Dark, northern-flavored orchestral scoring that takes Middle-earth somewhere grimmer than the films went. War in the North's 2011 soundtrack by Inon Zur commits fully to the cold, harsh side of Tolkien's world. Echoes Of Angmar opens with these bleak horn calls over restless strings that immediately set a more brutal tone than you'd expect.
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Nordinbad brings in dwarven percussion and low choral work that rumbles like the mountain itself. The Savage Ettenmoors goes wide and desolate, scoring the wilderness with exposed woodwinds and sparse timpani hits. Trolls!
ramps into full combat chaos with brass stabs and frantic rhythms. Halls Of Valor though. Real grandeur buried under all that frost. If you played through this co-op action RPG without stopping to notice the score, go back and actually listen.