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Music of Doom (2016)

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DOOM – Original Game Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Mick Gordon
Released28 September 2016
GenreSoundtrack
Length2:08:14
LabelBethesda Softworks
ProducerMick Gordon

The music for the 2016 first-person shooter video game Doom, developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks, was composed by composer and musician Mick Gordon, with contributions by musician Richard Devine. Working for a period of 18 months from mid-2014, Gordon extensively used synthesizers and effects units to alter sub-bass sine waves. Although initially instructed not to use guitars or to include any metal influences in Doom's soundtrack, about halfway through the project, Gordon experimented with augmenting the sound of guitars.

Background and composition

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The soundtrack of Doom was composed by Australian musician and composer Mick Gordon,[1] with contributions by electronic musician and sound designer Richard Devine.[2][3] Gordon began composing music for video games in 2003 but only came to widespread attention with his work on the 2013 fighting game Killer Instinct.[4] He next scored the 2014 first person shooter Wolfenstein: The New Order,[5] a reboot of id Software's Wolfenstein series developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks.[6] In mid-2014, Gordon met with id Software,[7] which Bethesda had purchased in 2009,[8] at their Dallas headquarters to discuss composing music for Doom.[9]

The composition of Doom's soundtrack took place over 18 months.[10] At their meeting in Dallas, id instructed Gordon not to use guitars or to write a metal score,[11][12] despite the original Doom having an ambient, thrash metal soundtrack by Bobby Prince,[9][13] as id felt that the genre had grown "corny".[9] Gordon was encouraged to instead to make use of synthesizers,[14] and took inspiration from Argent energy, an in-game energy source extracted from Hell. To create the sound Argent energy might make,[15] Gordon designed several chains of effects units through which he passed sub-bass sine waves,[14][16] layered with white noise to make them audible on widely available speaker equipment.[17] According to Gordon, after "six to nine months [of] doing just synthesisers",[9] he convinced id to allow the use of guitars and began experimenting with augmenting their sound.[18] For the main riff of the main menu theme, Gordon combined a nine-string guitar with a sample of the chainsaw from the 1993 Doom.[19]

Gordon devised different soundscapes for Mars and for Hell, saying in an interview with Revolver magazine, "As the [Mars] environments were created by humans ... the music needed to sound like humans created it, too. ... That lead to Hell being more atonal, dissonant and weird."[20] Some tracks, such as "At Doom's Gate", contain homages to Prince's work for the original Doom.[18] Gordon also included easter eggs in the soundtrack. Shortly after the game's release in May 2016, players discovered pentagrams and the number "666" hidden in the track "Cyberdemon" via spectrogram.[21][22] Speaking to the Game Development Conference about composing Doom's soundtrack in 2017, Gordon revealed the presence of a reserved message, "Jesus loves you", in an unidentified track.[23] On 7 February 2019, Gordon confirmed the discovery of the final easter egg on Twitter.[24]

Album

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DOOM – Original Game Soundtrack comprises music from the game composed and produced by Mick Gordon. The album has 31 tracks and spans 128 minutes. The soundtrack was released digitally on 28 September 2016.[25][26] A physical release of the soundtrack came on 18 April 2018 with CDs and a limited, four-record vinyl set.[27][28]

The soundtrack of Doom was positively received. The reviews of Doom by The Daily Telegraph and Push Square singled out the score for praise,[29][30] as did Jordan Pearson, writing for Vice.[31] James Davenport of PC Gamer called Doom' soundtrack "one of the best game soundtracks" of 2016.[32]

No.TitleLength
1."I. Dogma"0:45
2."Rip & Tear"4:18
3."At Doom's Gate"1:11
4."Rust, Dust & Guts"7:42
5."II. Demigod"0:50
6."Hellwalker"5:06
7."Authorization; Olivia Pierce"2:24
8."Flesh & Metal"7:02
9."Impure Sanctum"1:45
10."Ties That Bind"2:07
11."BFG Division"8:27
12."Residual"1:57
13."Argent Energy"2:35
14."Harbinger"7:11
15."Biowaves"2:16
16."Olivia's Doom (Chad Mossholder Remix)"4:41
17."Transistor Fist"6:09
18."Dr. Samuel Hayden"4:10
19."Cyberdemon"6:18
20."Incantation"3:36
21."III. Dakhma"2:17
22."Damnation"6:45
23."The Stench"2:50
24."UAC Report File; Shto36u3"3:04
25."Death & Exhale"3:49
26."SkullHacker"7:16
27."Lazarus Waves"3:39
28."Vega Core"8:03
29."6_idkill Vega.Cih"1:38
30."Mastermind"6:38
31."IV. Doom"1:47
Total length:2:08:14

