Quake (soundtrack) explained

Quake
Type:	soundtrack
Artist:	Nine Inch Nails
Cover:	Quake (soundtrack) cover.jpg
Alt:	The rusted metal "Q" logo for the Quake video game series
Producer:	Trent Reznor
Prev Title:	Further Down the Spiral
Prev Year:	1995
Next Title:	The Fragile
Next Year:	1999

Quake is the soundtrack album to the 1996 id Software video game of the same name, composed by Trent Reznor and his industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails.^[1] It was released on June 22, 1996. Originally pressed on the same disc as the game, Quake was otherwise commercially unavailable until its release on vinyl in September 2020.^[2] Reznor also provided sound effects for the game.^[3]

Recording and release

The collaboration between Nine Inch Nails and id Software occurred strictly due to a mutual admiration for each other's work; Reznor provided his services to Quake completely free of charge.^{[4] [5]}

A vinyl LP edition of the soundtrack was released in 2020.^[6]

Composition and content

Aside from the first relatively driving track, Quake is a predominantly ambient soundtrack,^[7] and was Reznor's first experimentation with the genre. He would later go on to win an Academy Award for his ambient soundtrack work. The music on Quake has been described as dark, immersive, and intended to accentuate the game's oppressive tone.^[8] The music is often called "subtle", "disturbing", and "hair-raising".^{[9] [10]} About the soundtrack, Reznor said, "it is not music, it's textures and ambiences and whirling machine noises and stuff. We tried to make the most sinister, depressive, scary, frightening kind of thing [...] It's been fun."^[11]

Critical reception

The Quake official soundtrack received positive reception, with many appreciating how the music builds upon the game's atmosphere. In his 1996 review of the game for GameSpot, Trent Ward wrote, "Simply put, this is the best soundtrack ever created for a computer game." Ward went on to write about how the eerie sounds and unsettling background noises heighten the game's already tense atmosphere.^[12] Major Mike of GamePro said that "With harsh, rockin' guitar riffs, and creepy low-key synthesizers, the music goes perfectly with each level and thoroughly enhances the overall atmosphere."^[13] Writing for Destructoid, Peter Glagowski said, "Not only did it show that the industry was moving beyond being targeted solely at children, but it pushed the action of its game into overdrive."^[14]

Track listing

All music written and performed by Nine Inch Nails.

Vinyl release track listing

Notes

• Because the soundtrack is pressed onto the same disc as the game itself, track one is relegated to game data.
• Quakes original packaging provided no official song titles.^[15] Some fans came up with unofficial titles, most of the time linking the song to the name of the level in which it first appears. The titles seen above are taken from the 2020 vinyl re-issue, in which the official titles of the songs were finally revealed.^[16] The fourth side has no grooves, instead being etched with some of Quake's source code; the part of the source code being what triggers the game to play the CD audio tracks.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the 2020 vinyl release.

• Trent Reznor – arranger, programming, producer
• Charlie Clouser, Robin Finck, Danny Lohner, Trent Reznor, Chris Vrenna – Nine Inch Nails (1996)
• Tom Baker – mastering
• John Crawford – art direction
• Corey Holms – design
• John Romero – war room photos

Notes and References

1. Web site: Quake OST 1XLP. Nine Inch Nails. September 23, 2020.
2. Web site: Quake OST vinyl availability announcement. 16 September 2020 . Nine Inch Nails. September 17, 2020.
3. Davison. John. Original Nine Inch Nails 'Quake' Soundtrack Getting Vinyl Release. Rolling Stone. March 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180616080411/https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/original-nine-inch-nails-quake-soundtrack-getting-vinyl-release-w486167. June 16, 2018. dead.
4. The Nine Inch Nails Connection. Sega Saturn Magazine. 14. Emap International Limited. December 1996. 7.
5. https://bethesda.net/en/article/qqY4QYqlY2FAV1mki9O2j/behind-quakes-soundtrack-with-nine-inch-nails-chris-vrenna Vrenna interview
6. Web site: Nine Inch Nails' Quake Soundtrack Released on Vinyl . Beschizza . Rob . . September 17, 2020 . September 17, 2020 . en-US.
7. Web site: Fingas. Jon. Trent Reznor blows dust off the 'Quake' score for vinyl reissue. 6 June 2017 . Engadget. March 4, 2018.
8. Web site: McDonald. Glenn. A History of Video Game Music. GameSpot. March 4, 2018.
9. Web site: Quake Review. House. Matthew. . November 22, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141210183416/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=875 . December 10, 2014.
10. Web site: Denby. Lewis. Quake (PC) review. Honest Gamers. March 4, 2018.
11. More Pictures. Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. 2 . Emap International Limited. November 1995. 126–7.
12. Web site: Ward. Trent. Quake Review . . March 4, 2018.
13. PC GamePro Review: Quake. . 98. IDG. November 1996. 82.
14. Web site: Glagowski. Peter . This Quake vinyl could be the perfect drug. Destructoid. 9 June 2017 . March 4, 2018.
15. Quake . CD liner notes . Trent Reznor . 1996 . April 5, 2018 . . VFB21769.
16. Web site: QUAKE REMASTERED 2XLP. September 17, 2020 . Nine Inch Nails.