Blizzard Entertainment

• Game Music

  BlizzCon 2010: All Aboard for New Music From Diablo III

  October 26, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this BlizzCon 2010: All Aboard for New Music From Diablo III

  The biggest news regarding Diablo III at BlizzCon 2010 was the new Demon Hunter class reveal. Not huge news, I know, but we did get some hands-on with the class (It was a blast!), and heard a new piece of music in the lengthy demo. What we heard was an emotional cue with swelling strings and plucked guitar in the background. This is apparently the work of Joseph Lawrence, who has been handling many of the game’s interiors, creating what Audio Director Russell Brower has been calling “amazing ambient experiences” for the dungeons, and also writing some music.

  I noted that there was some silence in the game when talking to Brower, to which he commented, “I still firmly believe that silence is one of our best tools. It’s all a game of contrasts. Music is an art and a craft of contrasts. Light versus dark. Heavy versus light. And sound versus silence.” Well said, and the silence does work quite well in the game.

  So, who’s all working on the game? Brower himself had teamed up with Laurence Juber to create the powerful Diablo III “Overture” reveal piece, but since that time, Juber has been inspired, creating several cues for the game itself. Joseph Lawrence has been handling the lion’s share of in-game music as far as we can tell, while Glenn Stafford scored the Demon Hunter trailer shown above and Derek Duke handled the PVP Arena trailer that was also released at BlizzCon 2010.

  I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more. How about you?

• Game Music

  BlizzCon 2010: To Liberty and Beyond – StarCraft II News and Photo Gallery

  October 26, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this BlizzCon 2010: To Liberty and Beyond – StarCraft II News and Photo Gallery

  

  Yes, even though StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has been released, there was some cool StarCraft II stuff on hand at BlizzCon 2010. From a vinyl record release to a live performance of music from the game, there were even some details about the next chapter, Heart of the Swarm.

  First of all, Revolution Overdrive was released. This is a vinyl record featuring music from the jukebox in Wings of Liberty, and Audio Director Russell Brower noted that they filled it to the max (about 40 minutes of music). The limited release record is meant to be a collector’s item, coming with a code to download the music (with additional tracks) on iTunes. The music will be available without purchasing the record (which was on sale for $25) next week on iTunes. The image on the disc itself is of the lady featured on Tychus Findlay’s suite, and was apparently meant to resemble the ladies painted on the front of World War II airplanes. They had one of these signed by the artists up for auction, and it was listed at over $600 the last we checked.

  Another happening including a performance of Raynor’s Theme by Laurence Juber on guitar and renowned harmonica player Tommy Morgan during the sound panel on Saturday. The two brought down the house with some wild western music. Morgan talked for a bit at the panel, and noted that he’s been involved in over 7,000 recording sessions, being responsible for many of the classic harmonica performances heard in Clint Eastwood’s early spaghetti westerns.

  Finally, Heart of the Swarm! I asked Russell Brower about the fact that music for the Zerg and Protoss had already been created since the races were playable in the Wings of Liberty multiplayer. He noted that this was true, but that he’d like to record new themes for each of the races for their respective game releases within the trilogy. I’m certainly looking forward to more Zerg music, as “The Hive” from the Wings of Liberty soundtrack wasn’t enough to keep me satiated!

  What do you think of Revolution Overdrive? Will you be picking it up on iTunes?

  Hit the jump for our StarCraft II photo gallery, including the impressive display case for Revolution Overdrive! (more…)

• Game Music, Reviews

  BlizzCon 2010: Fall of the Lich King Soundtrack (Review)

  October 25, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this BlizzCon 2010: Fall of the Lich King Soundtrack (Review)

  

  Another year at BlizzCon, another exclusive soundtrack CD. While there wasn’t much in the way of news regarding Blizzard Entertainment’s upcoming projects at this year’s event, there were at least many memorable musical moments to be had. I’ll be sharing some of these in the coming days, but will first delve into the BlizzCon 2010 exclusive Fall of the Lich King Soundtrack.

  The disc’s title may sound similar to Wrath of the Lich King, and I think you’ll find the content of the album to be similarly dark. What we have here is the approximately 35 minutes of music that were added to the game with the 3.3 patch update, Fall of the Lich King, including the popular theme, “Invincible.” The music comes courtesy of Russell Brower and Derek Duke, and as always, it’s of the highest quality, so join us after the jump in our review of the Fall of the Lich King Soundtrack.

  Hit the jump for more! (more…)

• Game Music, Reviews

  StarCraft II: Being Liberated Never Sounded This Good (Review)

  July 30, 2010 | Gideon Dabi | 3 Comments Share this StarCraft II: Being Liberated Never Sounded This Good (Review)

  

  “If Raynor can seem to pull his revolver a little faster, or if Tychus Finlay’s presence can feel more imposing due to a theme or flourish in the music, then the composers and musicians have truly called down the thunder.” – Russell Brower

  StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, arguably the most anticipated game of the year, arrived in stores and digital download this week and ActiBlizzard/Blizzardvision is sure to have another monster success on its hands. Although it is quite in fashion to bash the gaming evil empire, I must say that the treatment the soundtrack has received is exceptional from all fronts. The production values, sound quality, and iTunes LP treatment (digital liner notes with videos, track descriptions, etc.) are all top-notch and make the listening experience truly an experience. A tremendous amount of dramatic energy is added to the tracks as a summary of the contextual inspiration for the tracks is presented for each track.

  But, even with all the pomp and circumstance of a wonderful presentation, a soundtrack is not much without quality music. So, do Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Neil Acree, an co. deliver us with a soundtrack of rich minerals? Or has it come and gone like a bad case of Vespene gas? Read on as we conquer the galaxy! (more…)

• Featured, Game Music

  Riding the Wings of Liberty With Russell Brower and Glenn Stafford

  July 27, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this Riding the Wings of Liberty With Russell Brower and Glenn Stafford

  

  The wait is finally over. StarCraft II hits store shelves today, and to celebrate, we’ve got a special interview with Blizzard Entertainment Audio Director, Russell Brower, as well as composer Glenn Stafford.  We get a run down of all the composers and session artists that are featured, talk about the soundtrack album that comes with the Collector’s Edition of the game, and discuss the music contained within the in-game jukebox  We talk about the possibility of distributing new music along with other content on Battle.net, and jump into what Derek Duke has in store for fans in the Heart of the Swarm expansion pack that will be released in the future.

  There’s a lot going on with this game and its lengthy soundtrack, so check out our interview after the jump. (more…)

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