Doublehex
06-21-2012, 07:21 AM
ACT 1 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362397789/D3_CustomOST_Act1.rar.html)
ACT 2 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362399397/D3_CustomOST_Act2.rar.html)
ACT 3 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362401515/D3_CustomOST_Act3.rar.html)
ACT 4 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362403689/D3_CustomOST_Act4.rar.html)
I have always held to the belief that great music can radically change one�s perception of any media. So when I first played through D3 and, minus select cues from Act 3 and 4, was utterly bored by the music, I decided it was time to take action. I dived into my music HD, which comprised of 300 GB of orchestral music, and arranged my very own �soundtrack� for Diablo 3. After 3 days I was done and left with 22 hours of music that fundamentally changed the landscape of the game. Now the adventures through Sanctuary actually feels �epic�, and I don�t mean in the sense of loud. Rather, in the expansion of emotions and scale. The large, orchestral music gives an wide palette of emotions to accompany the adventurers�and I don�t mean just rage quitting whenever we get three shot by an elite.
Going into this, I realized I had to have some sort of organization. In just the first act we go from a dark, moody haunted landscape to a bright orange field to a flaming manor. So I decided to create three folders for each act, each with a goal for certain moods. It would also make it easier for alt+tabbing out of the game. Easier to alt+tab three times in a 3 hour run than six or seven. The music won�t fit all of the zones all of the time, but they should fit most of the zones most of the time. It seemed a good balance.
Now, going into each of the act�s �parts�, I decided to try to focus on certain themes I would musically give link to. You�ll understand further what I mean when I describe them in detail below.
Act 1.1 �From Tristram to the Skeleton King�
More so than any other act, and heck even more so than any of the other �chapters�, the first big chunk of Act 1 has the most character. It has us dealing the most with some of Sanctuary�s history. I mean, Act 2 just has running around a desert with Zultun Kuule�s head, and Act 3 is just us fighting against the most retarded demon commander in all of literature. But the first chapter of Act 1 has us fighting the Skeleton King again. The game has us � literally � struggling with some of Tristram�s history. And, to boot, it�s the only time we don�t have a villain mustache twirling in our faces, much to our groaning! The Skeleton King pops up three, four times? Makes you wish Metzen had this done for all of the �big bads�.
So there were several themes I felt the music had to touch upon here. The first was the Tristram theme � Old and New Tristrams have laid their marks upon the landscape here. And it wouldn�t seem right for me to not listen to the Tristram cue every once in a while. So I put in the Tristram theme from Diablo 2 and 3 in. The New Tristram theme was obvious enough � that�s your base of operations here. But originally I was going to use the Tristram theme from Diablo 1, to give a link to the game where we first battled the Skeleton King. However, I went with the Tristram theme from D2 in the end because it is the ruins of Old Tristram that we go to, the exact same ones we went to in D2. It just seemed more fitting for the D2 Tristram theme to pop up here.
Next, I wanted to tackle a �Requiem� them, or if you will a �Tragedy of King Leoric� theme. If you really think about the series of events that encompassed Leoric�s life which ultimately brought about the Skeleton King, it would make a really good tragic novel. Here is a man who was beloved the people of Khanduras, despite the fact that he was bringing with his reign a strange and new religion. Then came Archbishop Lazarus, who was already corrupted by Mephisto. And everything went to shit. Leoric was slowly but surely driven insane by Mephisto, he saw everyone as a traitor and started executing everyone, he went on a foolish campaign against Westmarch, and upon his return he was killed by Lachdannan. Then he rose from the dead as the Skeleton King, and all his legions with him until his son Aidan (D1 Warrior) killed him.
Shit. I wouldn�t want that on my worst enemy, let alone some king who by and large seemed a pretty decent guy until some crazy priest allowed a demonic god to corrupt his soul and mind.
So, to represent all this I wanted some cues that could be defined as �memorials�. But I didn�t want the themes to be too bright now. We are still dealing with zombie and skeleton hordes, mind you. We are plunging into massive, gothic cathedral and grave robbing crowns from tombs. The cues needed to have a dark, gothic feel to them.
Thus, I mostly looked to a lot of horror scores. No surprise there � �Tales of Old� from Demon Souls�, �Main Title� and �Main Title Continued� from Alien 3 (Elliot Goldenthal <3), Interview with the Vampire�s �Libera Me�, amongst others. Most of these cues have choral, but it�s not loud in your face. These are soft and echoing, and they give a sense of dread and mystery which fits our literal and narrative purposes perfectly.
Also, Penderecki�s �Polish Requiem�. This man made modern horror orchestra as we know it, and I�d argue his Requiem defined the large, classical orchestra kind. It would be a sin against humanity to exclude him.
I also wanted an undead theme, to really express the sense of horror that your character is experncieng. I mean, unless you are playing this on Nightmare, Hell or Inferno, your character is in his or her undies. They have weapons that are probably hand me downs. You don�t even have a secondary ability yet! Not even a health potion! And here you are, standing against waves of zombies with rotten flesh and hanging appendages. A massive cathedral with a dark and twisted history is off in the distance, as if it is watching you, judging you.
And this is not scary how, exactly?
