Nailing the Sound of Horror

The NIN Soundtrack to the influential first-person shooter Quake was a big deal at the time. Here we see how the relationship between the band and the software developer formed and developed - leading to NIN to soundtrack the game. It's an excellent insight for anyone into the music of NIN and/or the games of id.

Here's a video looking at the remastered soundtrack on vinyyl:

Here's more on the video... 

The Quake soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails is an innovative collection of ambient sound design, and industrial music. From the hard hitting "Quake Theme", with its raging guitars, powerful drums, and insidious synthesizers, to "Life," a pounding, synthesized, resonant beats with eerie ambient drones, the entire soundtrack captures the essence of id Software's technical FPS masterpiece: Quake. 

The care and attention to detail is evident in the soundtrack's 10 track commercial release. Prior to 2020, the Quake Soundtrack was only available if you had the disc spinning in your cd rom drive, a detail that frustrated the id Software developers. With Nightdive's 2021 remaster, and Trent Reznor's reclaiming of the rights of the soundtrack, modern day Quake players can finally enjoy the game and the music without mods, or cumbersome discs.

What drew me into Quake's soundtrack development is the fact that I knew nothing about how this distinctive, masterfully crafted recording was created. Doom (2016) introduced me to the idea of expertly crafted industrial metal in the form of a video game soundtrack, and discovering Quake led me into an even deeper pool of inspiration. I was eager to research and dive into the internet's many resources to find the answers to my many questions - and when the internet left holes in the story, I even dug up a few books at my local Los Angeles county library. I'm glad I made this video - I had a blast researching, reading, bookmarking old forum discussions, even messaging a well known composer to better understand the business of soundtracks and the creative side of sound design - but will save that convo for a separate video. 

If you're at all interested in how this soundtrack was made, and how the team at id Software gelled with the team at Nine Inch Nails, then I think you might enjoy this documentary. As always, if you like the content, please consider subscribing, leaving a comment, or liking the video! You can find The Yetti Den at the links below

Here are the video timestamps: 

00:00 For Friendship

00:42 id Software & Nine Inch Nails

01:45 We Especially Like Space Invaders

02:30 Le Pig: Wolfenstein 3D

04:00 The Masters of Doom: John Romero and John Carmack

05:00 The Lovecraftian Antagonist Called Quake

06:55 A Courtship of Freaks and Geeks

08:25 Downward Spirals: The War Room

10:00 Trent "The Ranger" Reznor

11:10 140 MPH, I Have Some Cars

12:00 The Old Funeral Home: Nothing Studios

13:00 McGee and the Nails

13:40 "Ugh, Ugh" - 1,000 Sounds

17:18 1995-1996: Hexen, Ultimate Doom and David Bowie

18:48 The Egos at id

19:40 No MIDI, No Chip Tunes

20:55 Spinning Discs: Nothing's Label Woes

21:27 New Forms of Writing

23:28 The Recording Studio Layout

24:00 Digital Distortion

26:15 I Can Stop At Anytime

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