# Darkest soundtrack/theme?



## alexandrost (Jun 28, 2020)

Hi guys,

I was looking for really dark themes for inspiration. One of my favorites in that department is Jocelyn Pook's "Masked Ball".
It has this super dark, mystical/culty vibe.
Any other recommendations ?

(The only similar thing I could think was Dead Can Dance, which I love , though I was more interested in cinematic pieces)


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## Bear Market (Jun 29, 2020)

I for one love Laura Palmer's Theme.


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## alexandrost (Jun 29, 2020)

Bear Market said:


> I for one love Laura Palmer's Theme.



That's a good one!


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## Sunny Schramm (Jun 29, 2020)

Dark, bizarre & gloom...










More sad but also dark:






The darkest, morbid and horrorfying ever heard  :


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## Eugenic (Jun 29, 2020)

This.

I LOVE Goldenthal.


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## alexandrost (Jun 29, 2020)

Those are some great recommendations. Thanks guys, I'll check them out. By the way, @Sunny Schramm , Heilung? WOW How come did I not know about them! That's one of the most unique things I've heard (and seen) recently. Cheers!


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## Sunny Schramm (Jun 29, 2020)

alexandrost said:


> Those are some great recommendations. Thanks guys, I'll check them out. By the way, @Sunny Schramm , Heilung? WOW How come did I not know about them! That's one of the most unique things I've heard (and seen) recently. Cheers!



yes, they are really great. saw them last year over here in kiel. it was the most intense and atmospheric concert I´ve ever seen 

not as impressive as heilung but good dark tribal ambient is "paleowolf". they got a lot of stuff - you have to watch/here a lot to find the gems...but they are there 😉









Paleowolf


Paleowolf is a tribal dark ambient project aimed at invoking the ancient spirits of prehistoric past. The era of Paleowolf is set in times before, during and...




www.youtube.com






If you like it also a little bit harder and electronic than you should check out "yelworc" from the 90s. Its called Splatter Electro or Dark Tribal Electro:


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## alexandrost (Jun 29, 2020)

Sunny Schramm said:


> yes, they are really great. saw them last year over here in kiel. it was the most intense and atmospheric concert I´ve ever seen
> 
> not as impressive as heilung but good dark tribal ambient is "paleowolf". they got a lot of stuff - you have watch/here a lot to find the gems...but they are there 😉
> 
> ...



thanks! Good stuff!!


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## Jorgakis (Jun 29, 2020)

What about Wojciech Kilar? Not on the culty side but still pretty dark:


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## Sunny Schramm (Jun 29, 2020)




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## MartinH. (Jun 29, 2020)

Maybe something like this? Or is this not melodic enough / too droney?


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## Mornats (Jun 29, 2020)

Would this float your boat? One of my favourite soundtracks, quite dark and twisted and very fitting for the film.


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## Sunny Schramm (Jun 29, 2020)

Mornats said:


> Would this float your boat? One of my favourite soundtracks, quite dark and twisted and very fitting for the film.




Such a good movie! 🥰


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## Akarin (Jun 29, 2020)

The main theme for American Horror Story is quite dark too.


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## Smikes77 (Jun 30, 2020)

This is amazing stuff


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## MA-Simon (Jun 30, 2020)

Nut shure if dark, but this series had a really weird mood going.


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## SoundChris (Jun 30, 2020)

Check out "Hell´s Picture Scroll" from the Soundtrack of Akira Kurosawa´s Masterpiece "Ran" by Toru Takemitsu!


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## el-bo (Jun 30, 2020)

Perhaps not as dark as you are looking for, but very evocative nonetheless. And once you've seen the film (Classic; One of my fav's), even the lighter moments of the soundtrack take on a darker, more sinister vibe.


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## heryanmau (Jul 5, 2020)

This music makes me feel 'I don't have anything in this world'


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## dcoscina (Jul 5, 2020)

Shapiro's Destroyer is pretty dark.


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## telecode101 (Jul 5, 2020)

..


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## KEM (Jul 6, 2020)

Might not be a pick most people would expect but this is super dark:


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## TheSigillite (Jul 6, 2020)

The 1992 soundtrack to Dracula by Wojciech Kilar has always been a favorite of mine as far as dark cinematic goes.


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## MillsMixx (Jul 6, 2020)

Just binge watched the 3rd season on Netflix.


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## MA-Simon (Jul 8, 2020)

MillsMixx said:


> Just binge watched the 3rd season on Netflix.


Still have to start watching, kept it in the backlog until I heard that it will end with this season (3). Very excited to start!


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## iwritemusic (Jul 8, 2020)

Cliff Eidelman's opening credits theme for Star Trek 6, saw this with my dad when it came out and it still gives me goosebumps!


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## Scamper (Jul 8, 2020)

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs has some pretty uncomfortable tunes. I hate it in a good way.


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## heryanmau (Jul 8, 2020)

Scamper said:


> Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs has some pretty uncomfortable tunes. I hate it in a good way.



this is really my taste, thanks for sharing


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## Satorious (Jul 8, 2020)

I spoke with composer George Fenton a few years back, and he told me they rejected his score for Interview With The Vampire because it was too dark (I recall the Elliot Goldenthal score wasn't exactly light), would love to hear the rejected version.

I always found some of Paul Zaza's horror work pretty dark, he's great at doing creepy things with Glissandos.


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## José Herring (Jul 8, 2020)

There are so many "dark" type scores. Having burned out of writting too many horror film scores, I'd like to try my hand at dark urban and dark urban apocalyptic films.

Some of my favorites in that genre are:








But my all time Favorite is not in that Genre:


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## José Herring (Jul 8, 2020)

In the old timey horror genre:







Aw man, I'm running out of time. There are so many more.


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## iwritemusic (Jul 8, 2020)

Don't discount some good old fashioned ponderous organ music for chordal/textural inspiration too, you can get most of the scores for free on imslp.org. As far as composers go, Reger wrote a lot of dark stuff. Also the Liszt Ad Nos Ad Salutarem Undam and Reubke's Sonata on the 94th Psalm are some of the darkest and heaviest (and longest) pieces of music known to man.

That said, Heally Willan might take the cake with his Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue:



Best,
Nathan


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## Scamper (Jul 8, 2020)

Here's another game soundtrack: Pathologic 2.
I find the amount of darkness is just right, so that it's pretty gloomy, yet beautiful and pleasant to listen to.


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## Locks (Jul 8, 2020)

This isn't a soundtrack but when it comes to dark stuff I absolutely love anything by Marcos Ortega (Lorn).


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## MA-Simon (Jul 17, 2020)

Just remembered: Scorn!


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## dcoscina (Jul 17, 2020)




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