So to express this I wanted to avoid in your face horror. I wanted the scary tracks to suggest horror instead. So again, Penderecki because he really understands how to express human horror in music without being blunt about it. But I also included some cues from Giacchino�s Let Me In, �Sins of the Father� and �The Weakest Goes to the Pool�. Wolf Suite 2 from Elfman�s �The Wolfman� appears, because it lacks the sheer brutality of the first suite and fitted the landscape wonderfully.
I intended this playlist to be played from the beginning of Act 1 to when you killed the Skeleton King.
Act 1.2 �The Bloody Fields�
The middle section of the act was really interesting to select music for. On one hand we have very beautiful, bright scenery. Orange and yellow is abundant, farms are everywhere, fields of crop ever across the horizon. On the other hand, hordes of goatmen that want to kill you are everywhere! Cultists are causing all sorts of chaos! That lousy villain Maghda! Skulls that are abundantly strewn around caves.
So with all this in mind I really wanted to deal with a �Beauty vs Savagery� theme. I wanted to go through and one minute, have a cue that �nice� in relative terms, and when that piece ended and the playlist shuffled to be confronted with music that was dark and brutal and full of vicious intent. I wanted the playlist itself to seem like it was struggling with this balance, and even for individual musical pieces to hint at both sides of the scale.
The beginning was obvious � Ben Houge�s Arcanum! This score was written mostly for a small ensemble of string players, and it is at times both beautiful and savage. It hinted at the bright future of the world, as well as the dark political underbelly. Perfect for what I wanted to bring to the highlands.
Iva Davies et el�s work on Master and Commander does a good job at detailing the beauty and savage nature of the highlands. We have lots of drums that give a sense of tribalism, but also we have a great orchestra in the background that gives a hint of culture. You will also find included several cues from both of the Witcher games that fit this mold.
The middle chapter doesn�t deal just with the highlands� struggle though. It also gives us some insight into the last days of the Nephalem. So I wanted to have some tragic cues, and as such I selected �Funeral/Coda� from Goldenthal�s Michael Collins, �Part II� from Marco Polo by Amand Amar, �Parting Words� from Lost: Season 1 by Giacchino, and several cues from Ennio Morricone�s masterful �Once Upon a Time in America�.
Considering how the cultists were playing a large role now, I felt a few �horror� cues were appropriate. Thus, �Hell�s Picture Scroll� from Toru Takemitsu�s Ran, �Previsions� from John Williams� Minority Report, and several cues from Johnny Greenwood�s work on �There Will Be Blood�.
This playlist should run from your first meeting with the Stranger to when you step foot on Leoric�s Manor.
Act 1.3 �Leoric�s Manor�
Okay, all bets are off. The game has given me fire, a dark red landscape, torture machines, blood stained floors. Are you really at all surprised I have loud chorus and orchestra here? Really?
My inspiration for the sound here was the Templar�s line: �Evil wears no disguises here�. Indeed. Thus, some of the Dark Chaos cues from Jack Wall�s Wrath Unleashed, even *more* Penderecki, we�ve got some of Wojciech Kilar�s work on �Dracula� and �A King for Burning�, there�s some of Yoshihisa Hirano�s chorus filled �Death Note��
It�s loud, people. It�s loud, it scary, it�s full of chorus. It�s crazy good stuff. Makes the place a whole lot more scary than it has any rights to be.
Act 2.1 �Vengeance Rising�
So with the first two chapters of Act 2 I wanted to establish several desert themes, starting off with a �Beauty of the Desert�. I felt that music which described the landscape that was contrary to the action going on was the best course of action, instead of going for horror music with Middle Eastern flair which I reserved for the next chapter. Maurice Jarre, who pretty much invented the �music of the Middle East� makes a big appearance here. Several of his cues from Lawrence of Arabia, Lion in the Desert and his Fixer Suite lend an air of mysticism and wonder. I also use about 20 minutes of Knut Avenstroup Haugen�s Stygia themes from Age of Conan. Carlo Siliotto�s work on Nomad the Warrior has a nice balance between a Middle Eastern atmosphere and a sense of, so I made use of several of his cues.
I didn�t really have many narrative themes to weave into the music, mostly because I didn�t have much room to work with. The game just has us jumping from location to location here, not really giving us much insight into the history of these places. Sure we deal with the cultists, but I already pounded there musical themes into the ground in 1.2 and 1.3.
This playlist should last from the beginning of Act 2 to when you finally make Maghda STFU.
Act 2.2 �The Bargain With Kulle�
With the first chapter, we dealt with the �Beauty of the Desert�. We got lots of woodwinds and ethic instruments which helped establish an illusion of beautiful dunes under a harsh sun. All that goes out the window here. Now we delve into the �Horrors of the Desert�. More of Haugen�s Stygia themes appear again, but these deal more with the demonic mages of Hyboria so you get a great deal more chorus and very harsh strings that create a sense of horror that is way over your head. Some of the more experimental work by Jason Graves on Dungeon Siege III, �Patricide� by Zimmer for Gladiator, and pieces by Edernstern for Into the Dark really helps to describe the depravity of the areas your characters will be going through here.
I also felt a theme should be dedicated to �The End of the Vizjeri/The Height of the Horadrim�, which would give some musical insight into a better, greater age that was lost long ago. These would also fit well with when you travel through the aquaducts. So, Zimmer�s �Daduk of the North� from Gladiator makes an appearance, as well as several of Austin Wintory�s work on Journey.
