Nostalgic thrills

This is the music review. Here you can find the game review of
League of Legends
and the music review of
Season 1 (2010) | Season 2 (2011) | Season 3 (2012) | Season 4 (2013) | Season 5 (2014) | Season 6 (2015) | Smite and Ignite (2014) | II: Grasp of the Undying (2017).

Before I start this review, there are a few things to clarify. First of all, the obvious: This review is about the soundtrack of the game League of Legends, for which I have already written a game review in the form of an essay, almost a manifesto. Since the game was released in 2009 and has now been running for over 10 years, a considerable collection of musical by-products has accumulated over time. In total, there are 310 tracks (as of January 2020).

For this reason, I have tried to assign the music sections to the respective seasons. In this way, it is easy to trace the development process from a small, acoustic creative forge to a fantasy giant. Various composers have also been at work during this decade. Unfortunately, the League of Legends soundtrack can only rarely be attributed to its exact creator. Most of the time, I had to gather the information from sites like Mobygames or vgmdb.net . This problem will become apparent in the following seasons, in which I will assign them to a composer without claiming to be correct. But that's the way it is with niche hobbies: you do it for yourself - like this text.

So much for the why. But before we really get down to the nitty-gritty, the last thing to point out is that this is not an OST, an "official soundtrack". Although there is the album The Music of League of Legends, it is much more reduced and lacks many of the - for me - iconic tracks. Instead, I'm using the Soundcloud channel of Soundcloud channel of League of Legends, where you can listen to all the tracks. The tracks that can't be assigned to a season are listed below.

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Season 1 (2010)

After the introductory how, we now come to the why. Why do I just love this music, especially the music from the first season? Why do I get goosebumps every time A Champion Approaches plays? Anyone who has read my game review or even just a few of my other reviews of older games will already be rolling their eyes and muttering 'nostalgia, same as always'. And they'd be right. I've spent so many hours in this game, in the lobby at the Blind Pick, where a horn sounds to summon the players before rhythmic drums start a swelling march - of course the nervousness, the tension, the anticipation of the match imprints the music in my memory. LoL was still one of my first online experiences, meeting other people online was still exciting.

But even without this impression, I would probably have enjoyed the track, as I have noticed that I am particularly attracted to drum-intensive pieces. I think this goes back to an early childhood experience when my father took my brother and me to a performance by the Far Eastern troupe Tao, which I was so enthusiastic about that I even bought the CD... or had it bought. Another soundtrack that goes in a similar direction is, for example, the music from the series Battlestar Galactica or tracks like The Art of War of Team Fortress 2 or Chariot Chase of Assassin’s Creed II.

What was true for the blind pick was doubly and triply true in ranked mode. While the comparatively 'tame' accompanying track already scored 5 stars, A Champion Approaches, which played in the lobby during the ranking games, is a whole galaxy with its own timeline. There are few other themes that knock my socks off every time like the music that was also featured in the trailer at the time. Here is a brief insight:

Strings play the first notes of this simple but magnificent melody, which Riot Games, for some unknown reason, threw overboard at some point, just as the Harry Potter-films did with John Williams' music, for example. A simple sequence of notes, ascending, staircase-like. The piece picks up speed, fanfares herald the imminent epic - then dissonances, something disturbs! It builds up to a crescendo, but then sinks again. The melody begins anew in the distance - suddenly an electric guitar screeches. Here? In this piece? Out of place! - No, it's fitting, dramatic. Because now the song resounds in all its splendor, the heavenly melody, accompanied by vocals, stretches upwards, an interplay of clichés that works wonderfully - and it's barely reached the 2-minute mark!

The fantastic thing is that the track manages to maintain this insane level of quality before it - well deservedly - ebbs away towards the end. In my opinion, it's a masterpiece that today's generation of LoL-kids will unfortunately never hear. Only the main theme from Runes of Magic is probably similarly unknown - but that's another story. After all, League of Legends-players were treated to a whole lot more fantastic music, which in many cases is at least on a par with its predecessors and, in a few cases, even superior. More on this in the reviews of the following seasons, which are sure to come at some point.

