Music that Best Represents Dark Themes

Aurora3500

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Music can have a great impact in spicing up daily life. It can help to make Video games, Anime, TV, and Movies even more epic. It can help people get through difficult times in life. And also serve as a motivator to get a task done and make even a boring task a little more fun. Sometimes it can also be there to just better reflect what we're really feeling on the inside.

Here I've made a list of themes and emotions that seem to represent dark and negative things that certain types of music may be associated with. This list serves as a guideline for what Dark Themes are like generally. You can use your own Dark Themes and use as many themes from this list as you want when you post your songs you think fit these themes.
  • Despair
  • Injustice
  • Sadness
  • Hate
  • Darkness
  • Corruption
  • Death
  • Destruction
Only condition is that you consider it to have a "Dark" or "Negative" feeling behind it. There is a sister thread to this about Light Themed music, so music you believe has a "Light" or "Positive" feeling to it will belong in that thread instead of here.

I will have my List contained in the below spoiler to serve as an example and to show my take on this list. Discussion with other users is encouraged about why they think certain music fits with certain themes and whether the music sounds "Light" or "Dark". Considering the subjective nature of music, not everyone will agree on what is "Light" or "Dark" music which is why it will be left up to your discretion on what classifies as Dark for this thread. Pretty much anything that classifies as music goes. Can't just be sound effects though.

Despair: "Myouki Soken ha Sei Gan ni Chiri nu" From 11 Eyes Ost

This song represents Despair to me when I think about Despair. Even with the faint glimmer of hope that existed for something, that glimmer was also destroyed leaving nothing but Despair left as you watch everything come to an end.

This was probably also influenced by a scene in the anime where one of the Black Knights actually kills the Mother Figure of one of the Characters in the Real World where the main characters thought they were safe, which also represents Despair.


Injustice: "Villa Under Attack" From Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ost

This song shouts Injustice and Villainy with the feeling of a Peaceful Town or Village getting attacked by Demonic Forces and/or Military soldiers sent by the Government to burn the village and its people down for no reason.


Sadness: "Man of the World" From Naruto Shippuden Ost

Composer: Yasuharu Takahashi

This song represents some very sad moments in the Anime it comes from, but this song is also the theme of a big depression I had in High School. It represents the deepest pit of sadness that can be experienced from any number of tragic events.


Hate: "Jigoku Rock" From Jigoku Shoujo Ost

Composer: Yasuharu Takanashi

This also represents revenge, considering the theme of the anime where this music comes from is revenge. It is like the wrath of Gods has come upon a person who has committed horrible misdeeds and they are getting what they asked for.


Darkness: "The Root of Darkness" From Ys: Origin Ost

This theme seems to represent Darkness overall pretty well. Dark creatures have shown up that threaten to spread Darkness to the whole world. It also says that one must prepare for threats that are coming.


Corruption: "Phaaze" From Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Ost

While it would also make sense to use Terraria's Corruption theme for this which I also think is a great fit. This soundtrack representing a whole sentient planet that has the goal of corrupting everything else to be like itself certainly takes the cake to a bigger degree. The song itself says to me that a World that may have been completely pure at one point has been completely corrupted into a Shadow of its former self.


Death: "Higeki" From Higurashi When They Cry Ost

When thinking about mass murder, or devastating incidents that have consumed more than 10 lives, I think of this song. It can also represent a place like a graveyard or memorial area when one thinks about something that has caused the life that's buried there to die.


Destruction: "Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius" From 11 Eyes Ost (Original Visual Novel)

It is mainly because the anime version of this theme has always played this theme while watching the Fictional Kingdom Drasuvania burn up. Still thinking about this song this represents the ultimate destruction and despair that Humanity is capable of bringing to this world and has always had a powerful effect because of this thought.


That concludes my list of Music I think fits these Dark Themes. It is now your turn to think about these themes and think about the 1st few songs that come to mind when you see what these themes are.

If you're more interested in thinking about music with Light and Positive feelings behind it, a sister thread exists here
 
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Well, this is an amazing thread why not post people pls.

Anyways, here you go:

Despair:

Sadness:

Corruption (song mostly associated with how people treat Earth):
 
Nox Arcana have always been good at creating an atmosphere of terror and despair in their music.

Dark Sanctuary fits for the next one. Despite their lyrics being in French, the operatic vocal style their singer uses transcends the language barrier to express feelings of sadness.

I know a lot of songs that express hatred and violence, but most are inappropriate for this forum. This is the only one I can think of to post. I guess I should give a language warning as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INIH3peiq2w

Here's another song for the sadness category. When I first started listening to this band a long time ago, the track took me by surprise, taking into account its contrast to the styles of the other album's tracks.

I feel that this last song could fit into multiple categories, those being despair, death, and sadness. I'll leave it up to you to decide which fits it the best.
 
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How about just darkness and demon eyes?

That will be fine. I encourage people to come up with themes they think are Dark for this thread and picking music that fits them. The main list I have is more of a guideline. I'll edit the Original Post to explain that better.
 
That will be fine. I encourage people to come up with themes they think are Dark for this thread and picking music that fits them. The main list I have is more of a guideline. I'll edit the Original Post to explain that better.
I do hope you watched that Chromeo video all the way through. The floating eyes near the end are hilarious.

I made this playlist last year, what songs are more "Halloween" than others? I think you may have expected a selection more like this when it comes to dark themes;


Keep in mind that for this collection, I deliberately withheld being too dark.
 
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Well, this is an amazing thread why not post people pls.

Anyways, here you go:

Despair:

Sadness:

Corruption (song mostly associated with how people treat Earth):
Y'know what, these two Metalcore bands really do fit the dark theme of music in my opinion.
I'm just someone who loves this kind of music though.
 
Not certainely my favorite kind, but sometimes it can catch the eerie atmosphere really well.
I sometimes keep thinking about a list like these, now I can at least loose out the OST's of sorrow:

The first tunnel in Metroid Prime 2: When I saw these dead soldiers, things are getting real for sure:

These 2 frigging theme's of Partners in Time, when the schroobs have taken over the towns completely, the mood went extremely desperate for such a child-friendly looking game:

The future in Chrono Trigger, the earth after the apocalypse:

And the Final Hours of the Moon Apocalypse.

I've probably heard more, but those weren't as deep as the themes here were.
 
I only recently started playing FE Awakening (and Fire Emblem in general for that matter), but when I first heard this song, it was one of the most moving things I've ever heard. There's not any words in it, but that's fine. If you know this game and when this song starts playing, It doesn't need words to make you feel the sadness. Also it makes me feel sorry for Mustafa. Poor guy.
 
Try some songs by disturbed
(Ex. Vengeful One and Get Down With the Sickness)

Edit: also Let the Bodies hit the Floor by Drowning Pool
 
Death and destruction:
The day the world died.
And the future's a tunnel stretching endlessly and the light at the end is but a treachery, it will blind you and force you back.
Sadness:
The best of us.
The best I can
 
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This one doesn't fit one of the listed themes so much as it is just, for the most part, audible insanity, but one thing that cannot be denied is that it is definitely a very dark and chaotic theme. Although, I do suppose it could maybe qualify under destruction due to the context and stakes of the battle it plays during.
 
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