Kulle deserved a few cues in my mind, music which would really describe his twisted mind. Some of these could have been alluded in �Horrors of the Desert�, but I really wanted a few cues that would fit perfectly within his sanctum and the shadow realm. Thus, Marco Beltrami�s �Snow Walkers� for Hellboy, �Escape from the Basket� by John Williams for War of the Worlds, and Russell Brower�s �Wielder of Fire� for WoW 4.2 �Rage of the Firelands�.
This playlist should run from your first meeting with Emperor Hakam II to your confrontation for the Black Soulstone.
Act 2.3 �The Charge on Belial�
This was the shortest chapter in the game � even on Inferno, I can�t see this taking more than an hour or an hour and a half. That and in the name of conserving more of the �action� cues for Act 3, I dedicated only an hour�s worth of music here.
With this chunk I really wanted to establish a sense of urgency and the music you�d expect to happen when you, while still holding true to the musical language of the setting. Thus, we got some more cues from Siliotto�s Nomad the Warrior and Dungeon Siege III. However, I felt tracks that fell more into the �high fantasy action� category would be appropriate here, so I selected �In the Moud� from Jason Hayes DOTA 2, Prelude to War by Bear McCreary�s �Battlestar Galactica Season 2�, and �Church of the Poisoned Mind� from Batman: Arkham City by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish.
This playlist should be played from Belial�s attack on Caldeum to when you finish him off.
Act 3.1 �The Highest Towers and the Breach�
Starting here on out, the music is going to become less and less �in the background� and more in the forefront, to the point where it is just as apparent as the gameplay and graphics. The first chunk is essentially �hold the keep�, so I wanted music to express not just the violence (yay action music!) but also to express the sense of despair and fatality that has engulfed the defenders of Bastion�s Keep. Before you arrived, there wasn�t any hope left. I felt the music had to touch on these two factors.
So, �Arreat� and �Bastion�s Keep� makes their appearance. Let�s be honest, this is some seriously good music and it�s the only time when playing I was earnestly impressed with the score. There was no way I could leave these tracks off. I also included �Harrogath� from Diablo II, as I felt a little nod to the expansion that took place in the same region was appropriate. This won�t be the last time I make use of Lord of Destruction cues.
Classical music returns with selections from Penderecki�s �Polish Requiem� and Richard Einhorn�s �Voices of Light�. Well, the former is debatable (what do you call music that was written for a silent film 60 years after it was filmed, but it was more inspired by than for, but it still fits the running time?). I also felt some Wagner was needed, since Uelmen had looked to him as inspiration for Lord of Destruction. So, I took a segment from the third act of the opera Tannh�user that I felt fit the setting. Not feeling just one opera piece was enough I looked to Mozart�s �Don Giovanni� for some chorale action.
But now we go to the modern, and how can I not have a siege without cues from the epic Helms Deep from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? Ten minutes of music from the climatic act of that film are used here. The Witcher 2 also makes it�s return with �Realm of the Rotfiends�. With Yury Poteyenko�s �Battle � Dies Irae� from Sea Dogs, we got a great mixture of classical allusions and epic battle that fits my intents like a glove.
I also used several cues from Lennie Moore�s masterpiece Outcast which delve into both the battle and despair themes. I used Moore some more with several battle themes from Dragonshard. Jesper Kyd�s �Secret Invasion� for Hitman: Blood Money fits the bill rather nicely as well.
You should be playing this playlist from the beginning of Act 3 to when you kill the Lord of Greed.
Act 3.2 �Onto the Fields of Slaughter�
Oh, what�s that? Bringing the battle to the enemy, our fair hero rushes onto the battlefield, catapults to the left of him and to the right of him, slaughtering demons by the hundreds? Is that an excuse for some totally epic music?
You bet your ass it is!
When I started this project I knew two things: one, it would take me a bit of time, but not nearly as much as my 10GB WoW soundtrack. Two, I would use Holst�s �Mars: The Bringer of War�. I mean, how could I not? This is one of the most influential classical pieces on modern orchestra. End period. If you want to look at the roots of Hollywood�s epic �battle sequences�, you look to Mars and Prokofiev�s �Battle on the Ice�.
Besides Holst, Moore and Penderecki make a return of force. More Dragonshard, more Outcast, more A Polish Requiem. Howard Shore returns once again with �Siege of Gondor� and �Shieldmaiden of Rohan� Return of the King. For the first time, I made use of a symphony movement with Penderecki�s fifth movement from his Third. I also used the third movement from Gavrill Popov�s First Symphony.
And of course, there is Part II from Elliot Goldenthal�s Fire, Water Paper � A Vietnam Oratorio. If this piece doesn�t represent the horrors, veracity and sheer scale of war, I don�t know what does. The whole 3 piece oratorio does to an extent, but I really think it is the middle piece that represents that the most. It�s one of Goldenthal�s very best works�and that should be saying something, since we are talking Elliot motherfucking Goldenthal here!
Jerry Goldsmith returns once again with the amazing �Fire Dragon� from The 13th Warrior. This is a fantastic battle cue if only because it manages to be epic and totally memorable without the use of chorus. Chrous seems to be the go-to tool for making a battle scene epic � and surprise surprise, it works! � but Goldsmith for whatever reason decided to go against the zeitgeist. And it�s Goldsmith � of course it works! If you decide to just have �Fire Dragon� play over and over, no one would hold it against you.