Season 2 (2011)

The music of League of Legends was subject to constant change. 10 years, different composers and a bunch of events along with champion releases do not go unnoticed. It's nice to see this process reflected in some of the best video game soundtracks - especially when you consider that this is a MOBA where lore and atmosphere are about as important as a rubber dinghy in the desert.

With the start of Season 2 in October 2012, Riot Games brought in a new composer, Christian Linke, to support and later succeed Duncan Watt (note: this information should be taken with a grain of salt and is based on my research). The developer also started a new approach by giving certain skins and new heroes their own compositions, which were featured in the loading screen. Despite the sometimes long waiting times, nobody stared at the splash screen for more than two minutes at the time, so these titles are quite short and should be seen more as an overture, especially as hardly any of the themes were later developed further.

But that doesn't make them bad by any means, as you can see from the rating sheet. Many of the champion tracks are aptly chosen and skillfully bring out the character: Darius, the Hand of Noxus describes a dark, unyielding violence that is emphasized by the lows of the strings and contrasted by the highs of the vocals. Uniform, straightforward, yet sublime. A general who swings the executioner's axe for Noxus, universally regarded as 'evil' in the lore of League of Legends , but who does so with conviction rather than malice. This contrasts with the theme of his brother Draven, the Glorious Executioner. Similarly sombre, electric guitars come to the fore here, while a chanting choir shouts out the name of the narcissistic executioner who loves the spotlight. The theme is rounded off by a relentless cello that announces the end. Musically, you can recognize the togetherness and antagonism of the two brothers, which I like.

However, Kha’Zix, the Void Reaver and his adversary Rengar, the Pridestalker show that this does not always work. These were advertised as direct competitors at the time of release and were provided with unique interactions that even influenced the game. Musically, however, there are no antagonistic references. While the theme of the wolf-like Rengar with drums was given a suitably burly jungle feel, that of Kha'Zix, a beetle-like creature, seems rather incongruous to me. Apparently, an attempt was made to create a Pradator-meets-Alien, which perhaps suits the character's aesthetics, but the brute force makes the track sound like the score of a horror movie. It's probably a matter of taste if I criticize the fact that I miss the subtlety of a hunter and the duality to the adversary mentioned above, but that's what my review is for - my opinion.

In addition to these (supposedly) related themes, there are also numerous individual themes that I really like: Diana, Scorn of the Moon (Daylight’s End) of Diana, the goddess of the moon and thus the direct adversary of her sun sister Leona, was the first track in LoL-history with real lyrics. In this ballad-like ode, the character of the sickle-sword-wielding night owl becomes clear, the initially hopeful message is later moved into the minor key by the dark undertone and the actual message of the song, before day's literal doom is sinisterly conjured up in the last verse: "Cruel moon, bring the end, the dawn will never rise again." Incidentally, the song was sung by Lisa 'Saiyaka' Thorn, who was employed by Riot as a graphic designer and deserves the highest praise for her performance.

Other five-star tracks on my list include Zed, the Master of Shadows, which seems almost monotonous in direct comparison to Daylight’s End , as it follows the dominant tenor of bombast in this score and lacks references to the character's Asian cultural background. But it is precisely this Hans Zimmer-style bombast, with its strong percussion and dominant strings, that pushes the right buttons for me. It's a similar story with the skin themes to Battlecast Prime Cho Gath and Eternum Nocturne, where synths are also used to convey the futuristic feeling. Syndra, the Dark Sovereign is similarly dark, but less brute and more sublime thanks to the strings, in keeping with the title. Gatekeeper Galio , meanwhile, goes all Diablo and reminds me at least of the intro to the animated series Diablo and reminds me at least of the intro to the animated series Gargoyles - how fitting!

