Azurio on 29/4/2006 at 21:56
Hi there. I was wondering if there was anyone who knew where to obtain the "soundtrack" from Thief 1 and 2. I already have the third one. I know there isn't much to offer in music but I especially liked some of the themes in the game but I have not been able to extract them from the game(s) in any way nor find them on the net.
Anyone have any clues? :)
Sluggs on 29/4/2006 at 22:53
Because of the way the background ambients are put together, that's not possible.
The ambient music in Thief: Deadly Shadows are mp3 files, the one's in the other games are small .wav files, that play in a set order by schema files. One would need to record the actual ambient then convert it back to a single .wav/mp3 file.
Kurgan on 30/4/2006 at 13:58
Heh, I think I can help. :)
A few years back (before T:DS), I also wanted a Thief soundtrack. Since one didn't exist, I scoured the available sounds and MP3s people had either clipped from the game or custom made. Some are in-game ambients/songs, some original thief-inspired songs, some are spoken word clips (again a mix of original and in-game). One item is even a professionally made "thief-like" song from a popular German band, but sung in an older form of Latin! That one got upped to The Circle by someone unknown, trying to pass it off as a homemade Thief tune, so it eventually got removed, but I'm actually grateful, since it turned me on to the band and I've got all their albums now. :) (And no, it had nothing to do with Thief, it just sounded awesome, and ideal for a Thief soundtrack.)
Anywho, I edited it all together into a "soundtrack" album, which I listened to a lot. After a few years, it got popular with my friends, and everyone wanted a copy. That led to some online demand (long story), and I eventually seeded it as a torrent, along with another album I'd put together for System Shock 2. There are copies of both out there in MP3 format, but I don't know where. I lost the original MP3s, but still have the original CDs I made, and also made ISO images of them to store away. If you'd like, I could re-rip the CD(s) and make it/them available for download.
Azurio on 30/4/2006 at 18:59
That would be awesome, Kurgan. I'm sure alot of people would be interested in it!
Neil_McCauley on 30/4/2006 at 21:15
Maybe you can use Audacity to record it while you're playing the game. I know you can do that with audio CDs and DVDs. (Audacity is freeware)
Andarthiel on 1/5/2006 at 02:46
That would be nice indeed Kurgan. What is the name of the band by the way?
Kurgan on 1/5/2006 at 08:15
@Azurio
Ok, no prob. I'll go see about re-ripping it and uploading it. Watch this space for a link.
@Andarthiel
The band is Subway to Sally, a German "folk/metal" band, I suppose you could say. The song is "Accingite Vos," from their seventh album, "Herzblut" (heart blood), released in 2001.
To save you time, and a massive headache from trying to figure out what it's talking about, let me explain. :)
The lyrics are in a very old form of Latin. Trying to translate them via Google will only cause you major pain of the noodle. They are, in essence, biblical passages, used somewhat out of context to create a new semi-prophetical intent (a hint of doom and gloom, maybe?). The piecemeal passages, taken primarily from the Vulgate text, are from Isiah 53:12 and Joel 1:13, with one line from Jeremiah 25:34 to give it a little extra "oomph." :cheeky: The lyrics are thus:
"Tradidit in mortem animam suam,
et inter sceleratos reputatus est.
Accingite vos
sacerdotes, et plangite
ministri altaris
aspergite vos cinere."
A rough translation would be:
"He delivered his life unto death,
and was despised by the impious.
Priests, vest thyselves in sackcloth;
weep, ministers of the altar,
and cover thyselves with ashes."
The structure of the text also shows that they intentionally made use of the older Latin, with it's slightly different intent, as opposed to simply doing grammatical translations of modern scripture. I mention this because it sets the period somewhat, as those phrases, as given, were used in Station prayer ceremonies dating back to the sixteenth century. Most modern usages have different wording. They were definitely trying to give this tune a "Canticle for Liebowitz" vibe (read= Olde, and antiquated).