This should play from your charge onto the Fields of Slaughter up until your entry into the Arreat Crater.
Act 3.3 Arreat Crater
With Arreat Crater, I initially wrestled with if I should go with conventional �Hollywoodish� interpretation of supernatural horror, or if I should go with the avaunt garde. In the end I went with the latter. With Arreat Crater we are basically expierncing hell. I tried to look to Dante�s Inferno as an inspiration for what I wanted the music to represent. The music should be madness, unfiltered. I didn�t think that could be done with conventional orchestral techniques.
So, I made a great deal of use of Ligeti and a younger Penderecki from when he made himself known. Combined the two composers make up nearly an hour and a half worth of music. I used two pieces from Diablo III, �Black Soulstone� and �Incantation�, because I felt their use of chorus helped add to the sense of overwhelming madness. The 30 minute first part of Goldenthal�s before mentioned oratorio finishes off the section.
I won�t be surprised if people disagree with my choice of music here. A lot of it is very off putting, it�s weird, a lot of the pieces use weird and unconventional techniques. Some would (wrongfully) argue that it�s more noise than music. But I felt that this fit the bill more so than the more conventional methods.
You should play this from the first level of the crater to when you beat Azmodan.
Act 4.1 �Gardens of Hope�
For the first half of Act 4, I felt the best course of action was not to describe the event going on but the location. Remember, this is heaven we are talking about. Assumingly speaking, it�s the most beautiful realm in all of creation. A realm of white and gold, a sanctum of the good and heavenly spirits. This is in even greater contrast to the scenery of the Arreat Crater where everything was dysfunctional and jadgged shapes, heaven�s architecture is all about an orderly appearance and round shapes. So I felt the music should reflect that, instead of all the fighting and dying that was going on around the characters.
Classical music of the classical era (Mozart, Bach, Handel, and arguably Beethoven) dominates the scene here. I felt that classical music was always closest to �voice of God�, if you�ll allow me a little bit of hyperbole. It seemed only fitting for classical music to represent the High Heavens at its splendor.
Requiems make up the majority of the music here. Between Mozart�s Requiem, Vierde�s Reqiem Mass and Beethoven�s Misas Solemnis, the Gardens of Hope are covered in chorus. And befitting the era of music in which they were written for, they are loud.
Some more solemn pieces � Knut Avenstroup Haugen�s (yes, of Age of Conan fame) choral piece �Under Verden� magnificently balances between epic sweeping orchestra and marvelous chorus. The segment �Nunn will sie Sonn so hell aufughn� from Mahler�s Lieder just speaks of tragedy. Many will recognize it from Children of Men. Despite it not being a classical piece, Yury Poteyenko�s �Defeat Theme � �Domine Jesu�� from Sea Dogs is obviously classically influences � and particularly so by Mozart�s Requiem � so it is a natural fit.
I also included two movements from two of Beethoven�s symphonies � his 5th and his 9th, both of which should be familiar with just about everybody. That opening movement from his 5th has those famous, deafening strings that have become iconically classical in the mainstream mind, and there was no way I could arrange a musical representation of heaven without having the final movement from his final symphony. Yes, this is the movement that contains that famous chorus.
This playlist should play from the beginning of Act 4 up to when you leave the second level of the Gardens of Hope.
4.2 �Ascending the Spire and the End with Diablo�
With here, I had essentially split it into two distinct but still interchangeable themes. �Blasphemy of the Hells� and �the Diablo fight�. As in, on one hand I wanted the music to describe the corruption the hordes of Diablo have done to the heavens, and in the other I wanted music that would fit in the classic �final boss fight�.
Four pieces from Penderecki�s �Polish Requiem� make their mark on the landscape. I�m sure at this point you are not surprised I make so use of his requiem (and if you have been listening along you most certainly have heard why) so I won�t go into detailing them. I also make use of several cues from Laura Karpman�s �Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom�. Now, they all fall into the �battle� categorization but they still have traces of horror etched into them. They are both bombastic and unconventional, classically influenced but sensible to modern tastes.
Giusseppe Verdi�s Requiem Mass makes a return from the previous chapter with the loud as hell �Dies Irae�. I don�t know if there had ever been a sheer contrast in volume between an opening movement and it�s follow up.
Being in the more bombastic side of things, I make use of several of Neal Acree�s contribution to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and it�s expansion, Fall of Deathwing. Jerry Goldsmith�s �Arthur�s Farewell� from First Knight (as good an example as you can get of a fantastic score to a dull movie), �Black Escaflowne� by Yoko Kanno for the Escaflowne film, and several pieces from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Full Metal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala add several mesmerizing action chorus-based pieces to the equation.
As for the �Blasphemy� side, we got �Apocalyspe� by Jesper Kyd for Hitman: Blood Money (seriouslu Kyd, skip the electronic and stick with orchestra), Penderecki�s infamous �Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima� and �De natura sonoris II for orchestra�.
The action cues override the horror cues, an intentional choice. The game put the emphasis on rushing through this section of the game, killing hordes of enemies all in the name of confronting Diablo. And regardless of the difficulty it will be played on, Diablo�s fight is probably going to take several tries.
