Doom is practically synonymous with pounding metal soundtracks, and the latest title is no exception. Composed by Mick Gordon, who previously wrote the music for Doom (2016), the official soundtrack for Doom Eternal released yesterday: but instead of providing the ultra-high quality listeners wanted, it’s come under fire for sounding a bit off – and Gordon has distanced himself from the final mix. Talk about a bad rip followed by tears.
The discussion was prompted by audio blogger and Ruff Audio founder Reace “thatACDCguy” Niles, who highlighted problems with Doom Eternal’s mixing. He noted the soundtrack’s wavelengths look much flatter compared to the music of Doom (2016). As explained by Niles, this corresponds to reduced dynamic range between the instruments within the track, with the instruments “compressed to the point where they are all playing at the same volume”. In essence, it creates a poorer sound as none of the instruments are given breathing room – and instead fight against each other.
“Mick Gordon is a far more talented audio engineer than me, it’s not even close and that’s what makes this especially frustrating,” Niles said. “I expect much better from him.”