I can't help but picture some Catholic priest with a secret, guilty passion for heavy metal, jamming away in his church, thinking he's alone, the music blaring loudly, his censor swinging wildly and spraying incense everywhere. Well, either that, or visions of Conan sacking the Vatican.
Anywho, I'll upload it shortly. I just discovered that my previous "backup" of the original CD has errors from a bad rip, so I'm going to try to do it all over again at a slower speed and see if I can get a copy without artifacts. Oh, Accingite Vos is track 2, by the way. Figured you'd wanna know, since the tracks aren't titled.
Stefan_Key on 1/5/2006 at 09:03
For fan-mixes :
(
http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/music/)
Use the (
http://www.thief-thecircle.com/dromed/tools.asp) Thief Media Edit (Scroll down for "Fan-Made Companion Tools"). Then select the Thief directory (res in general). Right click on the sound title to extract it somewhere, left-click to listen. It's up to you to compose a mix. :D
Sluggs is right, the sounds are rather short and loop-played during the game, giving us the feeling it's a real soundtrack.
Kurgan on 1/5/2006 at 16:48
Ok, here ya go:
(
http://files.filefront.com/Thief___The_Dark_Soundtrack_ALBWmp3/;5041637;;/fileinfo.html) Thief - The Dark Soundtrack_ALBW.mp3 [141.34 MB] Running time: 76:34. 256 kbps.
Link updated!!!File is AlbumWrapped, which is just like making a big ZIP file, but with a playable MP3 extension. Individual tracks are safely stored within, and can be extracted, if desired, with a small tool. I recommend (
http://alba.sourceforge.net/) Alba Extractor, which is for Linux or Windows, but (
http://www.infamus.com/albumwrap/extractor.html) AlbumWrap also has a free extractor (not as good), for Windows and Mac.
Notes:Do not edit the ID3 tag of the compiled ALBW file. If you do, you'll corrupt it, and although it will still play, you won't be able to extract the individual tracks. If you wish to edit tags (I loathe the invention of tags), you'll need to extract the tracks, edit them all, then re-Wrap them with (
http://www.infamus.com/albumwrap/) AlbumWrap, or one of the free, open-source alternatives found on the 'net.
Accingite Vos is actually a Thief tune. I don't know whether it was one of the band's existing songs, or if it was contracted for the game, but it was used in the German version of T2. The game version is different than the published version found on
Herzblut. That version is rather tame, whereas the T2 version has much more vigor and passion. It is track 2 in this compilation.
If you've got children,
skip track 34 if they're around. Heck, if anyone else is around who doesn't have a
very warped sense of humor, skip that track. If you don't believe rape can be used in the context of a joke (didn't George Carlin already cover this?), and are offended by such things, once again, skip track 34. Personally, I think it's hilarious. :)
I'm using the above service for free file hosting for the first time. Apologies in advance if there are any problems getting the file. It's the second service I attempted to upload to (the first one croaking at 98% and giving me an error), and it took hours to upload. Webforms suck for uploading, even with broadband. Not looking forward to the idea of trying it again, but if it doesn't work, let me know, and I'll find another place for it.
GroanAnd, of course, credit should go to all those in the Thief community that actually did the work on many of the components of this "soundtrack." It's been so long, I don't even remember if I did any of them myself (maybe, it
was a hobby once upon a time), but most, if not all, are from fellow Thief fans who uploaded them to places like Thief-TheCircle, where I got them, did a little creative editing, and put everything together to make the final "album." I gave this a listen again last night, and am surprised at how much I've changed since first putting this together. I'm older, and some of the tracks I now just find annoying. lol Still, I left the compilation as-is, and leave it to you to remove or add anything to suit your taste.
Lastly, I've also made a soundtrack for System Shock 2. If you like this one, and there is desire for the SS2 album, let me know. Heck, I may even go back and finish the Deus Ex soundtrack I started and forgot about years ago. :)
Hope you enjoy this. If so, you're welcome. If not, bite me. rofl
