Battle Bards Episode 165: LOTRO Composer Bill Champagne

A new episode of Battle Bards is up!

On this Very Special Edition of the Battle Bards, Lord of the Rings Online’s Bill Champagne sat down for an interview to talk about his tenure in this long-running MMORPG as its lead composer. From his surprising origin story to tales behind the scenes at Standing Stone Games to his favorite soundtracks, Bill gives the flip-side of MMO music production while still sharing the love that we all have for these scores!

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Episode 165 show notes (show page, direct download)

• Intro
• “Where Dragons Dwell and Kingdoms Fell”
• “Life in Laketown”
• “Beyond All Darkness”
• “Valley Nourished by the Great River”
• “Dread and Drear”
• “Feast in the House of Grimbeorn”
• “Fury of the First Age”
• “She Who Walks in the Darkness”
• “The Remnants of Grárik”
• Outro (feat. “Lingering Shadow”)

Battle Bards Episode 164: Away With the Fairies

A new episode of Battle Bards is up!

If you ever walked into a forest glade at the light of the first full moon of the year, you may spy an impish fae dancing among the moonbeams and singing to all of the woodland creatures that come out for the annual concert. And if you ever tune in to Battle Bards — in particular, this episode — you may hear a rare recording of fairy music along with very serious discussion involving (a) aerial kung-fu, (b) the taste of fairy wings, and (c) didgeridoos. You are so not prepared for any of this.

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Episode 164 show notes (show page, direct download)

• Intro (feat. “Kelethin” from EverQuest II, “All’s Fairy in Love and War” from RuneScape, and “Fairytale” from EverQuest)
• “A Fairy of Peace” from Aion
• “Fairy Academy” from MapleStory
• “Fairy Tale Out of Time” from Allods Online
• “Fae Forest” from Project Gorgon
• “Fae Wilds” from Trove
• “The Fairy Valley” from Luna Online
• “Pixie Beast Tribe” from FFXIV
• Which one did we like most?
• Listener note from Katriana and Caroline
• Jukebox Picks: “The Cause” from Elemental Gearbolt, “Beach Bunny” from Jazz Jackrabbit, and “The Crystal Shards” from Kirby 64
• Outro (feat. “Fairy in the Grove” from Lineage 2)