Dark Fantasy X Soundtrack

I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to ambience and setting the scene while playing. My preference is to get music that's thematically appropriate, not worry too much about trying to match it exactly to what's happening in game, i.e., don't try to queue up "battle music" for fight scenes, but just play straight through a thematically appropriate soundtrack, and keep the volume somewhat low so it doesn't distract from the ambiance, but rather contributes meaningfully to it.

And because Dark Fantasy X is dark fantasy (as the name certainly implies), then horror-sounding soundtracks actually probably fit it better than a more epic high fantasy sounding, soaring soundtracks during most sessions. In fact, I really like specifically Gothic horror sounding soundtracks, when I can get them, because of their classic sound. I prefer soundtracks that are a little less well known, so that doesn't become another source of distraction, therefore I've picked stuff mostly that is in the indie-composer scene for mood music or movie soundtracks that aren't readily recognizable; I have an old Nox Arcana soundtrack or two, for instance, that you used to find at Halloween stores as ambient music for spook alleys and haunted house attractions. The modern take on this is people doing it for direct release to bandcamp, youtube and spotify, and I have at least one or two of those two. And I have a bunch of movie soundtracks.

Don't judge my taste on these movie soundtracks I'm recommending. I picked them for the soundtrack quality, which is exactly what I'm looking for, not for the movie quality. I will quickly admit that most of these are not good movies; they're at best forgettable b-movies that got a bigger budget and distribution than they ever deserved, and at worst, they are even insults to the fans of the genre. But, they all have great soundtracks that do the job.

I thought about putting the old 90s Gary Oldman Dracula soundtrack on there, but let's be honest; it gets tons of attention in the RPG milieu already, or at least it used to. It doesn't need more from me, and its arguably a little bit over-exposed already. Besides, Danny Elfman specifically stated that his Wolfman soundtrack was deliberately trying to sound very similar to it; I think that it works better for a variety of reasons anyway. He's a talented enough guy to imitate a style and do it very well, and given it's slightly less well-known status, it's much better for our purposes anyway.

Here's the list:

• Van Helsing by Alan Silvestri. Yeah, that cheesy Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckingsale movie by the same writer/director who did Brendan Frasier's Mummy. 
• Woman in Black by Marco Beltrami
• End of Days by John Debney. Just be sure not to pick up the crappy "pop music" soundtrack and get the orchestral score instead. Highly under-rated. Great horror soundtrack and almost nobody knows it. Actually, the movie wasn't that bad either.
• Sleepy Hollow by Danny Elfman. I'm way over Tim Burton these days, and while I once liked this movie, I found it pretty cringy now. But it still has great music, very similar in tone to Van Helsing.
• The Wolfman also by Danny Elfman. As mentioned above. Another disappointing movie, in spite of a stellar cast, but the Dracula sound-alike nature and overall super-high quality of the composition makes it one of my favorite orchestral score soundtracks not written by John Williams.
• Transylvania by Nox Arcana. One of the original mood music guys. Actually, loads of Nox Arcana stuff could fit, but honestly, much of it runs together anyway. I've always probably liked Transylvania best of their output, but there are very few (mostly the Christmas ones) that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Joseph Vargo, the main guy behind Nox Arcana, also used to be with Midnight Syndicate, who famously made the official Dungeons & Dragons soundtrack back in 2007 or so. But their real work was mostly in Gothic horror music. Nox Arcana and Midnight Syndicate went through a period of bitter rivalry after  the split, but the upside: more music for the customers. I don't recommend the D&D soundtrack for Dark Fantasy X because it's too epic fantasy sounding, but their Vampyre: Symphonies from the Crypt album is appropriate too if you want more of this. Plus, it has a Keith Parkinson piece as cover art. One curious point; because these guys aren't really as good or as bold as regular soundtrack composers working in Hollywood, the music is a bit blander and on the nose with its tone and mood. With it turned down sufficiently to not overwhelm the dialogue, this is actually a point in its favor.
• Curse of Strahd soundtrack by Travis Savoie. Available on bandcamp, youtube and spotify, I believe. Or maybe he calls it Into the Mists. Depending on where you look it up, it seems to have both titles.
• Castle Ravenloft by Graham Plowman. Another dark horse entry. It's very atmospheric and barely even has a melody or anything, but it's great background stuff.