quake part III: rolling your own
michael houston (houston@webframes.com):
If any of you have grown tired of the soundtrack that comes with the Quake CD, try it with the Mechwarrior 2 CD. The music fits perfectly. It's hard to explain how well it fits, but you'll know what I mean the moment you start a new game.
By the way, I have yet to grow tired of Trent, so please don't misinterpret this message as a complaint to the original Quake soundtrack.
bill de hora (ill@dehora.demon.co.uk):
Forget NIN. Napalm Death's ex-lead singer released an ambient album a few years ago (1994) under the name Scorn that is so perfect you'd swear Quake was written for the album. No joke, it's excellent.
james r. wilkinson (treznor@rain.org):
I've tried a pretty extensive number of good gothic/ambiance CDs while playing Quake...the best I've yet to experience is Dead Can Dance's Spleen and Ideal. It's as if the CD were written with Quake in mind. The tracks go perfectly with the cues and everything. The lyrics are fairly minimal, and what lyrics there are are generally mournful gothic stuff and it's just perfect for Quake. Check it out; it's well worth the $15 for it.
oh its you BOB.... (nightmar@wam.umd.edu):
I had Mechwarrior 2 in my CD player and did not even know it. The music made such great background and fit so well I had an argument with a friend that the Quake shareware had music. He told me to go home and check my CD-ROM, which I did and found out I was wrong. But the point is, you should try this CD with the game.
sean allen (srallen@nando.net):
Descent II [by Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy] is also great CD music for Quake.
vinny barbarino (lou13@ix.netcom.com):
Nah...the best CD for Quake is KMFDM's Angst.
nathan scott (doscott@brunswickmicro.nb.ca):
Actually, I think Hexen's CD works pretty well, if you want something in tune with the mood of the game. But I frequently find myself putting in whatever CD I feel like listening to -- from the cranberries' No Need To Argue to R.E.M.'s Out of Time (with such songs as "Shiny Happy People.")
gregory seid (gms2@lehigh.edu):
Anyone heard the soundtrack to The Crow? Not the publicized one with the Rollins Band and Stone Temple Pilots, but the original score [by Graeme Revell of SPK]. That's some nice stuff, very moody.
alden bates (alden@bates.wn.planet.gen.nz):
I played Quake shareware today and happened to have a CD in the drive.
It was Queen, Greatest Hits 1. After I killed the big monster in the last level, as the writing started spraying itself across the screen, "Another One Bites the Dust" kicked in. (I was rolling on the floor laughing for a while after that.)
peter lazar (cripl@texas.net):
My best is the album Filth Pig, by Ministry. It's perfect for the game!
hophead (brewman@vivid.net):
For the best background music, try Skinny Puppy's VIVIsectVI. They were putting out industrial music while Trent Reznor was still playing in his ca-ca (although I do love NIN). The CD is full of weird sound effects, wailing, industrial music, etc. It sounds like it was made just for the game.
brad murray (bmurray@njcc.com):
Amen on that one. I am so sick of hearing what a visionary Reznor is. Cevin Key, Dave Ogilvie, and Nivek Ogre were doing it 10 years ago. I have to disagree with your choice, though. Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse will always be the greatest industrial album of all time.
mark lythgoe (markel@itl.net):
The Quake ambient soundtrack is cool for playing to, but it still pales next to the soundtrack to Evil Dead II.
arthur purvis (purvis@worldnet.att.net):
I don't particularly like the game (the novelty kind of wears off), but by far the most fitting thing I put in the CD player was Godflesh -- Streetcleaner. Other stuff works, and well, but that's the perfect thing.
a poster from the florida governor's alliance:
My brother just lent me a collection entitled Dark Ambient. It focuses on inward atmosphere rather than outward atmosphere and is the type of stuff you SHOULD NOT listen to while on any mind-altering substance. WAY too much introspection...but great for Quake!
marcus hast (marcus.hast@mailbox.swipnet.se):
I listen to this CD called Zoo Rave I (really fast paced) and also Mech 2 (for gloom and doom).
stephen moore (steve@shpcorp.dnet.co.uk):
The best CD to listen to while playing Quake is definitely Refresh The Demon by Annihilator. It just kicks ass. Occasionally I'll put on Alice In Hell (also by Annihilator), which also kicks ass.
Thrash metal + Quake = Fragfest.
By the way, Trent Reznor's soundtrack sucks bigtime.
arthur yarwood (100545.1032@compuserve.com):
I thought it was a load of shag pile. Pure drivel and far too soppy. I don't know what Id had done to Reznor; it's as if they fed him daffodils and told him to make music.
I don't think it suits the game at all. You really need something with a 90-mph beat to tune your heart into. Personally, the NIN we all know and love is great for Quake, especially his remixes. Either that or White Zombie, possibly Therapy? or Monster Magnet in a pinch.
jonas henriksson (jonas.henriksson@lu.erisoft.se):
That depends on how you play the game. I move slowly, sneak around every corner. Every sound is bad news. To my style of playing, old Delerium works very well. I did play some intense, fast and noisy music a few times, but I ended up running around way too fast and getting killed a lot. Maybe it's better if you play on "easy."
shawn holmes (shawnh@csn.net):
I agree on the old Delerium part. The NIN soundtrack is good, but there are parts that could have been done better. Truly, only track #2 on the CD leaves an impression of fear...the rest are like, "Wow, Trent is repeating yet another sample for 11 minutes."
My pick for prime music is Reflections 1 and/or 2 from Delerium. Primarily for the fact that they are very dark, dismal, and hardly repeat themselves for elongated periods of time. Most of the tracks are creepy as hell, and Spiritual Archives isn't bad either.
ted fee (tfee@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu):
New thread: I've seen postings about which music to play with Quake. Industrial stuff seems to be getting the nod. Here's some music you better take OUT of your CD drive before you play:
keith calsyn (kcalsyn@ghgcorp.com):
I actually found a good one for this list accidentally! My wife had been listening to her CD and left it in the drive. When I started Quake and got into my intense Quake frame of mind, it was quickly destroyed by "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story (off the Disney Classics Volume III CD). That just sucked the killer instinct right out of me!
