Mick Gordon – Doom (Original Game Soundtrack) (2016)

One of the most enduringly popular series in video game history has been the first person shooter Doom series. id Software originally created the first-person shooter genre classic Wolfenstein 3D which was arguably one of the first games in the genre, before following up with the hugely successful Doom series. This is a take on the original game music, updated for the 21st century by Australian composer Mick Gordon. Let’s take a listen to this album and see if it is any decent to this day.

We begin the soundtrack with I. Dogma which has a creepy voiceover and some eerie apocalyptic sounds within. This is a really suspenseful and very much horror movie sounding piece. It is a great piece to hear, especially for those who are huge fans of the game, also introducing the Doomslayer to avenge his enemies. Awesome.

Following is Rip & Tear which begins with metal guitars, well-crafted sounds and a heavy sense of crazy sounding music. It sure suits the game series here, all right. It sounds apocalyptic, interesting and amazing, just going to show how great this interpretation is. A brief break then occurs, with many multitracked guitars and melodies that really kick the proverbial nicely. This is no doubt an excellent introduction to the music of this game and is very cinematic. In the second half, it fades out somewhat before going into some super crushing sounds in the background that are dystopian and suspenseful. A really fine effort, this sounds mind-blowing and amazing, before launching into a pounding and 3D styled conclusion. Great to hear, a really great start to this soundtrack.

At Doom’s Gate follows and is a shorter piece. It has some wicked Acid sort of sounds, before launching back into a familiar melody of the original game, reused here for full effect. Before long, some crazy Metal guitars enter this piece, before quickly finishing. Worth hearing as well.

Rust, Dust & Guts is a seven-minute-long piece that begins with some ghostly sounds that are suspenseful. Before long, some Nine Inch Nails styled expertly placed textures enter. It sounds super creepy and post-apocalyptic, as though all hell has broken loose. It is a very interesting and detailed listening experience. Before long, some crunchy guitar textures come along for fun, before this piece gets going. This is a great listening experience, especially for those who dig the heaviest of Metal out there. It is certainly cinematic in its approach, just sounding really fantastic and fresh to this day. The guitars and drums here intersperse with the suspense of a movie soundtrack, and this is very catchy indeed. In the middle are more ghostly sounds, along with some electronically processed beats. There are further sounds thrown into the chaotic mixture before a restrained set of sounds continue this piece along well. A set of dark and freaky textures follow before this piece gets banging away loudly crazily and exciting. It finishes up with more amazing sounds, melodies and textures to blow anyone’s mind away. If you love dark and demonic sounds, this is definitely for you. It reaches a grand conclusion, before melting away. Excellent.

Next is II. Demigod is another short intermission piece with demonic vocals. It sounds interesting and is a really suspenseful addition to this soundtrack. Very much tied to the game, but an awesome listen nonetheless.

Following up is Hellwalker which is a five-minute-long piece that begins with more psychologically disturbing sounds, textures and melodic differentiation. It sounds amazing and glorious in the scariest (yes, quite scary) and the darkest way to hear a video game soundtrack. Beats eventually enter, and we are taken to a dimension that suits the game perfectly. The mesh of pseudo-satanic and freaky sounds here do sound addictively amazing, just like the games themselves. It’s like a bad hallucinogenic experience depicted in the best way possible, unforgettably freaky. The midsection has some further Electronic textures that are dark and freaky, which build up the eerie and dark suspense. A really top piece of sound, this is super scary. It launches into a totally awesome heavy guitar/electronic piece that concludes this track. A great musical description of the game, it ends with sounds lurking in the background that is eerie. Good job.

Authorization; Olivia Pierce follows. It has some disturbing background textures, a great melody and a sense that something is not quite right. A combination of Electronics and melody make this piece really great, showcasing an imaginative and clever mind that sounds out of this world of Mick Gordon on this soundtrack. This piece is very much like a horror movie, as is the album as well. It sounds seriously disturbing but very, very good.

