The executive producer of Doom Eternal talks about his "complicated relationship" with composer Mick Gordon.

We saw in late April that there seemed to be a problem between id Software and Mick Gordon, the composer of Doom Eternal. The mixing of several songs between Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal seemed strange to perceptive audiophiles. In response, Gordon said that he "wouldn't have done that and didn't mix those." In a subsequent YouTube clip, he made a statement about id Software, stating that he "doubts we'll ever work together again." It was obvious that a narrative was being left out. Marty Stratton, executive producer at id Software, related the tale today, describing a “complicated relationship” between Mick Gordon and the developer.

Stratton started a long message posted in the Doom subreddit by claiming he was forced to speak because the main audio designer was being harassed by fans. A response resulted from Gordon's dissatisfaction as well as the outrage from fans about the truncated music. Most remarkably, Chad Mossholder, the chief audio designer at id, was caught up in the chaos. Stratton said that Mossholder was subjected to "direct and personal attacks." Stratton claims that Gordon has "done nothing to change the conversation," despite the fact that the two had spoken about Mossholder's demonization.

I wouldn't have mixed those and I didn't do it. You'll be able to identify the few tunes (Meathook, Command and Control, etc.) that I mixed. – @Mick Gordon, a.k.a. 2019 April 19

He said that the problems pertaining to Gordon and id were caused by "production-related realities of development." Talk about the Doom Eternal Gordon was to submit the soundtrack by the beginning of March, according to the arrangement struck when OST started in January. Gordon contacted ID during the end of February, stating that the task was more "involved than anticipated." He expressed regret and requested an extra four weeks to finish up to thirty songs. Id Software gave in, granting Gordon six weeks to complete the project. They even rescheduled the delivery date to mid-April, allowing the composer to be paid extra for completing it on schedule.

Eternal delay

Gordon was granted "limitless creativity" as part of the developer and composer's collaborative partnership. But Doom Eternal's OST was starting to be delayed, and it was becoming problematic. Stratton said that as part of the Doom Eternal, ID declared in early March that it would not be able to produce the OST. Collector's Edition punctually. Stratton expressed his developing "increasing concern" at the beginning of April over Gordon's ability to adhere to the revised delivery deadline. Stratton, feeling stuck, urged Mossholder to work on the recordings as they were recorded in the studio:

Chad would have to take all of the music that Mick had provided for the game, cut it into tracks, and then put those songs together into a lengthy overture. It's critical to recognize the distinction between music mixed for the OST and music mixed for the game. Many observers of the waveforms have seen this discrepancy, but they have misinterpreted its cause. We get the music from Mick for the game in pre-mixed and pre-compressed chunks, which is why a track may seem "bricked" or like a bar, where the highs and lows of the dynamic range are clipped.

According to Stratton's letter, he informed Gordon about the idea and Mossholder's contributions. They should "combine what each had been working on to come up with a more comprehensive release," Gordon retorted.

But there was another delay on the day when Gordon was supposed to deliver the music. Gordon requested that the tracks be delivered in the evening of the next day as they weren't ready. Instead, Stratton requested the completed rails.

All they have to fear

Regretfully, Stratton wasn't pleased with the recordings Gordon sent over.

"I emailed him to say that I didn't believe the nine songs he had supplied would come up to the standards of Doom after listening to them. or Mick fans—the majority of the tracks were ambient in character, with just one having the kind of heavy-combat music one would anticipate,” Stratton said. "I requested a call to talk about. Rather, he responded that the extra tracks he was attempting to provide were, in fact, the battle recordings, which are the hardest to produce correct. Once again, he made the suggestion that Chad's recordings might be utilized to add additional heavy tracks to the mix.

When their abilities were merged, we finally got the OST that we are familiar with today, which is a mashup of music mixed by Gordon or Mossholder. Gordon swiftly started to distance himself from the work when fans started pointing out the disparities between the tunes. Stratton said that while it "was surprising to see, as we have never discussed ending our collaboration with him until now— this statement does highlight a complicated relationship," Gordon's remarks about not working with ID again were noteworthy.

Everything well...

The distance between the studio and the composer seems to have been pushed too far. The composer and Stratton did converse recently over the remarks described here. Gordon conveyed his dissatisfaction with the final composition's editing throughout their conversations.

Stratton commented, "I understand this from the perspective of an artist and realize this opinion is what prompted him to distance himself from the work in the first place." Having said that, we didn't want to be engaged in the OST's content and did nothing to stop him from fulfilling his obligations in the time range he requested—we even asked for many extensions.

Gordon won't be appearing in the next DLC for Doom Eternal, according to Stratton. It is unclear whether this implies that Gordon won't be appearing in future Doom game, although the odds don't seem favorable.Still, Stratton acknowledged Gordon's creative abilities.

"Mick's distinct style and sound have become synonymous with our latest projects, just as Bobby Prince's music was synonymous with the original Doom games from the '90s," Stratton wrote. "[Gordon's] music is defining." "He has earned every honor he has received, and I hope that his amazing performance in Doom Eternal will bring him more recognition—he truly deserves it all."