This should play�well, for the rest of the game. Afterwards, back to 1.1!
ACT 2 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362399397/D3_CustomOST_Act2.rar.html)
ACT 3 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362401515/D3_CustomOST_Act3.rar.html)
ACT 4 (http://www.peejeshare.com/files/362403689/D3_CustomOST_Act4.rar.html)
I have always held to the belief that great music can radically change one�s perception of any media. So when I first played through D3 and, minus select cues from Act 3 and 4, was utterly bored by the music, I decided it was time to take action. I dived into my music HD, which comprised of 300 GB of orchestral music, and arranged my very own �soundtrack� for Diablo 3. After 3 days I was done and left with 22 hours of music that fundamentally changed the landscape of the game. Now the adventures through Sanctuary actually feels �epic�, and I don�t mean in the sense of loud. Rather, in the expansion of emotions and scale. The large, orchestral music gives an wide palette of emotions to accompany the adventurers�and I don�t mean just rage quitting whenever we get three shot by an elite.
Going into this, I realized I had to have some sort of organization. In just the first act we go from a dark, moody haunted landscape to a bright orange field to a flaming manor. So I decided to create three folders for each act, each with a goal for certain moods. It would also make it easier for alt+tabbing out of the game. Easier to alt+tab three times in a 3 hour run than six or seven. The music won�t fit all of the zones all of the time, but they should fit most of the zones most of the time. It seemed a good balance.
Now, going into each of the act�s �parts�, I decided to try to focus on certain themes I would musically give link to. You�ll understand further what I mean when I describe them in detail below.
Act 1.1 �From Tristram to the Skeleton King�
More so than any other act, and heck even more so than any of the other �chapters�, the first big chunk of Act 1 has the most character. It has us dealing the most with some of Sanctuary�s history. I mean, Act 2 just has running around a desert with Zultun Kuule�s head, and Act 3 is just us fighting against the most retarded demon commander in all of literature. But the first chapter of Act 1 has us fighting the Skeleton King again. The game has us � literally � struggling with some of Tristram�s history. And, to boot, it�s the only time we don�t have a villain mustache twirling in our faces, much to our groaning! The Skeleton King pops up three, four times? Makes you wish Metzen had this done for all of the �big bads�.
So there were several themes I felt the music had to touch upon here. The first was the Tristram theme � Old and New Tristrams have laid their marks upon the landscape here. And it wouldn�t seem right for me to not listen to the Tristram cue every once in a while. So I put in the Tristram theme from Diablo 2 and 3 in. The New Tristram theme was obvious enough � that�s your base of operations here. But originally I was going to use the Tristram theme from Diablo 1, to give a link to the game where we first battled the Skeleton King. However, I went with the Tristram theme from D2 in the end because it is the ruins of Old Tristram that we go to, the exact same ones we went to in D2. It just seemed more fitting for the D2 Tristram theme to pop up here.
Next, I wanted to tackle a �Requiem� them, or if you will a �Tragedy of King Leoric� theme. If you really think about the series of events that encompassed Leoric�s life which ultimately brought about the Skeleton King, it would make a really good tragic novel. Here is a man who was beloved the people of Khanduras, despite the fact that he was bringing with his reign a strange and new religion. Then came Archbishop Lazarus, who was already corrupted by Mephisto. And everything went to shit. Leoric was slowly but surely driven insane by Mephisto, he saw everyone as a traitor and started executing everyone, he went on a foolish campaign against Westmarch, and upon his return he was killed by Lachdannan. Then he rose from the dead as the Skeleton King, and all his legions with him until his son Aidan (D1 Warrior) killed him.
Shit. I wouldn�t want that on my worst enemy, let alone some king who by and large seemed a pretty decent guy until some crazy priest allowed a demonic god to corrupt his soul and mind.
So, to represent all this I wanted some cues that could be defined as �memorials�. But I didn�t want the themes to be too bright now. We are still dealing with zombie and skeleton hordes, mind you. We are plunging into massive, gothic cathedral and grave robbing crowns from tombs. The cues needed to have a dark, gothic feel to them.
Thus, I mostly looked to a lot of horror scores. No surprise there � �Tales of Old� from Demon Souls�, �Main Title� and �Main Title Continued� from Alien 3 (Elliot Goldenthal <3), Interview with the Vampire�s �Libera Me�, amongst others. Most of these cues have choral, but it�s not loud in your face. These are soft and echoing, and they give a sense of dread and mystery which fits our literal and narrative purposes perfectly.
Also, Penderecki�s �Polish Requiem�. This man made modern horror orchestra as we know it, and I�d argue his Requiem defined the large, classical orchestra kind. It would be a sin against humanity to exclude him.
I also wanted an undead theme, to really express the sense of horror that your character is experncieng. I mean, unless you are playing this on Nightmare, Hell or Inferno, your character is in his or her undies. They have weapons that are probably hand me downs. You don�t even have a secondary ability yet! Not even a health potion! And here you are, standing against waves of zombies with rotten flesh and hanging appendages. A massive cathedral with a dark and twisted history is off in the distance, as if it is watching you, judging you.
And this is not scary how, exactly?
