AbsoluteMusic

by Njat

Atmospheric soundtrack replacement for Valheim, featuring Nordic dark folk, metal, and dark cinematic music.

The songs come from a wide range of genres and artists, but every track was chosen because it fits its setting exceptionally well. Normal biome music stays strictly within the Nordic/folk style, while other categories feature deliberate exceptions — especially the Swamp and Mountain. You'll understand why when you hear them.

If you enjoy the mod, consider leaving a thumbs-up!

Audio tips:

• If sound effects are too loud or drown out the music, try lowering SFX volume to 5–20%.
• If the music itself is too loud, try lowering Music volume to 10–30%.

Further Improvements

• Music changing or shuffling too often(Not tested with Expand world music)? Try SteadyMusic by Allifreyr.
• Want boss tracks to play more than once? Try StarLevelSystem by MidnightMods.

⚠️ IMPORTANT — MANUAL CLEANUP REQUIRED

Before updating to AbsoluteMusic 1.2.0, you MUST manually remove the old music configuration file. Mod managers may preserve existing configuration files instead of replacing them.

1. Close Valheim.
2. Open your r2modman profile folder.
3. Navigate to: C:\Users\Njat\AppData\Roaming\r2modmanPlus-local\Valheim\profiles\yourprofile\BepInEx\config
4. Delete the old expand_music.yaml,Music,expand_location_music.yaml files.
5. Install or update AbsoluteMusic to version 1.2.0.

The updated version includes corrected music paths. Leaving the old configuration in place can cause missing audio clips and prevent music from playing correctly. Version 1.2.0 replaces the old CustomAudio-based setup with Expand World Music and Expand World Data. If you used an earlier CustomAudio-based version, perform the one-time cleanup to prevent old files or the old audio system from interfering. Fresh installations can skip the cleanup and install this version normally. Clean upgrade from an older AbsoluteMusic version

Whats's New - 1.2.0

• Replaced the old CustomAudio-based setup with Expand World Music and Expand World Data. CustomAudio LocationMusic is no longer a dependency of AbsoluteMusic.
• Moved music assets out of config/expand_world and into the mod's plugin asset folder, preventing the audio collection from inflating r2modman's profile-code export.
• Readjusted music volumes across the soundtrack.
• Added upgrade cleanup and troubleshooting instructions.
• Im drafted so this is the last update ill leave the combability or update to you,GL

Whats's New - 1.1.9

• Extended Ashlands music by roughly 40 minutes.
• Replaced the Deep North dungeon music with better Slavic folk music instead of Nordic tracks,sorry.
• Adjusted all music volumes.
• Reintroduced Ashlands sailing music. Explore the seas with cortisol at maximum.
• Disabled Ashlands Ruins music because its triggers kept overlapping and interrupting other tracks. You can now build your house or explore without worrying about music constantly being interrupted. Honestly, the default music triggers are some of the worst I've seen in a game.

Whats's New - 1.1.8

• We got them Deep North heavy, emotional, exceptional tracks fully added.
• Addressed the crazy RAM usage problem. In testing, usage went from 12 GB to 7 GB with other heavy mods installed.
• Enable the Expand World Music audio-streaming option to help reduce memory usage.
• Ashlands ruins expanded: three additional tracks for different types of charred ruins and structures.
• The Jotun Invasion has a long, dedicated soundtrack. Don't miss it!
• Boss music added: a dedicated theme for Final boss.
• Queen ambience added: a separate atmospheric cue for the Queen encounter.
• Custom credits music: includes a Worthy End for the ending sequence.

What's New — 1.1.7

• Sailing music has been readjusted and extended from approximately 15 minutes to 1 hour.
• Further improvements to the Ashlands tracks.
• This might be the final update, so hopefully no more headaches from now on!

