your listening pleasure
I'll be honest: Part of the reason I'm doing this column is to get my grubby mitts (and ears) on as much MMO music as possible. So while it's great to talk with composers about their projects, I'm even more interesting in hearing the finished result. For a companion piece to my Chance Thomas interview, Turbine sent over five exclusive tracks from Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark. Sound Video Technology Director Steve DiGregorio wrote, performed, and recorded each of these, as both he and Thomas collaborated on Turbine's two expansions. In addition to the tracks and my thoughts on them, DiGregorio provided descriptions of each for illumination. Are you excited? I know I am, so let's hop to it!
Jukebox Heroes: Chance Thomas talks about scoring Turbine's expansions
For many Lord of the Rings Online players, the name Chance Thomas is synonymous with the feel of virtual Middle-earth. From the earliest days in the game, explorers have traversed the Shire, Moria, and beyond listening to Thomas' melodies. So we were excited to hear that Turbine is bringing Thomas back to score not only Riders of Rohan (his first soundtrack for the game since Mines of Moria) but also Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark as well. Thomas is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning composer who's been working primarily in the field of video game music since 1998. Being a huge fan of MMO soundtracks, I made it a personal quest to talk with him about these two new scores and how he feels about working in this genre. In the weeks ahead, I'll be reviewing both Rohan and Underdark's soundtracks, but today I wanted to focus on the man behind the music. Join me, then, as we embark on a voyage to worlds far away, sailing on the wings of a song. Geez, that's cheesy, ain't it?
The Road to Mordor: Riders of Rohan media blitz
While talking about music and goats is all well and good for this column, I've certainly heard those of you crying out, "Talk about Rohan! Rohan! Rohan!" Understandably, the desire to discuss and think about the upcoming expansion is strong in many of our minds, but I've also been mindful of not wanting to get fatigued by talking about this and nothing else. Remember, just because you're at the endgame and are the target audience for Riders of Rohan doesn't mean everyone is. That aside, it's actually pretty hard not to talk about the expansion this week. Turbine's showing more chutzpah this year with its marketing and promotion, and part of that has come in the form of several developer diaries and music videos. I think we're used to lengthy typed dev diaries, especially ones that come a day or so before an update goes live, but this is the first time in my memory that the team's utilized video so widely to promote a product. I kind of like it. So let's take a trip through these recent releases and see what we can't glean from them!
New LotRO Riders of Rohan video explores Rohan, soundtrack
Turbine has graced us with another behind-the-scenes video focused on Riders of Rohan's production process. This time around, the star is composer Chance Thomas, who says that penning Tolkien-inspired tunes is like "walking on sacred ground." Senior world designer Chris Pierson agrees, and he says that Turbine is aware of the lofty fan expectation surrounding Lord of the Rings Online's Rohan and the horse-culture Tolkien created. "Rohan is one of the strongest elements in the books, in my opinion, as far as stirring the emotions of the readers, captivating them, and creating a mental image of what people expect," Pierson explains. Thomas concurs, and he takes it a step further when discussing the audio work that's going into the expansion. "While the players are playing the game, I'm playing the player with some emotional knobs and sliders to bring their emotions into the experience," Thomas says. Check out the full video after the break. [Source: Turbine press release]
LotRO releases first track of Riders of Rohan's score
It's the old and new blending together to point to Lord of the Rings Online's future. Today Turbine released the first track for the upcoming Riders of Rohan expansion entitled LotRO Legacy. As the name suggests, it's a medley that combines several of LotRO's previous music tracks and then transitions into the original score. This is the first new composition for the game since 2008's Mines of Moria. Chance Thomas, who scored the core game and parts of Moria, has returned to create a full soundtrack for Riders of Rohan. Give the track a listen after the jump and let us know what you think!
E3 2012: Exploring the freedom of LotRO's Riders of Rohan
Saddle up, pard'ners: Riders of Rohan is coming! Lord of the Rings Online's fourth expansion in its full equine glory at this week's E3. At Turbine's booth, we got a first look at the expansion's highly touted mounted combat and were able to ask the crew some of our burning questions about the differences between the editions. It's apparent that Riders of Rohan has a ton to give LotRO subscribers. Turbine's chosen to release the east side of Rohan first, leaving out the west side for future development. The expansion features customizable mounts, impressive graphical upgrades, a slew of customization options, new NPCs, new content, and even a new orchestral soundtrack. Without further ado, let's dive in to explore the freedom of Rohan!
Turbine enlists Chance Thomas to score LotRO, DDO expansions
If you were disappointed by the absence of new music in Lord of the Rings Online's last couple of expansions, then today is a good opportunity to break out the headphones in celebration. Composer Chance Thomas has announced that Turbine contracted him to create an "all-original orchestral, choral and acoustic ensemble score" for this fall's Riders of Rohan. It's not just LotRO audiophiles who have cause to rejoice, either: Thomas is also on board with creating the music for Dungeons and Dragons Online's first expansion, Menace of the Underdark. Thomas' career in video game music dates back to the late '90s with Quest for Glory V. LotRO players know him best as one of the composers for both Shadows of Angmar and Mines of Moria. Menace of the Underdark will release June 25th, while Riders of Rohan is scheduled for some time this fall.
The Road to Mordor: Soundtrack bonanza!
One of the probably-not-very-interesting things about me is that I'm somewhat of a video game soundtrack aficionado. Ever since MP3s became all the rage, I've been collecting my favorite tunes from console and computer games, often replacing the in-game score with my own personal soundtrack. MMO soundtracks, as a whole, are hit or miss with me. While there are many incredible pieces out there, a bulk of what you find is low-key atmospheric stuff that isn't meant to be on anyone's Top 40 playlist. Lord of the Rings Online has its up and downs as a soundtrack, but overall it really does evoke the spirit of Middle-earth. It's hard to imagine playing the game, especially the early levels, without hearing these tracks. I've collected both the soundtracks to Shadows of Angmar and Mines of Moria and have been saving them for a special occasion. Today is that special occasion. These were composed by Chance Thomas (who's scored many Lord of the Rings-related games) and Stephen DiGregorio. Ranging from bombastic to sinister to folksy, this score covers the gamut of themes and emotions related to the journey of the Ring. It's cool to listen to it independently of the game, as you can appreciate the score for what it is -- and see how the pieces evoke memories of your times in LotRO. Instead of individually reviewing all 40 or so tracks, I'm simply going to pick my 10 most favorite to share with you!