So to express this I wanted to avoid in your face horror. I wanted the scary tracks to suggest horror instead. So again, Penderecki because he really understands how to express human horror in music without being blunt about it. But I also included some cues from Giacchino�s Let Me In, �Sins of the Father� and �The Weakest Goes to the Pool�. Wolf Suite 2 from Elfman�s �The Wolfman� appears, because it lacks the sheer brutality of the first suite and fitted the landscape wonderfully.
I intended this playlist to be played from the beginning of Act 1 to when you killed the Skeleton King.
Act 1.2 �The Bloody Fields�
The middle section of the act was really interesting to select music for. On one hand we have very beautiful, bright scenery. Orange and yellow is abundant, farms are everywhere, fields of crop ever across the horizon. On the other hand, hordes of goatmen that want to kill you are everywhere! Cultists are causing all sorts of chaos! That lousy villain Maghda! Skulls that are abundantly strewn around caves.
So with all this in mind I really wanted to deal with a �Beauty vs Savagery� theme. I wanted to go through and one minute, have a cue that �nice� in relative terms, and when that piece ended and the playlist shuffled to be confronted with music that was dark and brutal and full of vicious intent. I wanted the playlist itself to seem like it was struggling with this balance, and even for individual musical pieces to hint at both sides of the scale.
The beginning was obvious � Ben Houge�s Arcanum! This score was written mostly for a small ensemble of string players, and it is at times both beautiful and savage. It hinted at the bright future of the world, as well as the dark political underbelly. Perfect for what I wanted to bring to the highlands.
Iva Davies et el�s work on Master and Commander does a good job at detailing the beauty and savage nature of the highlands. We have lots of drums that give a sense of tribalism, but also we have a great orchestra in the background that gives a hint of culture. You will also find included several cues from both of the Witcher games that fit this mold.
The middle chapter doesn�t deal just with the highlands� struggle though. It also gives us some insight into the last days of the Nephalem. So I wanted to have some tragic cues, and as such I selected �Funeral/Coda� from Goldenthal�s Michael Collins, �Part II� from Marco Polo by Amand Amar, �Parting Words� from Lost: Season 1 by Giacchino, and several cues from Ennio Morricone�s masterful �Once Upon a Time in America�.
Considering how the cultists were playing a large role now, I felt a few �horror� cues were appropriate. Thus, �Hell�s Picture Scroll� from Toru Takemitsu�s Ran, �Previsions� from John Williams� Minority Report, and several cues from Johnny Greenwood�s work on �There Will Be Blood�.
This playlist should run from your first meeting with the Stranger to when you step foot on Leoric�s Manor.
Act 1.3 �Leoric�s Manor�
Okay, all bets are off. The game has given me fire, a dark red landscape, torture machines, blood stained floors. Are you really at all surprised I have loud chorus and orchestra here? Really?
My inspiration for the sound here was the Templar�s line: �Evil wears no disguises here�. Indeed. Thus, some of the Dark Chaos cues from Jack Wall�s Wrath Unleashed, even *more* Penderecki, we�ve got some of Wojciech Kilar�s work on �Dracula� and �A King for Burning�, there�s some of Yoshihisa Hirano�s chorus filled �Death Note��
It�s loud, people. It�s loud, it scary, it�s full of chorus. It�s crazy good stuff. Makes the place a whole lot more scary than it has any rights to be.
Act 2.1 �Vengeance Rising�
So with the first two chapters of Act 2 I wanted to establish several desert themes, starting off with a �Beauty of the Desert�. I felt that music which described the landscape that was contrary to the action going on was the best course of action, instead of going for horror music with Middle Eastern flair which I reserved for the next chapter. Maurice Jarre, who pretty much invented the �music of the Middle East� makes a big appearance here. Several of his cues from Lawrence of Arabia, Lion in the Desert and his Fixer Suite lend an air of mysticism and wonder. I also use about 20 minutes of Knut Avenstroup Haugen�s Stygia themes from Age of Conan. Carlo Siliotto�s work on Nomad the Warrior has a nice balance between a Middle Eastern atmosphere and a sense of, so I made use of several of his cues.
I didn�t really have many narrative themes to weave into the music, mostly because I didn�t have much room to work with. The game just has us jumping from location to location here, not really giving us much insight into the history of these places. Sure we deal with the cultists, but I already pounded there musical themes into the ground in 1.2 and 1.3.
This playlist should last from the beginning of Act 2 to when you finally make Maghda STFU.
Act 2.2 �The Bargain With Kulle�
With the first chapter, we dealt with the �Beauty of the Desert�. We got lots of woodwinds and ethic instruments which helped establish an illusion of beautiful dunes under a harsh sun. All that goes out the window here. Now we delve into the �Horrors of the Desert�. More of Haugen�s Stygia themes appear again, but these deal more with the demonic mages of Hyboria so you get a great deal more chorus and very harsh strings that create a sense of horror that is way over your head. Some of the more experimental work by Jason Graves on Dungeon Siege III, �Patricide� by Zimmer for Gladiator, and pieces by Edernstern for Into the Dark really helps to describe the depravity of the areas your characters will be going through here.
I also felt a theme should be dedicated to �The End of the Vizjeri/The Height of the Horadrim�, which would give some musical insight into a better, greater age that was lost long ago. These would also fit well with when you travel through the aquaducts. So, Zimmer�s �Daduk of the North� from Gladiator makes an appearance, as well as several of Austin Wintory�s work on Journey.
