8 Untold Stories from World of Warcraft’s Music Creation

World of Warcraft is an extremely popular multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that has been around since 2004 and has had nine expansions out since then. Every time Blizzard added fresh content to the game, players got an opportunity to explore new quests and new raids with new boss mechanics. Of course, all these new encounters are exciting to try, but it is not always possible to complete the raid without professional help or assistance. If you want to be sure you can finish the dungeons, then it is best to order the WoW carry service on a platform you can trust. Thus, you get a professional player on your side to deal with all the challenges for you.

World of Warcraft is famous not only for raids and PvP activities but also for atmospheric soundtracks the developers have made a part of the game. The music for Blizzard games is exceptional — it is crafted by highly skilled musicians, led by three-time Emmy winner Russell Brower. You will hear a lot of different types of music throughout the game — from symphony and ambient to brass quartet and more many. Let’s dig a bit deeper into this topic and look into the most intriguing facts about the music of World of Warcraft that you might not have encountered before.

#1 — The Game’s Content Serves as a Source of Inspiration

The main theme of Azeroth sounds like music you may have heard before, but it also has elements from each new expansion. For instance, the music in Mists of Pandaria was based on Chinese instruments. The team wants to keep the feel the same overall while adding little details that fit the new themes of each update.

#2 — The Influence of Previous Warcraft Games Is Evident

The music for World of Warcraft adds to the game’s immersion, but the general tone and concept are inspired by the Warcraft series. Brower goes over Arthas’ musical journey from Warcraft III. The chorus of “Invincible” is built around the original tune, which is strengthened by new words written to fit around it.

#3 — Blizzard Frequently Employs Live Orchestras

Live orchestras are credited on most Blizzard soundtracks, and World of Warcraft is no different. Using a live orchestra for recordings helps give the game a big, movie-like feel that runs through it. The credits list a lot of different orchestras from all over the world, as well as singers who played in the movie. For example, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra played the Echoes of War score, which has music from World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. 

#4 — Player Feedback Is Considered

In an interview, Russell Brower —  an American music composer and three-time Emmy Award-winning sound designer — discusses the importance of installation sounds and the login screen and also mentions that many players hated Sindragosa’s roar at the login screen in Wrath of The Lich King. These complaints directly impacted later games and are the reason why Cataclysm’s login screen is very quiet in comparison, despite it also having a lot of dragons.

#5 — A Multitude of Composers Contribute

A lot of talented musicians have joined World of Warcraft over the years. They have a core team that has changed a bit over the years, but many other writers and musicians have also worked with them. As a main сomposer, Russell Brower shows up six times on the eight soundtracks, while Glenn Stafford and Neal Acree show up five times each. In the Dragonflight expansion, Glenn Stafford, Jake Lefkowitz, and Neil Acree were joined by David Arkenstone as the main composers of the expansion.

#6 — World of Warcraft’s Soundtracks as Albums and Scores

Each game features lots of background music, which is mixed with the main themes to make a record that flows together well and doesn’t have many gaps. Every “music” decision is made on purpose and with a lot of thought. From The Burning Crusade onwards, the team worked hard to make the soundtrack albums work like albums.

#7 — The Abundance of Extra Music with Each World of Warcraft Expansion

When people play games like World of Warcraft, they can get lost for hours on end. Making a soundtrack that people want to keep listening to is one of the hardest things to do. Lots of music is recorded before the sound-track list is hand-picked for the game. Brower says that Mists of Pandaria has seven and a half hours of music as a part of his game-related work. Altogether, the games in that series had “45 hours of music, including 12 hours of ambient music.”

#8 — Music Awards and Recognition

Over the years, many World of Warcraft songs have been considered for awards, which shows how talented the production team is. Some of these are the BAFTAs, the Hollywood Music In Media Awards, and the International Film Music Critics Awards. World of Warcraft songs have won some prizes over the years, though. One of these is the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score for Warlords of Draenor.

Summing Up

World of Warcraft’s music creation encompasses rich inspiration, orchestral brilliance, player-driven evolution, and expansive soundscapes. Composers like Russell Brower lead a talented ensemble, crafting immersive scores that earn recognition in the gaming and music industry. And you can check it yourself by just launching the game on your PC.

Chris

I listen to and write about music!

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