The two highlights from this score at least for me are the following two tracks, which could hardly be more polar opposites. The first is Nami, the Tidecaller, a truly beautiful, classical piano composition with flute accompaniment, which depicts the element of water in accordance with the river spirit Nami (Japanese for 'wave'). Initially calm and steady, we hear a leitmotif on the piano with wave-like movements, which is then replaced by the flute and now accompanied by the piano before it takes over again and moves on together with the strings. On and on it goes into new realms, swelling and ebbing away at the end. As in Bedřich Smetana's Die Moldau , we mentally experience a river that drifts slowly, dreamily, before it rushes powerfully through rapids, beautiful, but also frightening for those who get caught up in the maelstrom. Above it, the motif, together with strings and piano. A track that I love to bits!

The other highlight, by contrast, appeals to a completely different part of me, namely the one that thinks that deafness by old age is a problem that won't affect me and believes it's a good idea to throw yourself into a pile of unwashed people in front of the stage to test the limits of the human body's resilience: Vi, the Piltover Enforcer (Here Comes Vi), sung by Nicki Taylor, is a classic rock party with shrill electric guitars, drum solos and the message that violence is a solution after all. It fits the boxing sheriff Vi wonderfully and is fun even if you don't know exactly what the track is about - but that's usually the case with rock songs.

Apart from these compositions, all of which I credit to the above-mentioned composers for lack of better knowledge, there is still Duncan Watt, whose work I already praised in the review of Season 1 . Thankfully, his main theme is also referenced several times in Season 2 and can be found as a variation in an even more heroic form in Jace, the Defender of Tomorrow and as a childlike, magically playful version in Lulu, the Fae Sorceress . His best work in this season, however, was in the Blind Pick for the then new game mode Dominion, which doesn't deny its relationship to the regular Summoner’s Rift and with its increasing tension, perhaps due to nostalgia, is simply fun - and not just in the preparation phase of the game. Even the background music of the Dominion map is, perhaps due to the speed of the mode, not a boring drone, but well worth listening to and fun.

This puts it in direct competition with the next game mode, the 3vs3 map Twisted Treeline, where the music is much more restrained. As in Peter and the Wolf we experience a wondrous fantasy forest, which makes a great contribution to the atmosphere in terms of content, but hardly arouses any enthusiasm on its own. Just like the other tracks, that I have not included in this review, which was originally intended to be much shorter. What remains is a very solid album that contains a few real gems. And anyone who actually listens to it and has a fable for bit music will probably have enjoyed Pulsefire Ezreal . I would say to this one person: Try Bit Rush, I like that one a bit better.

Season 3 (2012)

In addition to the expected new skins and champions, Season 3 also saw the introduction of seasonal in-game events within the brawler arena, which paid tribute to the striking main theme one last time. Although none of them are outstanding, they at least give the whole thing a different touch and show how many forms a melody can take. In Snowdown 2013 with bells and jingles to match the Christmas season, Lunar Revel 2013 for the Chinese New Year with Asian bells and whistles and the summery Pool Party 2013 with tropical beach flair for chilling out.

In addition, a new game mode was added in 2013 which, as far as I know, is still very popular today: ARAM, the acronym for 'All Random, all Mid', which boiled down the strategically demanding gameplay to a onedimensional, yet entertaining brawl. This is something you can enjoy, but it's not the point here, as I'm not only interested in the new map, the Howling Abyss in a wintry Viking setting, but also in the music that goes with it. Like Dominion and Twisted Treeline, a new theme has been specially created for this, reminiscent of Nordic Nibelung myths and tracks such as Northmar from Gothic 3 or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla . The theme sounds in different versions during play, depending on which phase of the game we are in. At the beginning we have the reduced Early Game-version, which later blows up into the In-Your-Face version - a bit like Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. A bit of pathos, a lot of Scandinavian flair and a touch of Game of Thrones make this addition to the map music roster a worthwhile addition.

