Ramin Djawadi's Appreciation Thread

Yeah he was on top form this season. Light of the seven will be on repeat for a long time

Dayum! A million view already!? 

My brother is seeing him live in march. I'm fucking dumb as shit for not getting ticks with him

I've been listening to the Westworld and Thrones (and other non-Djawadi) soundtracks while I worked tonight. So damn good. Light of the Seven definitely my favourite on Season 6. Probably through the shows whole run tbh. Hear me roar is pretty great too

oh god i thought i was the only one 

I'm boring, but as much as I love Light of the Seven and other most recent tracks from the show, Rains of Castamere will always be my favourite.

Since I shared my favourites from each season on the other board, I decided to do it here too! I was gonna wait until the series was over to add my picks, but with S8 probably in 2019, I’m not sure I could wait that long.

Season 1
1. Finale - There could not have been a better soundtrack to end the first season. Dany's music is consistently top notch, and this track's a great one to kick it off.
2. King of the North - The best rendition of the Stark theme of the season. I chose this one over Goodbye Brother and Kill Them All because it’s far more uplifting, while also managing to convey the foreboding undertones shown in Cat’s expression during the scene.
3. Await the King’s Justice - The theme that is now more closely associated with Littlefinger is perhaps one of the most tense tracks in the show. Perfectly encapsulates the intrigue and plotting of the early seasons.

Season 2
1. Mother of Dragons - It’s basically a Daenerys version of the main theme. If I ever hear this I can’t help but hum along.
2. Warrior of Light - Initially I’d say this is more suited towards Mel, since the first minute is very slow and mysterious. Djawadi could not have made a better theme for that character. It’s really when the drums kick in that it becomes Stannis’ theme, and damn is it good.
3. I Will Keep You Safe - Every once in a while, there comes a track that is so distinct and memorable to me, I can picture the scene in my mind. This is one of those. Near the end of this one, I can clearly see Tywin Lannister pushing through the other soldiers and swaggering his way to the throne.

Season 3
1. A Lannister Always Pays His Debts - Although the Rains of Castamere tune was introduced in S2, it doesn’t get a chance to really shine until S3. This is probably my favourite version of that theme. Love that percussion.
2. I Have to Go North - I think this track is pretty underrated. It’s the only rendition of the Stark theme that’s neither remotely depressing nor ominous; so it gets points there.
3. Mhysa - Next to The Children in S4, it’s one of the most cheery themes in the series, which fits the ending of the episode perfectly.

Season 4
1. Two Swords - The total lack of dialogue and the chilling stare of Charles Dance, amplified by this beautiful transition from the Stark theme to Rains, makes the scene my favourite opening to any episode.
2. The Children - I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending itself, but the music played over the scene more than makes up for that.
3. You Are No Son of Mine - I’ll be honest: I struggled to find a third song from S4; it definitely had my least favourite soundtrack. I’m pretty sure the latter half of this one is ripped straight from Dark Wings, Dark Words from S3. Since that was pretty high up on that season’s list, I’ve included it in this list to compensate. Rains of Castamere always gets points from me, and it leads into a very chilling rendition of the main theme.

Season 5
1. The Wars to Come - Just flawless. The Stark/Stannis/Bolton combo is absolutely incredible and I could listen to the final minute of this all day.
2. Dance of Dragons - Again I can clearly picture the scene in Daznak’s Pit when this is played. From Drogon’s entrance to Dany hopping on his back and flying away. Of course it helps that the scene itself is excellent.
3. Blood of the Dragon - That’s right - I’ve got two Dany tracks on this season’s list, partly to make up for its absense in S4, and partly because I love it. In fact S4 is the only soundtrack to not have a Dany theme that I love. It’s now I’m realising that 4/6 of my lists have the theme which was featured on the Blu-Ray menu. Whoever picks those does a great job.

Season 6
This season’s is undoubtedly my favourite soundtrack, since there’s so many I love and it’s incredibly difficult to choose just 3. Since everyone’s obvious top pick is Light of the Seven, I’ll choose my second, third and fourth favourites to add a little more variety.
2. The Winds of Winter - As evidenced by my choice of The Wars to Come, I love it when Djawadi combines themes. Merging Dany’s theme and the Greyjoy theme is simply orgasmic. There’s really no other way to describe it.
3. Winter Has Come - Otherwise known as "King of the North 2.0", this is another one that instantly makes me picture the scene in my mind, and is a large reason why that scene is one of my favourites in the show.
4. Blood of My Blood - It’s as if all of Dany’s themes were put together and this is the result. There’s some Dothraki undertones, the choir reminds me strongly of Mhysa, while the theme towards the end of the episode is very reminiscent of Dance of Dragons.
I'll give honourable mentions to Hear Me Roar (another combination: Light of the Seven + Rains) and The Tower (the build-up at the end of this still gives me chills over a year on)
Like I said, it’s so for me difficult to choose just 3 without feeling like I'm excluding some other really great ones.

Season 7
1. Truth - This has climbed its way to my second favourite track of the series. The only reason I rank Light of the Seven higher is because that track has the advantage of being 10 minutes long. If that advantage didn’t exist, Truth would be right up there. It’s goddamn flawless.
2. The Lion's Legacy - There were two excellent renditions of the Rains of Castamere this season. I chose this one over The Queen’s Justice because it’s ever so slightly longer and plays over that great shot of Jaime and his posse marching to Highgarden.
3. Dragonstone - An example of how my opinion of an episode can be lifted drastically thanks to the score. Hats off to Djawadi for finding another way to write Dany’s theme.
I was very tempted to include Against All Odds but it’s really only the ~60 seconds where Dany flies in and her and Jon’s them starts playing. If that bit was isolated from the rest of the battle music, it may have beaten out Truth.