Hey you.
Yeah, you.
I’ve got a question for you. Do you like Dungeons and Dragons? Do you like music? Do you like music about Dungeons and Dragons?
You do? Well then read on, friend, because I have something you’re really gonna like.
Bardic Inspiration is a weekly show on the Codename Entertainment Games Twitch channel that features that talents of musician Jason Charles Miller. You may know Jason Charles Miller from any number of places – first and foremost he’s a musician. He was the lead vocalist for Godhead in the past and more recently has done a lot of work as a solo artist. You may also recognize him from his voice work, having done work for several shows and video games. And finally, you may recognize him from Geek and Sundry where he has appeared as the Dungeon Master on the show Starter Kit. He also helped write and produce the Critical Role theme songs and appeared as a guest player in one episode of campaign one.
Together with CNE’s Dylan Wilks, they spend two hours writing a song about a character from the game Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. And as you might be able to guess from the name of the game, often times these characters feature prominently within the lore of the Forgotten Realms. The show is audience participation – we figure out a genre and suggest lyrics as the song evolves while Jason Charles Miller sets it to guitar. And they more often than not turn out way better than you would expect. Even better is when they are able to bring the “owners” of the characters onto the show to delve into the background of the character such as when they brought in Luke Gygax to help write the song for his character Melf or when Ed Greenwood came on and shared some poetry that he had written about Elminster back in his youth.
Up until Wednesday March 31st these songs existed simply as clips on the CNE Twitch channel. But that day saw the release of Bardic Inspiration Volume 1, a fully produced studio album featuring 8 songs from the show. The album is available in the game through a new jukebox feature, but you can purchase the high quality MP3 and FLAC files from Steam directly. And even better, the album includes instrumental versions of the songs as well. And at $9.99, this is an incredible deal for some incredible music.
The album is a solid mix of genres and styles. From the rock inspired “The Greatest Dwarven King” to the pop love song “You Could Be My Dragon Queen” you are going to find something to love and keep on repeat. And the lyrics may even inspire new characters or NPCs for your own game. So let’s take a brief tour through the album –
- Track 1 – The Greatest Dwarven King – This is the song that started everything. On the first episode they wrote a song for Bruenor Battlehammer of Icewind Dale fame.
- Track 2 – Drop of Time – This track detours from the heavy rock sounds into the mists of Ravenloft and features a gothic-rock song about your favorite vampire lord and mine, Strahd von Zarovich.
- Track 3 – Brimstone Angels, Go! Go! Go! – This punk inspired track is about the titular Brimstone Angels sisters Havilar and Farideh and was written with the help of the saga’s author Erin M. Evans and features vocals by Kenley Shea.
- Track 4 – Deekin’s Tale of Doom – This song about the diminutive kobold bard from Neverwinter Nights really showcases Jason Charles Miller’s standard “country rock” sound and asks the important question of “who tells our story when we die?”
- Track 5 – Savage Fire – The heavy metal sound of this track is the perfect backing for the Dark Order’s Torogar Steelfist, Arkhan the Cruel’s bodyguard and champion.
- Track 6 – The Viper’s Fangs – The album takes another hard pivot as we hear a slinky, jazzy number about the Black Viper that would not feel out of place from a back alley club in Waterdeep. This track was written with the help of Vivid Vivka, the official cosplayer of the character.
- Track 7 – The Moneylender, Mirt – We stay in the taverns of Waterdeep with this barroom singalong about the former adventurer, moneylender, and masked lord of Waterdeep, Mirt.
- Track 8 – You Could Be My Dragon Queen – The album ends with this pop love song to the chromatic dragon goddess Tiamat. It was written when the chat jokingly suggested that the song be written in the style of Taylor Swift and Jason Charles Miller ran with it. Trust me – it works way better than you would expect. This is the second song on the album to feature the vocals of Kenley Shea.
If you want a taste of the album, here is “The Greatest Dwarven King” hosted on CNE Games’s YouTube channel. I encourage you all to give it a listen and to pick up the album from the game’s Steam store if you are so inclined. It goes to support a great idea and shows CNE Games that there’s a market for future such projects. I’ve been listening to the album nonstop since I grabbed it on Wednesday (seriously – I’m sure my girlfriend is sick and tired of me raving about it) and would love to see more efforts like this in the future. You can watch Bardic Inspiration live and join the process on Tuesdays at 1pm Pacific Time on the CNE Twitch Channel.
Ben Erickson