Well, what else do we have? A few nice tracks for new skins, such as Spirit Guard Udyr, the second 'epic' aesthetic adaptation after Pulsfire Ezreal as well as Aether Wing Kayle and the funny Forecast Janna breaking news clip, referencing the main theme. On top of that, there are champion themes like the too cool to handle The Purifier’s Resolve for the first black champion Lucian, the stately Quinn, Demacia’s Wings and the creepy horror track for the soul horror Thresh, the Chain Warden, which I (fun fact) used as background music for a promotional video for Halloween. If you're looking for something to amuse you, you can click this video if you want to enjoy past-Mattis editing skills.

But wait, that's not it yet. As always, the best is saved for last! And that's the counterpart to the righteous rock queen Vi and her track Here Comes Vi, namely Jinx, the Loose Cannon (Get Jinxed), which was already announced in my review of Season 2. An equally good punk rock track that could hardly express the anarchic attitude of the machine gun girl in a more contrasting way to the punching policewoman. Flashy, fast and sung by Norwegian singer Agnete Kjølsrud, this song does everything right and is a welcome change from the fantasy track.

Season 4 (2013)

What I always enjoy about the reviews of the League of Legends-seasons is not only the (re)discovery of great themes, which trigger a sizzle of memory somewhere in the dusty corners of my head when I listen to them, but also the fact that you can read both the development of the LoL brand and the musical zeitgeist from them. Apparently, 2014 was the year in which dubstep became socially acceptable, which is why we have two tracks that go in this direction: Dunkmaster Darius and Vel’Koz, the Eye of the Void.

New to League of Legends this season, however, was the stronger focus on cinematic Blizzard-like render trailers, heralded by A New Dawn . At the same time, you can tell that the music is more experimental. We move away from the classic, orchestral epic and discover cultural tropes, among other things. The previously released Champion tracks were already varied enough to differentiate the extensive roster musically. But with themes such as Azir, the Emperor of the Sands or Braum, the Heart of the Freljord , oriental or Scandinavian timbres now find their way into the fantasy corner. And Gnar, the Missing Link is a beautiful mix of primitive archaic drumming and a sweet Crash Bandicoot-touch.

In addition, the main map Summenor's Rift also featured a new theme in 2014, which evolves dynamically over the course of the match in the style of the previously released Howling Abyss from Season 3 . Personally, I still prefer the original from Season 1 but it's not bad either. There are also a few tunes for the annual events (Harrowing 2014, Lunar Revel 2014, Snowdown 2014) as well as a rather 'blatant' track for the Season 4-event, called Hybrid Worldswhich sounds more like Command & Conquer than an orchestra.

All in all, Season 4 is a nice mix without any real total failures, which uses new approaches to take the LoL-cosmos out of a niche that it serves excellently, but opens it up to a much wider range of musical possibilities. This can result in something like Sion, the Undead Juggernaut (Reborn), which sounds like the Terminator brand, the superhero theme Super Galaxy Rumble, or even a cheesy sweet Christmas movie like in Snowdown 2014.

Season 5 (2014)

Season 5 of League of Legends started in 2015 and not only brought a few new champions and remakes of veteran warriors like Poppy or buccaneer Gankplank, but also tons of skins and a story event about the lore of the heroes with a pirate background. And Season 5 was also around the time I ended my LoL-career to save my mental health and professional future - more on that in my game review.

Fortunately, I never had to build up this detachment from the brand's music, as it is top-notch as usual and shouldn't lose any of its quality in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, I have to grumble a little. Although this is an OST, the tracks are listed alphabetically and not chronologically, which means that Butcher’s Bridge – Defeat comes before Butcher’s Bridge – Early Game, for example. That annoys me a little. Meanwhile, the fact that the soundtrack cherry-picks and doesn't fully reflect the music used in Season 5 (as you can listen to on Soundcloud) - that's the right of an OST.

