Planes of Power mp3 music

Obsoletion alert: Woefully outdated material.

When Everquest: Planes of Power was released, it included a number of mp3 songs named after the zones in the expansion. I'd never noticed them to be honest until my wife included them in the playlist of the mp3 player we use. I haven't had sound enabled on EQ for some time so I couldn't tell whether or not they're used in game. Well, for the last few days I've been listening to them almost non-stop. It's superfluous to mention then that I like them. Here's what I think of them. I'm not including the two battle themes or the death theme here.

Bothunder: Starts off thunderously, almost like a Rimsky-Korsakov piece. Moving and rousing stuff and probably the most "classical" sounding of the themes here. Quite fitting music to go along with the home of Karana.
Codecay: Yeah baby! This one is damn cool. Dolorous, funereal...sounds like the music played by the Four Horseman as they ravage the world. Excellent use of church-bells and keyboards here. Very "This Mortal Coil-ish". I love music like this; you mightn't. Probably even puts Bertoxxolous on edge. Codecay is his home, after all.
Eqtheme: Nothing new here. Just the time old Everquest theme given 128 kbps makeover. Still good, nonetheless.
Hohonor: Theme music to the home of Mithaniel Marr. Starts off with a Camelot-ish fanfare. Very uplifting and noble throughout; good use of trumpets and drums here. Good, but not as good as Bothunder. Does this music inspire you with valor? Ends with the obligatory church bell.
Poair: The music for the home of Xegony. As you'd expect, it's dreamy, ethereal and thoroughly away with the fairies. It reminds me of this old TV commercial for Guylian chocolates. Wandering fey female voice adds to the carefree and halcyon times up there in the clouds. Lovely music.
Podisease: I love this one. Starts off sounding like some of the music from the Fellowship of the Ring. Not what you're expecting. Ominous at times, with the compulsory church bells. Quite engaging and forceful.
Poearth: Arguably the best of the bunch. Vies with Codecay and Potranquility for that title. Also the most atypical sounding of them. It's a reggae-ish sounding piece, full of tribal cries and chants. Thumping drums, sweeping violins; this tune is moving and it's moving in the right direction. I can almost imagine The Rathe jiving to this one. Excellent!
Pofire: Thunderous stuff but not as engaging or as memorable as the others here. That's not to say it's bad, just not as good.
Poinnovation: This one crawls with mechanical gloom. Not as cling-clangy or as robotic as I thought it'd be. Booms and crashes every step of the way; music to goose-step to. Dramatic stuff.
Pojustice: Starts off much like that of Podisease. Methodically orchestral, probably reflecting the nature of justice itself. Nothing particularly stunning about this piece in any way; one of the lesser tracks.
Powkowledge: This one is quaint and is by turns bucolic and dreamy. Quite hard to summarize, to be honest. It's very good, with shifting violins, fluttering pipes and booming drums. Yep, we got the church bells going in here too. This one sort of reminds me of a kite's progress on a sunny yet windy day. No, I'm not on drugs.
Ponightmare: Repent now, for the end of the world is upon you! And this is the tune that'll be playing then. Beautifully woeful and intense mood piece of gloom and dolor. Sounds like the best dream-pop the 4AD crew ever dreamed up. Wonderful, wonderful stuff! The girl's voice is singing a dirge to something...more church bells, and the wings of crows are there too...magnificent! Terris Thule would probably think so as well.
Postorms: Martial and strident; this tune demands your attention, and it gets it. It has that certain quality, like the theme to an old 60's Hanna Barbera cartoon. It's very good though. Rolling drums emphasise the impending storm. Karana is gonna blow your ass away!
Potactics: One of the lesser tunes here. Sounds like a marching band piece with a bit of crank thrown in.
Potime: Somewhat eclectic sounding and not really thrilling in any one area. I hope the real zone isn't like this for whoever gets here first. This assortment's version of elevator music.
Potorment: This is Enya gone wrong! Yes it is. Lovely lamentation; in the same vein as ponightmare but not as poignant. I wonder if Saryrn listens to it. As threnodies go, it's a damn good one. Nothing tormented about it, but there's no love, hope or life in this tune. I love it.
Potranquility: The most beautiful piece of this assembly. Fluttering, astral, wondrous. It is delightful; reminds me of a pastoral frolic, much like that of the pegasi in Fantasia. This is sort of music people practice transcendental meditation to.
Povalor: A lesser version of hohonor and the author of this piece seems to have borrowed from the EQ theme a little. Nice, but nothing great. Speeds up the tempo and heroism towards the end.
Powar: War is upon you boys and girls! Menacing, with somewhat off-putting glissandos in there for effect, I imagine. Gets a little dreamy in places too. I guess war is a dream for some people.
Powater: Much in the same category as poair. Ethereal and definitely away with it. Whale and dolphin calls add to the cavernous feel of this piece. The sort of music to drift in a sleepy ocean to.
Solrotower: Solusek Ro's own music is a vibrant and energetic piece of full speed ahead. Fiery and moving. Definitely one of the better pieces here.

The author of this music, Paul Romero, wrote to me thanking me for the write-up. You're welcome!

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With the newer expansions, they've added more mp3's to the mix, once again named after zones. I haven't listened to these as of yet, and as I have no interest in Everquest any more, probably never will. Still, here's a non-sequitur; I think Grieg Veneficus is a cool looking monster!

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