Kulle deserved a few cues in my mind, music which would really describe his twisted mind. Some of these could have been alluded in �Horrors of the Desert�, but I really wanted a few cues that would fit perfectly within his sanctum and the shadow realm. Thus, Marco Beltrami�s �Snow Walkers� for Hellboy, �Escape from the Basket� by John Williams for War of the Worlds, and Russell Brower�s �Wielder of Fire� for WoW 4.2 �Rage of the Firelands�.
This playlist should run from your first meeting with Emperor Hakam II to your confrontation for the Black Soulstone.
Act 2.3 �The Charge on Belial�
This was the shortest chapter in the game � even on Inferno, I can�t see this taking more than an hour or an hour and a half. That and in the name of conserving more of the �action� cues for Act 3, I dedicated only an hour�s worth of music here.
With this chunk I really wanted to establish a sense of urgency and the music you�d expect to happen when you, while still holding true to the musical language of the setting. Thus, we got some more cues from Siliotto�s Nomad the Warrior and Dungeon Siege III. However, I felt tracks that fell more into the �high fantasy action� category would be appropriate here, so I selected �In the Moud� from Jason Hayes DOTA 2, Prelude to War by Bear McCreary�s �Battlestar Galactica Season 2�, and �Church of the Poisoned Mind� from Batman: Arkham City by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish.
This playlist should be played from Belial�s attack on Caldeum to when you finish him off.
Act 3.1 �The Highest Towers and the Breach�
Starting here on out, the music is going to become less and less �in the background� and more in the forefront, to the point where it is just as apparent as the gameplay and graphics. The first chunk is essentially �hold the keep�, so I wanted music to express not just the violence (yay action music!) but also to express the sense of despair and fatality that has engulfed the defenders of Bastion�s Keep. Before you arrived, there wasn�t any hope left. I felt the music had to touch on these two factors.
So, �Arreat� and �Bastion�s Keep� makes their appearance. Let�s be honest, this is some seriously good music and it�s the only time when playing I was earnestly impressed with the score. There was no way I could leave these tracks off. I also included �Harrogath� from Diablo II, as I felt a little nod to the expansion that took place in the same region was appropriate. This won�t be the last time I make use of Lord of Destruction cues.
Classical music returns with selections from Penderecki�s �Polish Requiem� and Richard Einhorn�s �Voices of Light�. Well, the former is debatable (what do you call music that was written for a silent film 60 years after it was filmed, but it was more inspired by than for, but it still fits the running time?). I also felt some Wagner was needed, since Uelmen had looked to him as inspiration for Lord of Destruction. So, I took a segment from the third act of the opera Tannh�user that I felt fit the setting. Not feeling just one opera piece was enough I looked to Mozart�s �Don Giovanni� for some chorale action.
But now we go to the modern, and how can I not have a siege without cues from the epic Helms Deep from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? Ten minutes of music from the climatic act of that film are used here. The Witcher 2 also makes it�s return with �Realm of the Rotfiends�. With Yury Poteyenko�s �Battle � Dies Irae� from Sea Dogs, we got a great mixture of classical allusions and epic battle that fits my intents like a glove.
I also used several cues from Lennie Moore�s masterpiece Outcast which delve into both the battle and despair themes. I used Moore some more with several battle themes from Dragonshard. Jesper Kyd�s �Secret Invasion� for Hitman: Blood Money fits the bill rather nicely as well.
You should be playing this playlist from the beginning of Act 3 to when you kill the Lord of Greed.
Act 3.2 �Onto the Fields of Slaughter�
Oh, what�s that? Bringing the battle to the enemy, our fair hero rushes onto the battlefield, catapults to the left of him and to the right of him, slaughtering demons by the hundreds? Is that an excuse for some totally epic music?
You bet your ass it is!
When I started this project I knew two things: one, it would take me a bit of time, but not nearly as much as my 10GB WoW soundtrack. Two, I would use Holst�s �Mars: The Bringer of War�. I mean, how could I not? This is one of the most influential classical pieces on modern orchestra. End period. If you want to look at the roots of Hollywood�s epic �battle sequences�, you look to Mars and Prokofiev�s �Battle on the Ice�.
Besides Holst, Moore and Penderecki make a return of force. More Dragonshard, more Outcast, more A Polish Requiem. Howard Shore returns once again with �Siege of Gondor� and �Shieldmaiden of Rohan� Return of the King. For the first time, I made use of a symphony movement with Penderecki�s fifth movement from his Third. I also used the third movement from Gavrill Popov�s First Symphony.
And of course, there is Part II from Elliot Goldenthal�s Fire, Water Paper � A Vietnam Oratorio. If this piece doesn�t represent the horrors, veracity and sheer scale of war, I don�t know what does. The whole 3 piece oratorio does to an extent, but I really think it is the middle piece that represents that the most. It�s one of Goldenthal�s very best works�and that should be saying something, since we are talking Elliot motherfucking Goldenthal here!
Jerry Goldsmith returns once again with the amazing �Fire Dragon� from The 13th Warrior. This is a fantastic battle cue if only because it manages to be epic and totally memorable without the use of chorus. Chrous seems to be the go-to tool for making a battle scene epic � and surprise surprise, it works! � but Goldsmith for whatever reason decided to go against the zeitgeist. And it�s Goldsmith � of course it works! If you decide to just have �Fire Dragon� play over and over, no one would hold it against you.
