Mick Gordon, the composer of Doom 2016’s award-winning soundtrack, is taking the game’s music tp a festival for the first time ever — and he’s bringing the Doom Machine with him.
Doom 2016 set the standard for the iconic shooter’s musical profile. Famously sampling real chainsaw noises to pull off the unique guitar riffs that made the game’s soundtrack so famous, Gordon’s unorthodox methods have earned him a place in the highest pantheon of gaming legends.
Now, Gordon is bringing the music he composed for Doom 2016 and 2020’s Doom Eternal on tour, marking the very first time the soundtracks have been played by a live band for a live audience in a full-fledged concert (not counting the short medley of Doom’s tunes he performed at The Game Awards in 2016).
Gordon and co. are set to headline RADAR 2027, a music festival based in Sheffield, UK that’s focused on contemporary tunes, tech-metal, and progressive rock. Gordon himself will be performing the tracks alongside the band, with RADAR announcing the news in an Instagram post in late July. “This isn’t a DJ set. It isn’t a tribute. It’s the music that redefined video game soundtracks, performed live, properly loud, exactly as it deserves. Mick has never performed this music live like this,” the post reads.
It’s been ten years since Doom 2016 came out and subsequently put every metal fan in a chokehold, and six years since Doom Eternal added to the hype with even more music from Gordon’s magnificent musical mind. He’s wanted to perform these soundtracks live for some time now, and says RADAR has finally provided him the opportunity to make this dream a reality.
“For a long time, I’ve wanted to take what I love about video game music and put it into a live setting that matches the energy you would get from a live rock or metal show,” he said in an interview with GameSpot. “Radar feels like the absolute perfect [festival] to do it. There’s no better.
“Ever since Doom 2016 … there’s been rumblings and multiple attempts to try and get some version of this into a live setting. I’ve been trying for a number of years to get this thing off the ground. Then out of the blue Joe [James, Radar Festival organizer] came to me with a really awesome opportunity through Radar.”
Gordon also confirmed that he’s bringing the Doom Machine with him to these performances, an instrument he famously crafted all on his own to bring the sounds of Hell to life. “We’re looking at all options to make it epic,” he told Gamespot. “Fire, screens, projection mapping are all on the table.”
RADAR music festival takes place from July 30 – August 1. While he’s certainly excited about performing his music live next year, his relationship with Doom Eternal’s development team at id Software remains a tenuous one, and no updates regarding their public falling-out have been shared at the time of writing, making the technical rights of this concert a wee bit confusing.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.