Spelljams

Spelljammer is one of the most delightful aspects of Dungeons & Dragons, taking all the varieties of fantasy the core game incorporates and sending them to space. It’s not quite pure science fiction, but it allows for playing with sci fi ideas while being rooted in fantasy worlds. To go along with the relaunch of Spelljammer for 5e in the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space set, an album has been produced with songs inspired by Spelljammer. Spelljams is an ambitious album that surprises at every turn, and feels more like the soundtrack of a forgotten film from when the original books were published than the music most would imagine to accompany a D&D book.

For nearly five decades, Dungeons & Dragons has inspired generations of creative people to make movies, novels and, yes, music. Now that relationship is even more distinct with the release today of an album of music created by cutting-edge bands and musical acts all inspired by Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. The far-out storytelling in the world’s greatest roleplaying game’s latest offering is fertile ground for composing some of the most original songs you’ll hear this year from bands like Magic Sword, Shabazz Palaces and OSEES.

Spelljams features a double LP’s worth of tracks from artists all produced by Chris Funk, guitarist from The Decemberists who plays D&D with many folks in the music scene in Portland, Oregon. Chris Perkins, story architect at D&D and lead designer of Spelljammer, worked with Funk to bring the Flash Gordon-esque soundtrack to life.

SPELLJAMS