And 'right' is also an excellent keyword, as the music is of the usual high standard and sufficiently varied. At the beginning, the aforementioned pirate event introduces buccaneer tropes to the score: Butcher’s Bride in its different variations (Early, Mid and Lategame) with its fiddles and chanty character is reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag-pirate adventures. In fact, the style was also to be found years later in the role-playing game spin-off Ruined King: A League of Legends Story . Nice!

Captain Fortune and Captain Gankplank are in no way inferior and give the two protagonists their own feeling through subtle differences. Since the old orange-nosed Gankplank was given a remake in the season, as mentioned above, there was also a champion theme to go with it (Gankplank, the Saltwater Scourge), which brings a nice swaying feeling with its powerful drums and interplay with violins and choir.

The track for the cuddly Yordle lady Tristana, who does a slight job change for her skin Dragon Trainer Tristana , or the theme for the revamped Poppy, Keeper of the Hammer sound like classic feel-good fantasy fare. Ekko, the Boy Who Shattered Time, which features prominently on the screen in Riot's Netflix series Arcane , on the other hand, comes across as a nice groovy and rocky tune. The same applies to the track Ekko: Seconds, which is the music for the cinematic.

Other stereotypes include musical evergreens such as Asian flair (Firecracker Jinx), spherical sounds (Bard, the Wandering Caretaker), techno synths (PROJECT: Override, PROJECT: Yi, Zombie Slayer Jinx) and swamp vibes (Tahm Kench, the River King - for fans of Bastion ). In addition to the usual LoL-epics such as Bard: Mountain, llaoi, the Kraken Priestess and Season 5 , there are also a few tracks that are a little off the beaten track.

Kindred, the Eternal Hunters is a soulful piano piece that beautifully illustrates the bipolarity of the champion - the incarnation of death, who seeks his prey shaped as both a lamb and a wolf. With the cold predictability of the lamb, which can be misinterpreted as meekness, alongside the relentless lust for the hunt of the wolf, which watches over the lamb both obediently and protectively, this interplay of piano and cello is what brings the fable to life.

For fans of Call of Duty or Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell there is Omega Squad Teemo , as it perfectly captures the agent/special forces spirit. And for fans of the Christmas spirit, Snowdown 2015 is also included. I have no real points of criticism and the high quality makes up for the fact that the coherent picture of the fantasy world has been swapped for a wild mix of genres. So Season 5 feels more like a catch-all than a consistent composition - but splashing around in it is fun.

Season 6 (2015)

With Season 6 , we've really reached the point where my League of Legends-career was over. But just because good ol' DonSpeedy is no longer roaming the Summoner's Rift doesn't mean time stands still in Riot's MOBA. As a result, a 27-track soundtrack awaited players in 2016, the quality of which ranged from good to very good.

Either the studio was always lucky to get the right people to produce fantastic music, or it was the money - presumably it was the money. I certainly won't be complaining when the result is once again a journey into the multi-layered world of Runeterra that is more than worth listening to.

While in the previous Season 5 with Butcher’s Bridge (even if it was only an adaptation of the ARAM map), the score for the sixth season is comparatively 'ordinary'. We can expect themes for

new champions	Skins
– Aurelion Sol the Star Forger – Camille, the Steel Shadow – Ivern, the Green Father – Jhin, the Virtuoso – Kled, the Cantankerous Cavalier – Taliyah, the Stoneweaver	– Dark Star Thresh – Devil Teemo – Elementalist Lux – Mecha Zero Sion – PROJECT: Ashe
old champions	annual events
– Ryze, the Rune Mage – Taric, the Shield of Valoran – Yorick, the Shepherd of Souls	– April Fools 2016 – Lunar Revel 2016 – Showdown 2016

As a small service, I have marked all the tracks that I particularly like in red : The theme to Camille, the deadly machine agent with blades for legs, brings back memories of Dishonored 2 memories. The melody of the violin, the high tempo, it just fits together wonderfully. The piano introduction to Elementalist Lux is pleasantly soulful, then almost regular epic - epic nonetheless. Mecha Zero Sion , on the other hand, bursts out at us like steam, dark and powerful. We can almost see the giant undead warrior crushing everything in its path. Ryze, the Rune Mage is less brute, but no less determined.