Accolades

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The soundtrack won the Best Music / Sound Design award at The Game Awards 2016; Gordon, joined by Periphery drummer Matt Halpern and Quake II composer Sascha Dikiciyan, performed a short medley of the tracks "Rip and Tear", "BFG Division", and Quake II's "Descent Into Cerberon" live at the awards show.[33] It was also nominated for the Audio Achievement and Best Music categories of the 13th British Academy Games Awards.[34][35]

References

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  1. ^ Reilly, Luke (18 October 2017). "Pentagrams and Partisans: Mick Gordon on Making Music That Matters". IGN. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  2. ^ Shamoon, Evan (14 December 2020). "The Maximalist: Richard Devine". Orb Magazine. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  3. ^ Gordon, Mick. "DOOM". Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  4. ^ Greening, Chris (17 April 2014). "Mick Gordon Interview: Rebooting Wolfenstein and Killer Instinct". Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  5. ^ Aristopoulos 2023, p. 150.
  6. ^ Pitts, Russ (15 May 2014). "Making Wolfenstein: A Fight Club at the Top of the World". Polygon. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  7. ^ Gordon 2017, 3:16.
  8. ^ Remo, Chris (24 June 2009). "Bethesda Parent ZeniMax Acquires id Software". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  9. ^ a b c d Prescott, Shaun (15 November 2016). "Doom composer Mick Gordon: "one of the pre-conditions of the project was no metal"". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  10. ^ Gordon 2019, 18:06.
  11. ^ Scott-Jones, Richard (2016-11-16). "id Software didn't want heavy metal for Doom soundtrack, says composer, now working on Prey". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 2023-12-22. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  12. ^ Gordon 2019, 3:16–3:30.
  13. ^ Smith 2017, pp. 3–4.
  14. ^ a b Smith 2017, p. 5.
  15. ^ Favis, Elise (28 May 2016). "Doom's Sounds Were Created From Old Cassettes And A Russian Synthesizer". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  16. ^ Aristopoulos 2023, pp. 151–153.
  17. ^ Gordon 2017, 9:58–10:07.
  18. ^ a b Smith 2017, p. 7.
  19. ^ Gordon 2019, 33:04–34:40.
  20. ^ Winkie, Luke (3 July 2018). "'Doom': Inside Ultra-Violent Video Game's Brutally Heavy Soundtrack". Revolver. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  21. ^ Fingas, Jon (29 May 2016). "The new 'Doom' hides sinister images in its soundtrack". engadget. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  22. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (31 May 2016). "Doom's soundtrack contains satanic Easter eggs". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  23. ^ Davenport, James (2 March 2017). "'Jesus loves you' is hidden in the Doom soundtrack". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  24. ^ @Mick_Gordon (February 8, 2019). "Big-ups to @nick_w94, who found the final @DOOM soundtrack easter egg a little over 2 years after release. Rock on dude!🤘😼🤘" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Seppala, Thomas J. (29 September 2016). "Raise some Hell on your commute with the 'Doom' soundtrack". engadget. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  26. ^ Chalk, Andy (28 September 2016). "The Doom soundtrack is finally out". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  27. ^ McWhertor, Michael (18 April 2018). "Doom's amazing soundtrack getting deluxe physical release". Polygon. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  28. ^ Crecente, Brian (18 April 2018). "'Doom' Soundtrack Goes Vinyl This Summer". Variety. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  29. ^ White, Sam (23 May 2016). "Doom is a fiendishly moreish, impeccably refined shooter - review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  30. ^ Thurmond, Joey (18 May 2016). "DOOM Review". Push Square. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  31. ^ Pearson, Jordan (15 March 2017). "How the 'Doom' Soundtrack Was Made Will Melt Your Puny Mortal Mind". Vice. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  32. ^ Davenport, James (28 December 2016). "Listen to the best game music of the year". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  33. ^ Oh, Ashley (2 December 2016). "Watch the Doom soundtrack performed live at The Game Awards 2016". Polygon. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  34. ^ Blades, Charles (7 April 2017). "Here is the BAFTA Game Awards Full Winners List". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  35. ^ "Inside big winner in BAFTA Academy Game Awards nominations". MCV/Develop. 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

Sources

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