I listen to dozens of albums a week, and I rarely expect to be touched or moved by the soundtrack of a game I don't even play — let alone an expansion or additional content. Yet, that is exactly what happened with the Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred OST, released a few weeks ago, where some tracks completely blew me away.
Blizzard knows they have something truly special on their hands with this expansion, and they have just released a making-of featurette about the game's music. Honestly, it’s the best video of its kind I’ve ever seen. Despite being only 20 minutes long, it leaves no stone unturned. It gives a voice to both lead composer Ted Reedy and producer Charlotte Pyle, as well as vocalists Asja Kadric and Úyanga Bold, and musicians Callum Armstrong (aulos) and Rosa Fragorapti (lyre). They all speak with pure passion about playing these ancient instruments and what they bring to the sonic identity of the Skavos region.
Recorded at both Ocean Way Studios in Nashville and AIR Studios in London, the Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred OST builds a titanic orchestral masterpiece on musical foundations and themes inherited from the franchise's first installments nearly 30 years ago. Even if you aren't particularly into Diablo's music, the video is well worth a watch for what it says about human creation and the power of such creative coordination.
"When we sit alone in our studio and come up with things on the computer, it's an impression of what real people create," says Ted Reedy in the video."In a world where everything is seeming more and more AI and computer-generated, this is real. A hundred people coming together to make something amazing."
