My Favourite World of Warcraft Music

What is a video game without good music? A bad video game. And Blizzard seems to agree, because the music in World of Warcraft is exceptional. It enhances every aspect of the game: the world, the characters’ lore, the fights… Although I’ll admit there are some music I could do without (looking at you, Drustvar music! It creeps me out so much that I have to disable the music when I’m questing there. But let’s be real, that was probably the goal).

But today we won’t be talking about music I don’t like! I am here to present you my list of my favourite music! Prepare your ears, for they’re about to be blessed!

Nightsong (all variations)

How could I even begin to express my love for this song? The Nightsong made its debut in Cataclysm, and became a recurring theme in the next expansions. This music has everything: the instrumental, the voice, the epicness…

Though the original music is incredible, the variations we hear in later expansions are, in my opinion, even better. The slower, much sadder version of the Nightsong that plays during Valsharah’s final cinematic in Legion still makes me tear up.

And don’t get me started on ‘Ysera’s Procession,’ the version of the Nightsong from the Ardenweald questline in Shadowlands. I’ve stopped counting how many times I’ve listened to the one hour edit of this music. It’s that good.

The Nightsong is a music almost always associated with the dragon aspect Ysera, but we also hear it at the end of the Battle for Azeroth cinematic ‘Terror of Darkshore’ (still upset that version was never released).

Zandalari lament

What a shame that this music was never released in the official soundtrack albums. I’m an Alliance player at heart, but this music is highly responsible for making me level a Horde character in Battle for Azeroth (that and the lore of course).

Dazar’alor is not an easy city to navigate (especially comparing to Boralus, the Alliance hub city in Kul Tiras) but hearing this music play in the background more than makes up for it. I’ll admit I’ve more than once completely stopped what I was doing to just sit there and enjoy the music.

Kul Tiran Human Allied Race

This music is, in my opinion, the Alliance version of Zandalari Lament. There’s nothing better than doing business in Boralus while listening to this music. The slow rhythm makes us immerge ourselves in the city’s culture, there’s really something quite magical about it (especially at night, for some reason the atmosphere is even better then).

I recently went back to Boralus to do island expeditions (gotta get those sweet mounts) and even though it’s no longer current content, it just felt right to be there. Almost like home.

Anduin Raid Finale

For a long time, I thought this music hadn’t been released. I can’t tell you how overjoyed I was when I realised it had indeed been released in the ‘Eternity’s End’ soundtrack album (which I found out while doing research for this article).

The cinematic this music comes from is already a masterpiece in my opinion (though many people would disagree, but to each their own), but the music takes it to a whole new level. There’s so much in those 2 minutes and 45 seconds, but it works so well. The music starts with the Maw/Jailer theme that we’ve heard through pretty much the entire Shadowlands expansion. Good but not exceptional either. And then the magic starts. The music transitions to Anduin’s theme, and as it continues, there are no less than three more transitions: Saurfang’s theme, Arthas’ theme, and finally Sylvanas’ theme with the instrumental of ‘Lament of the Highborn.’ I do believe that to truly appreciate this masterpiece of a music, you need to watch the cinematic. In my opinion, this music (and the cinematic) is the true ending of the Shadowlands expansion. It encompasses so many important characters, and you really get the feeling that a page is turning.

Why do we fight?

The music used in expansion announcement trailers are always awesome (as you’ll see further in this list). The Mists of Pandaria trailer music is, of course, no exception. This music is incredible from start to finish, though my favourite part is definitely at the end, where the music takes a complete turn, away from the battle theme, but no less epic. The message this music conveys is one of the more meaningful ones in the game: we fight for home and family.

The Wandering Isle

As much as I love epic music that makes you want to get up and wear a suit of armour (complete with a sword, thank you very much), I also adore music that makes you relax after a long day. And this is exactly what ‘The Wandering Isle’ achieves. I love the music from Mists of Pandaria, but this one is definitely my favourite. It’s the kind of music that makes us escape the real word, and for one blissful moment, we can see ourselves sipping tea with Pandaren in the Jade Forest, or even just take a nap in a peaceful clearing.

Azeroth’s Last Hope

I think every World of Warcraft player will agree that finally getting to fight the Legion in an entire expansion was phenomenal. Blizzard knew how important this moment was in the game’s story, so of course they delivered with an incredible music for the trailer. It perfectly fits the cinematic and the central character of it, King Varian Wrynn. A pretty epic, yet emotional, music.

Anduin’s theme

Anduin’s theme has that particular thing where it gives you so much nostalgia and you don’t even know why. It carries an immense sadness in it, and yet, it remains so powerful, and at times you can even feel hope and resignation from it. In my opinion, it perfectly captures Anduin’s feelings in Legion: the sadness and grief of losing his father, the heavy burden that is on his shoulder, his new responsibilities as King, the strength he must have for his people and the fight against the Legion… This music symbolises a new era for Anduin, and the Alliance as a whole: the young prince of Stormwind is now King. Anduin is one of my favourite characters in World of Warcraft so this music does have a special place in my heart.

Dragonflight Announce Cinematic

I’ll start this segment by saying that I’m completely biased with all things regarding dragons. I am obsessed with them. So, saying I was hyped when I heard the rumours that the next World of Warcraft expansion would be in the Dragon Isles is an understatement. I watched the reveal cinematic live and immediately fell in love with the music. The first part is incredibly powerful, but the second part is what made me obsessed with it. Words cannot describe what I felt when I watched the cinematic and saw Stony Tony be rescued by Alextrasza with the music peaking at the same time. There’s so much epicness in the scene, and the music is just incredible: full of hope and freedom. It truly captures the image of dragons soaring in the sky.

A really fitting theme to symbolise a much-needed change for World of Warcraft after Shadowlands.

Windsong

Dragonflight’s zones’ music are a true blessing. Windsong is the perfect music to hear in-game when you’re flying around on your dragonriding mount gathering flowers and mining ores. It’s just so peaceful, so serene, it actually makes farming enjoyable. And of course, it’s also the perfect music to listen to to relax after a long day, or if like me, you like writing while listening to music. Epic battle themes are good when you’re writing action-packed scenes, but not so much when you’re writing something else. Like other music in this list, it does bring you a sense of belonging, of home. Whether or not it was the goal remains unknown, but if it was, it sure achieved it.

Honourable mentions

A ‘favourite’ list wouldn’t be complete without a few honourable mentions, so here are four music that didn’t quite make it into the list (I still love them, I just don’t listen to them as much as the ones who did make it on the list):

• Before the Storm (especially the first part)
• Seasons of War
• Invincible
• Arthas, My Son

It’s important to note that there are hundreds of music in World of Warcraft, and I haven’t listened to all of them (and even if I had, it would be impossible to remember them all). I’m sure there is a lot of awesome songs and music I haven’t discovered yet; this list is based on the ones I know.

If you enjoy reading articles about video games, make sure to check out our other articles: My top 10 World of Warcraft leveling zones (for the lore) and My Favourite Teams to Use in Genshin Impact.