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White Wolf has overseen the production of two music CD's -- a long-desired addition to the various World of Darkness and Vampire: the Masquerade products they've distributed. The first available was Music from the Succubus Club, a compilation of goth/industrial/electronica work by new and more familiar artists done by Dancing Ferret Discs -- a lovely collection, well worth admission and even good enough to inspire a shopping spree that took me all over the web in search of other CD's by the bands it contained.

The second offering is A Beast I Am, an entirely instrumental collection done by one artist, Bart Dijkman. It purports to describe a variety of situations perhaps common to most V:tM games, things like "Rooftop Chase" and "Malkavian Insight." Mostly, these are moody background pieces best left on low volume and perhaps turned up a notch or two when they by happy coincidence seem appropriate. Overall, though, while the music is fine and enjoyable, it just doesn't pack the oomph of Music from the Succubus Club.

Lest I be accused of having no appreciation for an orchestral sound as opposed to rock or industrial or what-have-you, allow me to say I performed for a number of years with orchestral and symphonic groups, and I happen to play several wind instruments myself. I'm no Miles Davis, and I don't claim to be the preeminent expert on all things musical, but I think I have enough experience to judge.

There are some great pieces in this collection. I very much enjoyed the opener, "A World of Darkness." It's not hard to take the setting of my game, and with the mind's eye envision a film's opening sequence as the camera zooms slowly over the water of a harbor, towards a night skyline, with this music playing in the background. "Malkavian Insight" is also nice -- it stands out from the other pieces, with its slightly manic piano work, drifting into and out of its own patterns before, like a prophetic vision at the end of an episode of a Malkavian's dementia, a suddenly dark chord is struck at the very conclusion, an altogether different and other sound that intrudes before the piece reaches its conclusion. "The Embrace -- Humanity Undone" is nice, too, for the clockwork percussion in the background, so like a heartbeat, if the male vocals over top somehow rub me the wrong way. "Incantations" also has a nice, sort of spooky and ritualistically rhythmic feel to it, combined with the vocals of (surprise) garbled pseudo-incantation under the harmony. Overall, the CD is nicely dark, and the music is largely unobtrusive; I had no problem turning it down and leaving it going in the background while StoryTelling.

However, some tracks just seemed entirely wrongly named, or their titles meant nothing to me in the context of the World of Darkness. "Fellini's Bar" is a prime example of the latter, whereas "Love Betrayed," sounding like the slow culmination of an extended chase scene or seek and destroy mission, would be the best sample of the former. Also, the CD seemed, somehow, to lack closure; "Coup de Grace" is a nifty track, but it ends, and that's sort of...it. That's the problem with both albums, actually, however, and with many other albums, tapes and discs before it: there's just an ending, not a conclusion.

Is it worth $14.99? I'm not so sure I'd say that -- it's a lot for the sort of theme music that can largely be assembled from various pre-existing movie soundtracks and classical collections. However, it's good, and I don't regret buying it. There are some songs on it definitely worth having, and perhaps if it had been just a few dollars less, I wouldn't be so nitpicky.

In the end, though, it comes down to this: my players commented on Music from the Succubus Club; they ignored this CD. Additionally, after listening to MftSC, I immediately went in search of other work by the same artists (even after watching the cheesy handycam "video" for The Cruxshadows song that opened that CD). After listening to A Beast I Am, and reading of the other gaming soundtracks available from the same label (one for Shadowrun and another for Call of Cthulhu), I noted that they might be of interest in the future -- but I have yet to wear out my trackpad trying to find the website where I can buy them.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

A Beast I Am
Author: Bart Dijkman Category: Music Company/Publisher: Orion Line: Vampire: the Masquerade Cost: $14.99 Page count: n/a Playtest Review by Michael G. Williams on 04/29/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Horror Espionage Conspiracy Vampire Gothic Diceless	White Wolf has overseen the production of two music CD's -- a long-desired addition to the various World of Darkness and Vampire: the Masquerade products they've distributed. The first available was Music from the Succubus Club, a compilation of goth/industrial/electronica work by new and more familiar artists done by Dancing Ferret Discs -- a lovely collection, well worth admission and even good enough to inspire a shopping spree that took me all over the web in search of other CD's by the bands it contained. The second offering is A Beast I Am, an entirely instrumental collection done by one artist, Bart Dijkman. It purports to describe a variety of situations perhaps common to most V:tM games, things like "Rooftop Chase" and "Malkavian Insight." Mostly, these are moody background pieces best left on low volume and perhaps turned up a notch or two when they by happy coincidence seem appropriate. Overall, though, while the music is fine and enjoyable, it just doesn't pack the oomph of Music from the Succubus Club. Lest I be accused of having no appreciation for an orchestral sound as opposed to rock or industrial or what-have-you, allow me to say I performed for a number of years with orchestral and symphonic groups, and I happen to play several wind instruments myself. I'm no Miles Davis, and I don't claim to be the preeminent expert on all things musical, but I think I have enough experience to judge. There are some great pieces in this collection. I very much enjoyed the opener, "A World of Darkness." It's not hard to take the setting of my game, and with the mind's eye envision a film's opening sequence as the camera zooms slowly over the water of a harbor, towards a night skyline, with this music playing in the background. "Malkavian Insight" is also nice -- it stands out from the other pieces, with its slightly manic piano work, drifting into and out of its own patterns before, like a prophetic vision at the end of an episode of a Malkavian's dementia, a suddenly dark chord is struck at the very conclusion, an altogether different and other sound that intrudes before the piece reaches its conclusion. "The Embrace -- Humanity Undone" is nice, too, for the clockwork percussion in the background, so like a heartbeat, if the male vocals over top somehow rub me the wrong way. "Incantations" also has a nice, sort of spooky and ritualistically rhythmic feel to it, combined with the vocals of (surprise) garbled pseudo-incantation under the harmony. Overall, the CD is nicely dark, and the music is largely unobtrusive; I had no problem turning it down and leaving it going in the background while StoryTelling. However, some tracks just seemed entirely wrongly named, or their titles meant nothing to me in the context of the World of Darkness. "Fellini's Bar" is a prime example of the latter, whereas "Love Betrayed," sounding like the slow culmination of an extended chase scene or seek and destroy mission, would be the best sample of the former. Also, the CD seemed, somehow, to lack closure; "Coup de Grace" is a nifty track, but it ends, and that's sort of...it. That's the problem with both albums, actually, however, and with many other albums, tapes and discs before it: there's just an ending, not a conclusion. Is it worth $14.99? I'm not so sure I'd say that -- it's a lot for the sort of theme music that can largely be assembled from various pre-existing movie soundtracks and classical collections. However, it's good, and I don't regret buying it. There are some songs on it definitely worth having, and perhaps if it had been just a few dollars less, I wouldn't be so nitpicky. In the end, though, it comes down to this: my players commented on Music from the Succubus Club; they ignored this CD. Additionally, after listening to MftSC, I immediately went in search of other work by the same artists (even after watching the cheesy handycam "video" for The Cruxshadows song that opened that CD). After listening to A Beast I Am, and reading of the other gaming soundtracks available from the same label (one for Shadowrun and another for Call of Cthulhu), I noted that they might be of interest in the future -- but I have yet to wear out my trackpad trying to find the website where I can buy them. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)