Dead Space 2 (Game Soundtrack) by Jason Graves - Review

The Art of Darkness
Review by Marius Masalar

Depending on your preferences for horror, EA and Visceral Games’ 2008 sci-fi title DEAD SPACE will have struck you as either ideally terrifying or blatantly gruesome. I don’t think the developers would mind either interpretation. The game’s critical acclaim was easy encouragement for a sequel, so it’s little surprise that 4 years later we’re ready to jump back into the creepy world of protagonist Isaac’s nightmarish career.

Where the first DEAD SPACE made use of its surprise factor to bludgeon its audience with frequent “boo” moments and a constant state of high tension, the sequel plucks some pages from the Amnesia and BioShock books of fear and delivers a far more sophisticated and evenly paced experience that ends up being more rewarding as a result. The music reflects this paradigm shift, and if you’re a fan of JASON GRAVES’ innovative and evil approach to scoring the first title, you’ll be in for some more surprises with his sequel score.

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SoundCast Interview with Jason Graves (Dead Space 2)

Interview: Jason Graves (Dead Space 2)

Recorded January 25, 2011

Published February 11, 2011

Marius talks with composer Jason Graves about his compelling work on the highly anticipated game, DEAD SPACE 2.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Introduction

01:40 — Celebrating the Release of the game, the London premiere

03:40 — How the Lacrimosa concert piece ended up in the game

06:25 — How Jason got involved with the Dead Space franchise

10:15 — Music implementation in Dead Space

12:10 — Preparing for the sequel

14:24 — Things to improve

15:07 — The string quartet vs. orchestra in Dead Space 2

18:43 — Dead Space 2's themes

21:20 — Portraying the Church of Unitology

24:29 — Differing instrumentation between Dead Space and Dead Space 2

26:04 — The recording sessions

28:25 — Preparing the abstract musical material

30:53 — How creatively fulfilling were the Dead Space scores?

33:17 — Upcoming projects

34:50 — Fear of typecasting?

37:57 — Conclusion

Music Clips (Select music clips contained in this podcast)

00:00 — "Welcome to the Sprawl" (Dead Space 2)

09:34 — "Much Ado About Necromorphs" (Dead Space 2)

11:48 — "Welcome to the Sprawl" (Dead Space 2)

18:10 — "Lacrimosa" (Dead Space 2)

22:40 — "It Had To Be Unitology" (Dead Space 2)

39:00 — "Much Ado About Necromorphs" (Dead Space 2)

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Composer Jason Graves Scores Dead Space 2

BAFTA AWARD-WINNING COMPOSER JASON GRAVES
SCORES PSYCHODRAMATIC ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR DEAD SPACE 2

Thematic Horror Video Game Soundtrack Evokes Intense
Personal Drama of Isaac Clarke's Dark and Emotional Journey

Los Angeles, CA - November 17, 2010 - Classically trained BAFTA-winning composer Jason Graves returns to create a psychodramatic orchestral score for Dead Space 2, the highly anticipated next installment in the blockbuster action horror videogame franchise. Reflecting hero Isaac Clarke's dementia and nightmarish personal journey, Graves' original music score for Dead Space 2 features the intricately woven thematic movement "Lacrimosa," a concerto for string quartet that runs throughout the game. The game's intense and varied soundtrack also immerses players in this thrilling action horror experience with haunting Unitology choral compositions, visceral action music and spine-tingling string arrangements performed by A-List musicians at Skywalker Sound.

"The score really runs the gamut as you play through the game. There are much bigger and scarier pieces along with quieter, more personal moments to counterbalance them.  I wrote for string quartet to portray Isaac's vulnerable side.  It's quite the emotional arc, but of course still done in a very 'Dead Space' way."
- Jason Graves, Composer

Jason Graves previously composed the innovative, unique soundtrack for the original Dead Space, which has been called "the scariest game ever made." Jason's groundbreaking score was hailed by critics as a "truly original soundtrack" and "the best score of the year." It was recognized with a myriad of worldwide nominations and won two BAFTA awards - one for Original Score and one for Use of Audio. For the latter, the Academy stated, "It's the music soundtrack that boasts horror and tension."

"It has been a real pleasure working with Jason on Dead Space 2. The range of his composition is impressive, and his attention to detail never fails to amaze me.  His creativity, energy, and unique vision for the music has been key to establishing the atmosphere of Dead Space 2."
- Andrew Boyd, Audio Director

More information on the composer can be found at www.jasongraves.com.
For more information on Dead Space 2, visit the official website at www.deadspacegame.com.


Download our 2009 interview with Jason Graves or

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