DOOM 2016
from introduction to post-release
- was introduced to the game through being told to play it – though he had played doom before.
- started working 18-24 months before release
- important to put the game’s legacy on a high pedestal
- worked by focusing on the game rather than the name at first, using original midi music as a strong guideline
- looking at themes and how those are being illustrated, hell, mars, isolation, demons. ‘you are the enemy of the demons in the game’ rather than the saviour, this directed the outcome of the music and its purpose
- ‘they really didnt want heavy metal in the game’ didn’t want it to feel cliché.
- started out with synth, was sent out as a demo and then guitar was added in response to feedback
- inspiring games were all front and centre in the past, having this in the 2016 reboot was a tribute of sorts to the original. The music is the motivator.
- triangle structure with themes:
– starts with doom
– branches off into UAC (the mars theme), hell and an industrial theme which summed to gritty metal and lava type sounds.
– at the bottom is all the individual scenarios that happen in the game. Location and action are taken into account of each other here, but the ‘Doom’ theme is always at the top of the hierarchy. - the music based on that hierarchy was then decided and planned using gameplay footage and immersion
- bpm and emotion is decided right there
CONTINUE AT ‘THE FIRST LISTEN’ CHAPTER
- composer Sonic Mayhem was a huge inspiration from Quake II.
- worked with gameplay changes with dropping out with glory kills in slow motion and fading back in.
PART ONE
- treating something with such a legacy with respect
- goal was to make it bigger and bolder
- shift a few steps down
- re-construct original parts of E1M1 At Doom’s Gate
- the point is to be in your face – this music and gameplay = not running away, being immersed and feeling powerful
- inspired by original MIDI, combining technology with metal, wanted to see where he could take it in 2016 with modern technology
- dynamic and shifting music to reflect situations throughout the game
relevant videos:
PART TWO
- inspired by concept art? using the visual concept of energy to compose
- used sine waves and noise in response to exploring what that visual energy would sound like
- pulsed rhythms of sine waves and noise through various analogue equipment to corrupt sine waves and noise in a way that is desired. perfect example of how technology can be used in metal music
- casette, tapes, guitar pedal experimentation
- favoured an old soviet synth for the ‘real’ sound and character that it packed, shown in Hellwalker’s lead line. Hellwalker also used chainsaw samples.
metal choir
DOOM ETERNAL
- heavy metal choir is introduced to be something new but a continuation
- ensamble was open application from people with metal vocal backgrounds + invites
- chants have story from slayer’s origins
- diverse group – 50/50 male and female
- use of voice was for connection
software used: FL Studio, Ableton (speculated, not confirmed)
other really cool stuff:
use of chainsaw recordings with synth
https://medium.com/@thepirakaslayer/a-very-pretentious-analysis-of-the-2016-doom-soundtrack-by-mick-gordon-5740421590da