This should play from your charge onto the Fields of Slaughter up until your entry into the Arreat Crater.
Act 3.3 Arreat Crater
With Arreat Crater, I initially wrestled with if I should go with conventional �Hollywoodish� interpretation of supernatural horror, or if I should go with the avaunt garde. In the end I went with the latter. With Arreat Crater we are basically expierncing hell. I tried to look to Dante�s Inferno as an inspiration for what I wanted the music to represent. The music should be madness, unfiltered. I didn�t think that could be done with conventional orchestral techniques.
So, I made a great deal of use of Ligeti and a younger Penderecki from when he made himself known. Combined the two composers make up nearly an hour and a half worth of music. I used two pieces from Diablo III, �Black Soulstone� and �Incantation�, because I felt their use of chorus helped add to the sense of overwhelming madness. The 30 minute first part of Goldenthal�s before mentioned oratorio finishes off the section.
I won�t be surprised if people disagree with my choice of music here. A lot of it is very off putting, it�s weird, a lot of the pieces use weird and unconventional techniques. Some would (wrongfully) argue that it�s more noise than music. But I felt that this fit the bill more so than the more conventional methods.
You should play this from the first level of the crater to when you beat Azmodan.
Act 4.1 �Gardens of Hope�
For the first half of Act 4, I felt the best course of action was not to describe the event going on but the location. Remember, this is heaven we are talking about. Assumingly speaking, it�s the most beautiful realm in all of creation. A realm of white and gold, a sanctum of the good and heavenly spirits. This is in even greater contrast to the scenery of the Arreat Crater where everything was dysfunctional and jadgged shapes, heaven�s architecture is all about an orderly appearance and round shapes. So I felt the music should reflect that, instead of all the fighting and dying that was going on around the characters.
Classical music of the classical era (Mozart, Bach, Handel, and arguably Beethoven) dominates the scene here. I felt that classical music was always closest to �voice of God�, if you�ll allow me a little bit of hyperbole. It seemed only fitting for classical music to represent the High Heavens at its splendor.
Requiems make up the majority of the music here. Between Mozart�s Requiem, Vierde�s Reqiem Mass and Beethoven�s Misas Solemnis, the Gardens of Hope are covered in chorus. And befitting the era of music in which they were written for, they are loud.
Some more solemn pieces � Knut Avenstroup Haugen�s (yes, of Age of Conan fame) choral piece �Under Verden� magnificently balances between epic sweeping orchestra and marvelous chorus. The segment �Nunn will sie Sonn so hell aufughn� from Mahler�s Lieder just speaks of tragedy. Many will recognize it from Children of Men. Despite it not being a classical piece, Yury Poteyenko�s �Defeat Theme � �Domine Jesu�� from Sea Dogs is obviously classically influences � and particularly so by Mozart�s Requiem � so it is a natural fit.
I also included two movements from two of Beethoven�s symphonies � his 5th and his 9th, both of which should be familiar with just about everybody. That opening movement from his 5th has those famous, deafening strings that have become iconically classical in the mainstream mind, and there was no way I could arrange a musical representation of heaven without having the final movement from his final symphony. Yes, this is the movement that contains that famous chorus.
This playlist should play from the beginning of Act 4 up to when you leave the second level of the Gardens of Hope.
4.2 �Ascending the Spire and the End with Diablo�
With here, I had essentially split it into two distinct but still interchangeable themes. �Blasphemy of the Hells� and �the Diablo fight�. As in, on one hand I wanted the music to describe the corruption the hordes of Diablo have done to the heavens, and in the other I wanted music that would fit in the classic �final boss fight�.
Four pieces from Penderecki�s �Polish Requiem� make their mark on the landscape. I�m sure at this point you are not surprised I make so use of his requiem (and if you have been listening along you most certainly have heard why) so I won�t go into detailing them. I also make use of several cues from Laura Karpman�s �Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom�. Now, they all fall into the �battle� categorization but they still have traces of horror etched into them. They are both bombastic and unconventional, classically influenced but sensible to modern tastes.
Giusseppe Verdi�s Requiem Mass makes a return from the previous chapter with the loud as hell �Dies Irae�. I don�t know if there had ever been a sheer contrast in volume between an opening movement and it�s follow up.
Being in the more bombastic side of things, I make use of several of Neal Acree�s contribution to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and it�s expansion, Fall of Deathwing. Jerry Goldsmith�s �Arthur�s Farewell� from First Knight (as good an example as you can get of a fantastic score to a dull movie), �Black Escaflowne� by Yoko Kanno for the Escaflowne film, and several pieces from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Full Metal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala add several mesmerizing action chorus-based pieces to the equation.
As for the �Blasphemy� side, we got �Apocalyspe� by Jesper Kyd for Hitman: Blood Money (seriouslu Kyd, skip the electronic and stick with orchestra), Penderecki�s infamous �Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima� and �De natura sonoris II for orchestra�.
The action cues override the horror cues, an intentional choice. The game put the emphasis on rushing through this section of the game, killing hordes of enemies all in the name of confronting Diablo. And regardless of the difficulty it will be played on, Diablo�s fight is probably going to take several tries.
This should play�well, for the rest of the game. Afterwards, back to 1.1!