Best Megawad Soundtrack

[average rodent]

Subjectively, what is the Megawad with the best soundtrack you've ever heard? Not only that, but also what are your favorite tracks?

[Sonikkumania]

I still like the MarsWar tracker OST.

[Andrea Rovenski]

Memento Mori 2 or Ancient Aliens are my picks. Favorites for each would be map11 in mm2 and map10 in aa

Edited September 21, 2023 by Andrea Rovenski

[natashanightmare]

btsx E1

[LadyMistDragon]

Tricky. Memento Mori is almost my favorite but there are too many repeat tracks and meanwhile, I'm not really down with all the funk rockers David Shaw does in MM2. I'll just say Ancient Aliens. Probably "Serenade of the Demons" "Imaginarium" "Colliding Nebulae" "Roof" and "The Incessant Flow of Time"

 

 

Icarus probably has one of the most consistent of the classic megawads, more so than Requiem even, but AA still gets the nod.

Edited September 22, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Dynamo]

Memento Mori II for me, MAP03 and MAP07 alone are such masterpieces, and there are many other great tracks too. Plus no repeats unlike Requiem and STRAIN.

[MemeMind]

 

 

Also Map30's music never fails to make me smile.

[OceanMadman]

Not original soundtracks, but I really like the music they chose for Liminal Doom and Alien Vendetta.

[Cutman 999]

Both btsx episodes, SOD and AA.

[Andrea Rovenski]

repeat tracks are cool because it gives you a cohesive context to the wad, i like how doom 2 and mm do it. 

[Kwisior]

Valiant has an exceptional midi selection.

Edit: I can't really remember enough tracks to pick favorites from, but I like the ones from maps 1, 6, 7, 13, 31, 19, 20 and the text screen.

Edit 2: The midipacks for Plutonia, TNT and Alien Vendetta are also great.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Kwisior

[Caffeine Freak]

TNT: Revilution's OST alone makes it worth playing. (Don't get me wrong though, the WAD itself is fucking good as well!)

[Andrea Rovenski]

2 minutes ago, Caffeine Freak said:

TNT: Revilution's OST alone makes it worth playing. (Don't get me wrong though, the WAD itself is fucking good as well!)

absolutely! map15 is on my top 10 doom midis, for sure. gives me bumps every time

[Caffeine Freak]

8 minutes ago, Andrea Rovenski said:

absolutely! map15 is on my top 10 doom midis, for sure. gives me bumps every time

 

Yeah, I'm absolutely in love with the tracks from Maps 2, 6, 8 and 12. Crazy Caste Killer goes along with the map itself in a way I've rarely seen achieved by a Doom MIDI. Ionian Isolation fits the mood and color scheme of its map so well it's almost eerie. Neato is just a great track to map to. :D

[Firedust]

Ancient Aliens!

[Naan]

Icarus: Alien Vanguard. Espiecally Tom Mustaine tracks. Love their atmosphere!

[ZenGun]

I second TNT Revilution and Ancient Aliens. 

Also, probably unexpectedly - Down the Drain by Benjogami, because it contains MIDI renditions of Radiohead, Abba, Nirvana and few songs from other very good artists. Playing doom maps with this music was very unique experience, and it fits this wad's atmosphere very well.
Hell, this wad recently singlehandedly rekindled my old forgotten passion for Radiohead, and i finally decided to listen Moon Shaped Pool, which i have been ignoring.

Other then that, if we're counting only megawads with midis written specially for them, i'd go with TNTR and AA

[Gregor]

Jumpwad has one of my favorite soundtracks. "Oct17.mid" by Ribbiks is such a gorgeous, wistful composition that fits perfectly with the haunting, melancholy atmosphere of Map07: Bread and Bear, a map very much about death and one of the most impressive things I ever played in Doom.

 

I also love the soundtrack for 1000 Lines 3, with "Sanctuary" by AD_79 for Map22 being my favorite. Really beautiful track, especially the beginning.

[thelamp]

Magic Doom's soundtrack is moody as hell and also kicks ass

[LVENdead]

Personally speaking, I feel like I'd be grasping at being contrarian if I didn't give my vote to Ancient Aliens. Some tracks evoke this whimsical fantastical vibe that really gels with the interstellar journey theme of the maps, but also really highlight the often cheeky tone that seems present too. The upbeat songs for more action packed maps are groovy but not gnarly, almost making you feel like dancing which meshes with Doom's rhythmic gameplay. To repeat myself from a discord conversation, it makes you feel like head bopping instead of head banging.

 

I think BTSX E1/2 gets a close second place vote from me. I think the soundtrack is as much apart of the appeal as the unique textures/visual style and you can't really describe BTSX's identity without talking about the music.

 

I'm sure I'm overlooking some other really solid examples, but there's a bit of recency bias in my response (since I go back and listen to tracks from these wads a lot), and this is just off the top of my head what I can remember and of course, what I've played.

[Murdoch]

Requiem.

[INfront95]

Not a usual pick but as Creative/Fitting the wad: Going Down. The soundtrack fits like a glove

[DerBlanca]

Easy pick: Icarus - Alien Vanguard. Talosian Incident is a close second. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by DerBlanca

[pcorf]

There are not many out there with entirely original soundtracks created exclusively for the intended megawad. But the first Memento Mori has some absolutely iconic tracks.

 

Memento Mori (already mentioned), fave songs are Slipper, Hidden Anger, The Wind, Triangle of Fear and Scary 2

Memento Mori 2 (already mentioned), fave songs are MAP07, MAP22

Icarus (already mentioned), fave song is Mad (MAP05) 

Eternal Doom, fave song is MAP28

[EPICALLL]

probably an unpopular opinion... however I would favour Scythe II's picks. Sure, not a single track is made for the wad... However, I think that each track is used very effectively, and fit the maps they represent very well.

[Jacek Bourne]

Of 32 level mapsets I'd say Scythe 2 and Sunlust

 

With Scythe 2 there is a very clear coherence between the songs picked out for each episodes. The music for all of the gothic levels all fit together in the same way the music for all jungle maps fit together. The Scythe 2 episodes aren't just visual themes. The music is also part of the theme.

 

In Sunlust, the mood and atmosphere between the tracks transitions very smoothly throughout the entire wad. Every track feels appropriate in its map, its place in the megawad, and in its relation to other songs. 

[Faceman2000]

I’m here because no one ever says Doom 64 for Doom II but it’s actually the correct answer.

[Caffeine Freak]

Random mention is from the '1 Monster' WAD---I played through it over a decade ago and still have memories of the first time I heard this kickass track from map 12 (Baron Citadel.) I don't know if this is the first WAD to use this track, but it's the first and only one I've heard.

[Andrea Rovenski]

2 hours ago, pcorf said:

Icarus (already mentioned), fave song is Mad (MAP05) 

unbelievably good one right there

[whybmonotacrab]

BTSX 1/Eviternity would be my picks, but they're gonna get mentioned by a lot of people so I'm going to throw out Ozonia. Holy Jesus there's some good music in there. Honestly all of Deadwing's megawads have superb music.