Flesh & Metal begins with more brooding, dark textures that sound really freaky. It is a brilliant assortment of electronics with some excellent beats to match. The melodies here are really interesting and awesome to listen to. Before long, twisted sounding Metal guitars enter straight into it before some syncopated drums join in with the guitars. A really fresh and totally unique sounding track, this is a great piece of Doom sounding IDM with guitars, perhaps something that should be explored more so in the world of music. The guitar riffs here are absolutely monstrous, along with the intelligent use of sound effects. It sounds really great, and this album is a keeper for those who like the video game series and dark, freaky music. In any case, this track is an intelligent and monstrous sounding number that sounds really top. It is extremely catchy as well, showing the brilliance of the game and composer Mick Gordon. It lulls down a little in volume towards the end, before building back up with more Electronic sounds and a great climax. A really top tune, nice to hear something mind-blowingly good.

Next is Impure Spectrum which begins with some eerie combination of glistening textures, before building up a sense of suspense. This is very much like a postmodern horror film soundtrack, except it is better than that. Another solid gold listen from the darkest imagination about.

Following is Ties That Bind which is another short piece that is based on some of the original Doom game music and sounds incredibly freaky. An excellent piece of artistic creation and scariness more than Scary Spice was ever so, this is no doubt a winner. Short and scary, but very audio-visual sounding. Great stuff.

Bfg Division is next, a longer piece at eight minutes long. It doesn’t waste time, launching straight into a great combination of Electronic sounds and beats that are surprising. Shortly into it, it builds up a great number of melodic Metal guitars and we are into Doom heavy territory. It sounds colossal and excellent, with a decent amount of catchy textures and sounds. One can only imagine Industrial musicians and Trent Reznor being totally jealous of this sort of creation. It sounds like a much darker version of Skrillex at times, but it is an amazing and great listen. This album demands stereo surround speakers, cranked at a very high volume to annoy those around you, it is simply that good. An intelligent and excellent listen, there is a quieter section in the middle which indicates a very strong change of events. Some warped and weird melodies then enter, which are totally classic. This is a really amazing and different sounding creation. Before long, some riff-heavy metal guitars surge into this creation in the second half of the track, and we have chaos. A really great piece of music, this is no doubt a highlight of this album. Excellence without peers, this is totally great. It concludes with some Electronic trickery that The Chemical Brothers could only dream of, followed by some strange Electronics. Nice work.

Residual comes after and is a short piece with some female vocals in it. It’s not easy listening compared to most soundtracks out there but is totally rewarding to hear. It is a good and short piece of music that exhibits horror themes and excellent sounding Electronic melodies. Not bad, it sounds very scary.

Next along is Argent Energy which begins with pulsating Electronic textures that sound almost like edited vocals. This continues very nicely and paints the picture of the game and series itself totally brilliantly. It has many cut up and reversed melodies, with many different and decent sonic audio textures to paint the mood. A really cool piece, although this is not a major track. It does sound very good, however.

Following is Harbinger which begins with some more eerie electronic sounds, followed by a bass guitar melody that sounds excellent. Some twisted cyber sounds join on in, and this piece gradually builds up nicely. A really interesting and cool piece, it launches without warning into an amazing piece of hard and heavy guitar-based music. It goes between the two main sections of music to great suspense and with some sonic twists in-between. A really excellent and inspired sounding piece of music, this sounds extraordinarily good. It has another very creepy midsection with some horror movie style feel to it, and it builds up with suspense and drama. This continues for some time, before launching into multitracked guitars and a very awesome feel to this tune. Great music and album, even for an instrumental, this is world-class. It is an interesting listen from start to finish, and points to an uncertain future of our own with humanity. The guitars re-enter with some brilliant and heavy fills before the track concludes with some surreal and weird textures. Great effort from start to finish, very disturbing. It ends with a Glitch style outro.

Biowaves begins with more Glitchy and eerie sounds. It is a short piece that sounds very suspenseful and different and has a progression that builds up nicely. Some ET informed textures are here, and although this is a lesser track on the album in terms of length, it is still worth hearing. Great to listen to, and very nail-biting in terms of sound.

Olivia’s Doom (Chad Mossholder Remix) begins with some warped and freaky textures, which are very Techno like. It launches into a piece of music that uses some vocal samples to pure excellence with music. It sounds super freaky and odd and is an interesting addition to the game and soundtrack. In any case, this is super weird sounding but continues many of the themes of the soundtrack. It reaches a ghostly and super freaky climax that sounds apocalyptic. A really deep and different sounding piece, it has some dark and unusual textures throughout. A totally odd piece to this soundtrack, it sounds disturbing. Which it really is. It concludes with some distorted male vocals.