The absolute highlight for me this season, however, is the eponymous Season 6, whose heroic opening with fanfares and powerful drums heralds the start of the new season. I just love this excessiveness, this completely exaggerated pathos for a video game. Sounds that seem worthy of the grandeur of Gustav Mahler, accompanied by a choir, pounding away at us. Marvelous! By the way, if you want to experience the whole thing in variations, such as adaptations for China, Europe, Turkey or North America, you can find them on the League of Legends Soundcloud as a 2016 Mid-Season Invitational. Have fun!

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Smite and Ignite

You probably won't believe me when I say that the album release Smite and Ignite for the in-game heavy metal band Pentakill is a heavy metal album. Yes, mind blown, I know. It was released in 2014 for Season 4 and intended more as a gag for League of Legends-fans who liked the premise of champions like Sona, Karthus and Yorick getting together to make music. What was originally based on a few skins was to become the standard for Riot Games to promote small story events and spin-offs such as the Star Guardians or the fictional K-pop band K/DA.

Back with the heavy metal group, although they didn't get a playable adventure, they did get the aforementioned album ... and it's actually quite good. The tracks, most of which were inspired by items from the game, should make fans of Blind Guardian or Black Sabbath feel good, even if the lyrics are of course based on LoL . I also really enjoy a few selected tracks, but I wouldn't call myself a metal disciple for that reason. Nevertheless, the album strikes a nerve, which is perhaps also due to the fact that there is no shouting or other unacceptable things.

As you can see: I'm not the best person to rate this kind of music. In my opinion, the songs will be too generic for some, while others will be satisfied with the interchangeability and headbanging riffs. LoL-fans, on the other hand, will get a slight smile on their face when, in The Hex Core they sometimes hear Blitzcrank's ultimate. And with Orb of Winter even some League of Legends-typical epic has crept in. I can listen to it myself, but I have to be in the right mood to storm the mosh pit with this kind of music. Unfortunately, Smite and Ignite doesn't manage that and thus joins the ranks of most other heavy metal records.

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II: Grasp of the Undying

After their first successful record, Smite and Ignite, the fictional League-band followed up in 2017 with II: Grasp of the Undying delivering more of the familiar metal variety. In ten tracks, whose names are once again based on items from the game, genre fans get what they should be expecting by now. As someone who is more stuck on the rock/punk side of things and only listens to snippets of Ozzy Osbourne and his fellow musicians, the album is nice, but not really remarkable.

The only noticeable thing compared to Smite and Ignite is the lack of sound effects, which reinforced the feeling of belonging to the LoL cosmos there. This hardly changes the overall impression, but it does make II: Grasp of the Undying feel a little more generic. Only the Blade of the Ruined King, which tends towards the Final Fantasy VII Remake, creates an orchestral feeling.

Because I forgot to mention it in my review of the first album, I would at least like to briefly mention who lends their voice to the champions here: The bony Frontlich is sung by Norwegian Jørn Lande, who has sung for Ark, Beyond Twilight, Millenium, Vagabond, The Snakes and Masterplan, among others. Finn Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast) is also on board, although we only hear her in Tear of the Goddess and Frozen Heart. The last of the bunch is Peer Johansson, the lead vocalist of the Danish rock band Fate, who takes on the vocals in The Hex Core mk-2.

The League Wiki also has an amusing interview with ‘the band’ on the release of their second album. So if you can't get enough of this elaborate PR stunt, you'll be happy there and probably with II: Grasp of the Undying as a whole.