Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell Official Game Soundtrack

Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell Official Game Soundtrack
U23 soundtrack album art
Bill Champagne
Released	January 11, 2019
Length	2:54:41
Label	Standing Stone Games LLC
Lotro Soundtrack Chronology
Update 22: Legacy of the Necromancer - Soundtrack (2018) Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell Official Game Soundtrack (2019) Update 24: Vales of Anduin Soundtrack (2019)

Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell Official Game Soundtrack is the official soundtrack for Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell, released on April 17, 2018. It was created by Bill Champagne and released as a playlist on YouTube.

Production and Release

Where Dragons Dwell is the second quest pack for which Bill Champagne composed the music, the first being Update 22: Legacy of the Necromancer.

Champagne took a different approach to Update 23, focusing more on weaving specific themes throughout the music as there were more specific things trying to be accomplished in this update. The themes that were a focus in this update were:

1. Dwarven ruins that were mysterious and ancient, but with a sense of hope
2. Sweeping grandeur of the Grey Mountains
3. Bleak emptiness of the Iron Hills
4. Majestic line of dwarven kings
5. Plight of the wandering Zhelruka dwarves
6. Dragons!

Champagne came up with several melodic ideas for each of the ideas; the team ended up liking all of them so they all ended up being worked into the soundtrack. This allowed for themes to be used in more focused ways, such as different themes for the different dragons and different music for Thikil-gundu versus Thrumfall. Themes were written for Karazgar and Hrimil, both based off of the themes for Vethug due to the close relationship between the two and Vethug. Instead of beginning with a descending tritone, Karazgar's theme begins with an ascending tritone, while Hrimil's theme uses simplified versions of Vethug's theme.

Where Dragons Dwell reuses some of the same Dwarven themes established in the Legacy of the Necromancer soundtrack, incorporating them with new music used throughout the zones. This was the first area to consist of largely Dwarven music since Mines of Moria in 2008.

After the update was initially released a suite of music was composed for the Anvil of Winterstith, using music and ideas from the Withered Heath, the line of kings and ruins themes, and Vethug's and Karazgar's themes.

"Mystery of Wistmead" uses several themes originally composed by Chance Thomas, arranged to give them more of a spooky feeling, as Wistmead is the new area created for the 2018 Harvest Festival. The themes used include Hills of the Shire and the House of Tom Bombadil.

The soundtrack was released as a YouTube playlist on January 11, 2019. It has been mentioned on the LotRO forums that they are looking into releasing this soundtrack as well as the Update 22 soundtrack in a downloadable format.

Software Used in Production

Tools

• Cubase 7 - Sequencing
• Sonar - Mixing
• Izotope Ozone 7 - Mastering

Software Instruments

• Cinematic Strings 2
• Cinebrass Core/Pro
• EWQL Hollywood Orchestra Diamond
• EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold
• EWQL Choirs
• Cinesamples Hollywoodwinds
• EWQL Stormdrum 2
• Quantum Leap Goliath
• Quantum Leap Ra

Track Listing

All tracks composed by Bill Champagne.

1. "The Halls of Thikil-gundu" - 5:22
2. "Melee in the Mines" - 2:22
3. "Challenging the Weeping Warrior" - 5:12
4. "Travellers in the Ironfold" - 5:34
5. "Invaders from Rhûn" - 2:35
6. "Iron Hard and Iron Cold" - 4:49
7. "The Glory of Skarháld" - 6:26
8. "A Clash of Iron" - 2:20
9. "Where Dragons Dwell and Kingdoms Fell" - 6:03
10. "Fighting in the Ruins" - 2:55
11. "The Caverns of Thrumfall" - 4:18
12. "A Troll of Two Minds" - 3:24
13. "The Lonely Hills" - 4:59
14. "The Power of Kalêm" - 5:35
15. "A Strike in Stormwall" - 2:33
16. "Travellers on the Dark Road" - 5:36
17. "Etterfang Revealed" - 3:51
18. "Memories of Tharrazhâr" - 5:43
19. "Enemy of the Dwarves" - 2:22
20. "The Remnants of Grárik" - 4:45
21. "The Glimmerdeep" - 6:03
22. "Skirmish in the Foothills" - 3:03
23. "Before the Grey Wrack" - 4:13
24. "Karazgar's Promise" - 9:55
25. "Terror in the Steel Keep" - 3:02
26. "Cracks in the Ironfort" - 5:36
27. "The Frost Horde" - 3:52
28. "Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old" - 4:32
29. "The Forges of Hammerstead" - 4:48
30. "The Herald of Winter" - 8:22
31. "A Difficult Encounter" - 2:43
32. "Dwarves Will Fight for Dwarves" - 2:26
33. "Lament of the Longbeards" - 5:20
34. "Fury of the First Age" - 4:27
35. "The Withered Heath" - 4:37
36. "Járnfast Jig" - 5:05
37. "The Anvil of Winterstith" - 5:32
38. "Bonus Track - Mystery of Wistmead" - 4:21

Personnel

• Bill Champagne

External Links

• YouTube playlist