Following is Transistor Fist which begins with some really amazing sound Electronic/Metal sounds, and it continues to get better as it goes along. It has some brief syncopation of sound, before launching into more dark and disturbing sounding guitar riffs. Some pulsating Electronic Techno style sounds then enter, and a huge wall-of-detailed-sound follows. This piece is very awesome, it just sounds really futuristic and amazing, especially for a soundtrack such as this. A really excellent sounding craft of music with so many details that this is exciting beyond words, this is how you make music in our postmodern world. Some killer guitar riffs are throughout, and this is a masterpiece of a mixture of sonic based sounds. The headbanging guitars in the second half are really great, just sounding top. These are followed by Electronic textures that sound great. A forward-thinking and amazing piece of sonic construction, this is really a thrill to hear. The guitars and drums here are top. This track finishes with some ghostly Electronic textures. Effortlessly brilliant.

Next is Dr. Samuel Hayden which begins with eerie, dark textures that sound downright scary. This is a very creepy piece on this soundtrack, which has some strange electronics on it as well. Digital beeps and other sounds are thrown into the mix, to surprise you. This is a very dark, disturbing and dystopian listening experience that could well predict our own future as humankind. It is a good piece of mainly Electronic music that is enough to raise hairs on one’s body. Some strange and eerie sounds are in the second half as well, indicating something not gone quite right at all. Very, very weird and scary.

Cyberdemon is next, with a bunch of soul calling textures. It builds up into a symphonic frenzy, before launching straight into some pseudo-Dubstep sounds that are really quite incredible. The piece then gets going into some rather punchy rhythms and textures that sound interesting and intelligent. A very clever piece of sonic craziness, this sounds really awesome. It sounds like the soundtrack to the Illuminati or any other demonic force of evil out there. Percussion builds up nicely as the track progresses, and this sounds like a brooding piece of menacing music. A really great effort, this is something that should get your blood pumping. It has a strange mixture of sound towards the end, and it just sounds really undeniably incredible. Great and just an interesting listen.

Incantation begins with some further brooding sounds, which are very odd. Before long, it launches into a scary and eerie piece of music that doesn’t sound like an incantation for the good of humanity. It is very dark, demonic and daresay evil sounding. But that is the intention of this soundtrack. In any case, it is another essential number for us to hear when we want to literally be scared. Great creation of such sound, it definitely sounds creepy and scary. It ends with a nice collection of sounds and textures. Totally freaky.

Following is III. Dakhma is a short piece that indicates the hell going on in the world of Doom. It sounds beyond scary and is not really easy listening at all. The demonic voice that was previously on this record earlier on speaks, and it sounds very dark indeed. A very much freaky piece, once the demon stops talking, there is an angelic sounding choir singing away. It is not a happy sounding choir, however. This piece ends with more Electronic textures.

Next is Damnation which begins with a flutter of freaky melody, before going straight into a punchy and well-crafted piece to continue the story. Very good, this one sounds a bit lighter at least. It is a good mixture of sound, suspense and sonic craftsmanship that sounds really cool. It has some brilliant cut-up melodies and choirs to listen to, as well as many crunchy guitars and pounding drums. This is rather catchy for it being fairly guitar-oriented here. The choirs re-emerge and sound very awesome throughout this piece. The midsection builds up with a freaky melody and crafted textures that sound scary. A really cool piece of well-made music, this is really creepy and excellent sounding. It just sounds very amazing, although this is also likely very satanic for some out there. The guitars and drums are headbanging good, and this whole thing is impressive. The choirs at the end are really excellent, and there are some twisted Electronic sounds to finish up with. Excellent stuff.

The Stench is next, with some strange and more horror movie like textures throughout. This isn’t easy to hear, although this is one of the shorter pieces on this album. It just sounds really odd and strange, although it is mostly Electronics. A good intermission sort of piece nonetheless, this is very disturbing sounding. A good audio experience, with a scary twist. Very horror movie-like.

