DOOM developer id Software decides not to work with Mick Gordon anymore

Generally, the release of a game's soundtrack (Original Soundtrack) is pretty smooth, however DOOM Eternal had some conflicts over its 59-track OST. This was due to a disagreement between publisher Bethesda and the composer regarding the quality of much of the musical work created for the new title.

It all started last month (April) when the DOOM Eternal OST album was released (after some delays). Fans of the franchise began to notice that several tracks sounded "smooth", without dynamics in the sound, when compared to the songs of DOOM (2016). Upon reading these complaints, Mick Gordon quickly took his blame for this fact publicly, through a post on the social network Twitter.

Here's a comparison between the original BFG Division from Doom 2016's official soundtrack (left) vs. the BFG 2020 remix on Eternal's soundtrack from today (right).

Notice how the wavelengths in BFG 2020 form a nearly perfectly straight bar vs. the original with more definition pic.twitter.com/TCJRdOe1Yf

— Doominal Crossing: Eternal Horizons ???? (@thatACDCguy) April 19, 2020

I didn't mix those and wouldn't have done that. You'll be able to spot the small handful of tracks I mixed (Meathook, Command and Control, etc...)

— Mick Gordon (@Mick_Gordon) April 19, 2020

"I didn't mix these and wouldn't have done it this way. You'll be able to identify the little tracks I mixed (Meathook, Command and Control, etc...)"

But Mick Gordon's derogatory words about the DOOM soundtrack can be traced back to the month of January, at which point he comments on YouTube saying "Fun fact: these are all stupid time signature changes. This is the result of someone from marketing by putting together songs without any musical knowledge".

Complaints continued for a few more weeks, to the point of "direct and personal attacks" against iD Software's lead audio designer, Chad Mossholder, a name that appeared on tracks where there were complaints about the quality.

In defense of Chat, and of the entire process of creating the game's soundtrack, the producer of Doom Eternal from iD Software, Marty Stratton, decided to write a text showing the side of the studio and putting details on the reason for the collaboration of Mick Gordon limited during the creation of the STO. It's a rather thorough report, showing that the soundtrack's release was delayed several times due to Mick's failure to submit the songs on time, and as a result, the music producer agreed to work with Chad to speed up the creation process. of the songs and ensure that the tracks were delivered on time. It is even said that Mick says he was upset that Chad was considered a "co-writer", when in fact he was quoted as a "collaborating artist", to show fans that not all tracks were written by Mick Gordon.

Check out the main parts of the text posted by Marty Stratton on Reddit below:

"At E3 last year, we announced that the OST would be included in the DOOM Eternal Collector's Edition (CE) version of the game. At that time, we did not have Mick under contract for the OST, and due to ongoing issues receiving the music needed for the game , we didn't want to add to the distraction at that point. After discussions with Mick in January of this year, we reached general agreement on terms for the OST delivery in early March - in time to fulfill the consumer's commitment to include the digital OST in the DOOM Eternal CE at launch. The terms of the OST deal with Mick were similar to the deal on DOOM (2016) in that it required him to deliver a minimum of 12 tracks, but added bonuses for on-time delivery. The deal also gives him complete creative control about what he delivers.

On February 24, Mick reached out to communicate that he and his team were fine with the terms of the contract, but that there was a lot more work involved than anticipated, a lot of content to go through, and that while it was progressing, it was taking longer. than expected. He apologized and asked that "ideally" he be given another four weeks to put everything together. He offered that the extra time would allow him to provide over 30 tracks and a two-hour runtime - including all of the game's music, arranged in soundtrack format and, as he felt, would best represent the score in the best possible way.

Mick's request was granted, allowing for an even longer extension of nearly six weeks - with a new final delivery date in mid-April. In that communication, we noted our understanding that he needed extra time to ensure the OST met his quality bar and even changed his on-time delivery bonus pay to align with the new dates so he could still receive full compensation. intended, that he will. In early March, we announced via Twitter that the OST component in DOOM Eternal CE was delayed and would not be available as originally planned.

It's important to note at this point that not only were we disappointed that we didn't deliver the OST with the CE release, we also need to be mindful of consumer protection laws in many countries that allow customers to demand a full refund for a product if a Product is not delivered on the announced availability date. Even with that, the mid-April delivery would allow us to meet our commitments to customers, while also allowing Mick the time he ideally requested.

As we got to April, we became increasingly concerned that Mick would deliver the OST on time. I personally asked our Lead Audio Designer at id, Chad, to start working on the id versions of the tracks - a backup plan that Mick can't deliver in time. To complete this, Chad would need to take all the songs Mick had delivered to the game, edit the pieces into tracks, and organize those tracks into a comprehensive OST.

It is important to understand that there is a difference between music mixed for inclusion in the game and music mixed for inclusion in the OST. Several people have noticed this difference when looking at the waveforms, but have misunderstood why there is a difference. When a track feels "bricked" or like a bar where the extreme highs and lows of the dynamic range are cut off, this is how we get Mick's music for inclusion in the game - in pre-mixed and pre-compressed fragments by him. The music snippets it delivers then enter our audio system and are combined in real-time as you play the game.

Alternatively, when mixing and mastering for an OST, Mick starts with his source material (which we don't normally have access to) and re-mixes for the OST to ensure the highs and lows aren't cut - as seen in his 12 OST. tracks. All of this is important to note, because Chad only had these pre-mixed, pre-compressed game snippets of Mick to work on editing the id versions of the tracks. He simply edited the same music you hear in-game to create a comprehensive OST - although some of the edits needed minor volume adjustments to avoid further clipping."

Marty ends his text saying that iD Software will no longer be working with Mick Gordon on the next Doom Eternal DLC and at the same time wishes him the best for his future.

"As for the immediate future, we are at the point of moving forward and will not be working with Mick on the DLC that we currently have in production. As I mentioned, his music is amazing, he is a rare talent, and I hope he wins many awards for his contribution. to DOOM Eternal later in the year.

I am as disappointed as anyone is at this point, but as we have done many times, we will adapt to changing circumstances and pursue the most unique and talented artists in the industry to collaborate with. Our team has greatly enjoyed this creative collaboration and we know that Mick will continue to delight fans for many years to come."

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