Bear McCreary

Game Music

God of War Playstation Soundtrack Available for Pre-Order

April 6, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on God of War Playstation Soundtrack Available for Pre-Order Share this

On April 20th, the newest iteration of the God of War franchise will be releasing exclusively for the Playstation 4 to high anticipation of fans. The new title will also be scored by The Walking Dead and Defiance composer Bear McCreary. Now we know that the game’s soundtrack will be releasing shortly after the game itself for fans to enjoy.

The God of War (Playstation Soundtrack) will be published by Sony Classical as a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. It will be available on Presto Classical on April 20th, the same day as the game’s release, and on April 27th on Amazon. McCreary showcased some of the game’s orchestral composition live at the Sony Press Conference at E3 2016.

The holy grail of videogame composition is creating for the player the feeling of a conductor watching the gameplay and cueing an orchestra to follow in real time. I joked with Cory [Barlog] later that we were spoiling him: he’ll never want to play a videogame without orchestral accompaniment again. – Bear McCreary

The soundtrack to God of War is currently available now for pre-order and will be available later this month. We will keep track of it’s release and will keep updated with more details as they become available.

Update 4/10/18: Our friends at VGMO have learned that Sony pushed their release back a week from the original date, so it looks like April 27th is the current release date for all outlets. Presto Classical has yet to update their listing with this new information but Amazon is still accurate.
Events, Game Music

POST E3 2016: My Most Anticipated Soundtracks (Updated)

June 18, 2016 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on POST E3 2016: My Most Anticipated Soundtracks (Updated) Share this

Last year when E3 wrapped up I wrote two posts about my most anticipated soundtracks and revisited recently here. Having followed the news about E3 from all the major developers this year I’ve got a brand new list of soundtracks I can’t wait to hear. I’m limited myself to my top 5 choices this year, and one bonus stand out music game I’m excited for.

So come read about the soundtracks I’m most excited about, and let us know what future game soundtracks you’re looking forward to post E3 2016!

(more…)
Events, Game Music

E3 2016: Bear McCreary to Score the New God of War

June 14, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on E3 2016: Bear McCreary to Score the New God of War Share this

During last night’s Sony conference at E3, the official reveal for the newest God of War game dropped alongside the announcement that Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galatica, The Walking Dead) would be composing the score for the game.

Conducting the orchestra during the showcasing of God of War‘s gameplay during the conference, McCreary gave the audience a preview of what can be expected within the game’s soundtrack.

This is my #GodOfWar face. So stoked to be scoring this game!! @PlayStation @SonySantaMonica pic.twitter.com/T68lMZOlhy

— Bear McCreary (@bearmccreary) June 14, 2016

Composers for the previous installment of the God of War games include Gerard Marino, Winifred Phillips and Cris Velasco, to name a few. It remains to be seen if any assistance will be given to McCreary with the newest game’s music, though a blending of old and new styles would be an interesting and welcome addition to what looks like a new chapter within the God of War series. You can check out the gameplay trailer to hear more of what McCreary will be bringing to the newest quest of Kratos.
Events

MAGFest’s Channel lets you experience or re-live it’s biggest performances!

March 17, 2016 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on MAGFest’s Channel lets you experience or re-live it’s biggest performances! Share this

If you attended MAGFest 2016, or if you missed it (like I did) you can re-live or watch some of the best performances of the event on MAGFest’s YouTube Channel. You can read Brenna’s MAGFest 2016 Breakdown where she noted that its impossible to see everything at the massive event. I have already taken the opportunity to watch several of the videos the organizers have uploaded.

I found out about MAGFest’s channel reading Video Game Music Online’s report on MAGFest 2016 by one of their journalists, Emily McMillan which you can find here.

As I am writing this article there are a total of 44 videos available from the event including 27 Concerts, 9 Panels, 5 Highlight Reels, and 1 Jam Clinic. I have included the playlist for the panels above and concerts below for your viewing pleasure.

So far I’ve watched the excellent Q&A with Film, TV, and Video Game Composer Bear McCreary, rocked out to “Danger Zone” during Psychostick’s concert, and enjoyed watching Austin Wintory conduct his score to Journey: Live.

Did you attend MAGFest this year? Was there a performance that you wanted to see but missed?
Game Music

La La Land Records July 4th Celebration Sale! Free Shipping Worldwide

July 4, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on La La Land Records July 4th Celebration Sale! Free Shipping Worldwide Share this

La La Land Records is a label whose motto is ” Where Soundtracks Live.” is having a July 4 sale offering free shipping worldwide for all orders over $35.00 made before July 17, 2015.

They have released a number of excellent video game soundtracks on CD and some of the titles that I highly recommend are:

Lair 2 CD Limited Edition $19.98 – An epic score from one of Playstation 3’s first titles composed by John Debney.

Flower $15.98 – A wonderful and breathtaking score composed by Vincent Diamante (signed copies may still be available).

And I highly recommend the soundtracks to He-Man: Masters of the Universe and Batman: The Animated Series both available for $24.98.

There are also four video game soundtracks available for $9.98 each: God of War: Ascension by Tyler Bates, Sorcery composed by Mark Mancina , Socom 4 composed by Bear McCreary, and Star Hawk composed by Christopher Lennertz.

All of these soundtracks are limited editions so if you’ve been waiting to pick some of these up now might be the right time!
Game Music

Mini-Album Mini-Review: Moon Breakers EP

July 6, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Mini-Album Mini-Review: Moon Breakers EP Share this

Versatile composer Bear McCreary, known for his work on beloved TV series including Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead, recently released a 4-track EP for a free-to-play multiplayer sci-fi Strategy PC game, Moon Breakers.

Available on iTunes for $3.96, the EP has its strengths and weaknesses. Its key weakness is that Bear offers two versions of the game’s main theme and sells each for $.99, so half of the EP is paying for essentially the same song twice. Personally, I’m okay with just owning the long version and doing without the shorter in-game cut.

Beyond that, I must also say that the aforementioned theme is the weakest track, melodically, of the three tracks here. The best track is, without any question, “Clans of the Space Pirates.” Bear pulls out all the stops on this track, making an epic orchestral/Celtic prog-rock track (featuring uilleann pipes as the lead) that lasts for 7 minutes. I can imagine Davy Spillane doing a live performance of this track. In fact, that needs to happen.

The only other track on the EP, “Government Armada,” drops the prog-rock and goes all out militaristic orchestra, like a solid Gundam theme or something of that nature. I love the dynamic variation on this track and the way Bear builds tension in the song’s “B” section. Good stuff. Very good stuff.

Use the iTunes link above to purchase if you want to add it to your collection. I’m happy to have it in mine. Now, the only thing I’m wondering, is if Moon Breakers‘ developers (Imba Entertainment) will commission even more music from Bear McCreary? This reviewer certainly hopes so.
Game Music, Reviews

A Fitting Tribute – Play for Japan: The Album (Review)

July 14, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

There has been a lot of talk about the Play for Japan album, a project spearheaded by Grasshopper Manufacture’s Akira Yamaoka. The album was devised by Yamaoka to raise funds for the victims of the horrific earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck Japan in March of this year, and to help him with this effort, he recruited many of the top game composers from within Japan and abroad.

In fact, I’d say this is the most impressive artist list ever assembled, surpassing even Otomedius and the Premium Arrange album series by far. But does the music live up to the names associated with the project?

Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)