What's New — 1.1.6

• Extended Meadows, Plains, and Ashlands music to roughly 6× their previous lengths.
• Updated Plains encounter music. Yagluth now has a proper intro!
• Toned down some of the heavier metal tracks. Sorry, Slayers, we aren't ripping and tearing quite that much here.
• Kept my promise of low resource usage despite the major increase in music length and content.
• Remember our favorite Viking series? You're about to hear some familiar music from it too — yes, the piece sung by the actor himself!

What's New — 1.1.5

• Extended Black Forest and Mistlands music.
• Further toned down rhythm-heavy folk tracks at certain locations.
• All biome soundtracks are nearing completion! Keeping RAM usage under control remains the priority.
• Contact info for feedbacks added

What's New — 1.1.4

• Extended music across all biomes, especially Mountain and Swamp.
• Updated and extended boss soundtracks.
• Added three Swamp music variations: Heroic, Doomed, and Progressive.
• Added more instrumental variations for the Mountain biome.

What's New — 1.1.3

• Fixed several problems affecting music playback.
• Added more music for Home.
• Expanded the Combat soundtrack with additional tracks.
• Extended the Banes music selection.
• Tuned down the more aggressive music that could play during Trader visits — trader music is now much more chill.

My Wish

I really hope they eventually fix the combat music selection. Most of these tracks barely get played because I originally put them together thinking combat had different severity phases.

I expected the game to gradually move through different combat levels depending on how intense the fight was, but apparently it doesn't work that way. So a lot of the combat music I specifically chose for those phases is just sitting there unused.

Contact

Telegram: @njatlin Channel: @Njatmods

What This Mod Does

AbsoluteMusic replaces Valheim's vanilla soundtrack with a custom soundtrack carefully organized around different gameplay situations.

Music Categories

• Biomes — custom soundtracks for Valheim's biomes.
• Bosses — dedicated themes for boss encounters.
• Combat — dynamic combat music and different levels of battle intensity.
• Raids and Events — music for raids and special events, including the Jotun Invasion.
• Sailing — extended music for journeys across the sea.
• Home — atmospheric tracks for building, crafting, and relaxing at your base.
• Morning and Evening — dedicated tracks for different times of day.
• Menu and Credits — custom main-menu and ending music.
• Locations — unique soundtracks for selected buildings, ruins, dungeons, and landmarks.
• Other Gameplay Situations — additional music for special encounters and events.

Categories can contain multiple tracks. Expand World Music selects music according to the configured biome, location, boss, combat, or event rules. Multi-track playlists can randomly select from their available clips.

Requirements

AbsoluteMusic uses the following mods to load its soundtrack and configure biome and location music:

• Expand World Music
• Expand World Data

Both are declared dependencies and will be installed automatically through r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager.

Memory usage: Expand World Music provides an audio-streaming option intended to reduce memory usage. Enable it in the dependency's configuration if you want to use streaming.

Installation

r2modman / Thunderstore Mod Manager

Recommended

1. Install AbsoluteMusic through r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager.
2. Ensure Expand World Music and Expand World Data are enabled in the profile.
3. Launch Valheim through your mod manager.
4. The soundtrack and its configuration will load automatically.

Manual Installation

1. Install BepInExPack Valheim.

2. Install Expand World Music and Expand World Data, including their required dependencies.

3. Copy the contents of AbsoluteMusic's config/expand_world/ package folder into:

   Valheim\BepInEx\config\expand_world\

4. Preserve the folder structure, including the Music folder and all its subfolders.

5. Launch Valheim with BepInEx installed.

Important: Do not place the music files in BepInEx\plugins or CustomAudio. AbsoluteMusic's music files and YAML configuration belong together under BepInEx\config\expand_world\.

Compatibility

AbsoluteMusic is a custom soundtrack configuration for Valheim that relies on Expand World Music and Expand World Data.

Custom music is client-side for playback purposes: other players will not automatically hear the same soundtrack unless they install a compatible setup of their own.

Credits

AbsoluteMusic features a hand-picked collection of music chosen to complement Valheim's atmosphere, from Nordic folk to dark cinematic soundtracks.

Credit for each track belongs to its respective artist and rights holders.