Uac Report File; Shto36u3 follows. It has some basic Electronic bleeps at the start, with some additional freaky textures to follow it. This one is rather catchy and emphasises what evil lurks in the minds of those of whom we have to fight against, in the real world or not. In any case, this is a really cool listening experience and sounds very IDM/Glitch. A freaky horror sounding piece, with demonic vocals towards the end. A very well constructed track.

After that is Death & Exhale which begins with some combined Electronic textures, bass guitar clanging and more eerie sounds. This is obviously a soundtrack for adults, as you will hear when you listen to this album. It sounds super odd and freaky, once again with a great deal of suspense in it. Lock your doors and be of strong mind hearing this, this is as scary as it gets. A very good piece of music nonetheless, but only for those who like to hear such a thing. Very scary indeed, but a good listen once again.

Following is SkullHacker which begins with more Glitch/IDM sounds, before going straight into a Metal and dynamic tune. The guitars throughout really do sound terrific, as do the Electronic textures are thrown into the mix. This is an incredible and interesting listen for a video game soundtrack, and you will no doubt be headbanging to this particular piece. A really cool listen, with many beeps and bleeps, before the chugging guitars get going again. This track also has its moments of suspense throughout and just sounds amazing. It sounds incredibly interesting and quite catchy, in its own way. The unique sounds here are really quite amazing, and it sounds really lively. A great mixture of sound, scope and ability, this is very interesting from start to finish. Towards the end, this tune gets chaotic, before concluding with some Electronic beats and even more freaky sounds.

Lazarus Waves comes next. It begins with a pitch-shifted intro melody, before entering in with a bunch of different and unique sounds. This is a slower and shorter piece of music, with some fast blood pumping and odd sounds. It sounds really different, and there are some original sounds throughout this track. A good listen nonetheless, it sounds straight out of a horror movie. Excellent stuff, it is a really great and interesting piece of music. Very strange sounding. The sounds at the end are weird.

Vega Core is an eight-minute long piece. It sounds very good and worth hearing from the start, with some cut up bass drum beats and ghostly melodies. This progresses quickly into a Rock styled piece of EDM, with a variety of textures and sounds to keep you interested. This is very clever and full of audio dynamics to hear, with some strange sounds and variety here that sounds excellent. It’s rather catchy and different and is a welcome addition to this soundtrack. In the middle is a phased-in/out section that builds momentum, before going into a crazy-sounding piece that many would not be able to match. The second half has some ghostly wind chime sounds and some other additional textures, before launching gradually back into the mayhem. The sounds here are really quite amazing. This is a good piece, although it seemingly lacks the magic of other tracks on this recording. Nonetheless, a good effort. It ends with the repeated electronic melody from earlier.

Next is 6_idkill.Vega.Cih features Chris Hite. It is a brief piece with some rather concrete melodies, rather than a soundscape to listen to. It could easily be put into a DJ set, it’s quite good. A good mixture of melodic sensibility, it concludes fairly quickly.

Following is Mastermind which begins with a loud bang. Some reversed sounds enter in here, before going into a chorus of choir vocals. It quickly goes into a Dubstep styled piece that is original, funky and very relatable in the game. It is a super catchy and interesting sounding track, being very concise and different. It slowly and gradually unfolds, before going into a gritty groove. A very good listen as we head towards the end of this soundtrack, this is definitely one of the better pieces from the Doom soundtrack. In the middle, some ghostly sounds enter and the track builds up gradually to an amazing sounding climax. It sounds very awesome and incredible, with many layers of inventive creativity to hear. Very clever music, this is totally worth hearing from this album. Towards the end, the music fades out briefly, before going back into the groove and reaching a logical conclusion.

IV. Doom is the very last track on this album. It has a bunch of post-apocalyptic textures and freaky sounds. It sounds really scary and is a good way to finish off this video game soundtrack. The demonic voice re-enters, and we finish up a nice album with a clear explanation of the conclusion of the game. Brilliant.

To be fair, this is a very good soundtrack, especially for those who dig the Doom video games. The main issue here, however, is length. This album is over two hours long, and needn’t be so. Sure, this is a really great listen on many levels, but length can easily wear out its welcome, as it does here. Still, if you like horror movie music, mixed with EDM/IDM, Metal guitars and heavy percussion, then this is for you. Good listening all the same.

Freakily demonic.

7/10