The anticipation for the latest entry of the hit video game franchise, God of War: Ragnarök (coming November 9th on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4), has been building. It is not just the first new God of War game in four years, but it also signals the conclusion of the "Norse" trilogy, which is based on Norse mythology and features protagonist Kratos and his teenage son, Atreus.
As exciting as the new God of War is for fans, there's something unique about this release: Irish singer and songwriter Hozier has collaborated with the game's composer, Bear McCreary, on a new song to accompany the official Ragnarök soundtrack, which will be released on the same day as the game. The song, titled "Blood Upon the Snow," is a daring, epic number that hits all of God of War: Ragnarök's thematic notes, and finds Hozier using his distinctive velvety tone to conjure both tenderness and wonder.
Hozier has had a difficult couple years, having released his sophomore LP, Wasteland, Baby, to tremendous fanfare in 2019, but being mostly silent since the outbreak. Apart from a collaboration with producer Meduza last year, Hozier has been concentrating on his upcoming third album, releasing only one song, "Swan Upon Leda." Now comes "Blood Upon the Snow," which you can listen to and watch the accompanying lyric video for here:
Needless to say, Hozier is ecstatic for the cooperation to be released and for the game to be played by people all around the world. "I'm interested in digital arts as a maturing medium," Hozier says over Zoom. "The preceding installment in that series was a game-changing (no pun intended) cinematic achievement." And I was impressed with a notion that would take a story and perhaps 30 hours of journey without a single camera cut."
He commended the atmosphere of collaboration shared by him, Bear McCreary, and the game's director, Eric Williams. And, while "Blood Upon the Snow" has a more dramatic, classical approach, his future song may not have the same sonics. "We were attempting to hit the beats of certain themes and trying to make it work for the universe of the game, to have it work in sympathy with Eric Williams' vision and Bear's vision as well," Hozier explains.
This is Hozier's first video game music, although his powers as a narrative and powerhouse vocals have been on display since his self-titled debut in 2014. As he reaches a soaring high note in the conclusion of "Blood Upon the Snow," it's evident that the world could benefit from some more Hozier music in the future.
Comments
Post a Comment