DOOM Eternal may rip and tear through your eyeballs until the deed is done, but the audio part of this gore-heavy package is an unstoppable train of face-melting heavy metal and the tastiest of guitar licks. A dynamic explosion of sound that does DOOM 2016 proud, composer Mick “I own your eardrums now” Gordon’s medley of mayhem is one for the ages.

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were armed with a Zippo lighter, had grown your hair out and were ready to hop into a mosh pit to rock out to the tune of super shotguns and instagibs that DOOM Eternal created between ever sick beat. Which you can do right now! Collector’s Edition owners of the amazing sequel can grab it for a solid listen.

But it’s not the best version of the soundtrack that it deserves to be. While it definitely sounds fine on a first listen, something seems to be…off. There’s a certain layer of polish not present, a clash of instruments competing for spotlight space like early 2000’s nu-metal band members attempting to outdo each other in the recording studio. There’s a reason for that: None of those submitted tracks were mixed by Gordon.

I didn't mix those and wouldn't have done that. You'll be able to spot the small handful of tracks I mixed (Meathook, Command and Control, etc…) — Mick Gordon (@Mick_Gordon) April 19, 2020

That ACDCGuy went into detail of just how poorly mixed the majority of the DOOM Eternal tracks are, highlighting the lack of dynamic range and the lack of harmony overall:

Here's a comparison between the original BFG Division from Doom 2016's official soundtrack (left) vs. the BFG 2020 remix on Eternal's soundtrack from today (right).



Notice how the wavelengths in BFG 2020 form a nearly perfectly straight bar vs. the original with more definition pic.twitter.com/TCJRdOe1Yf April 19, 2020

Now maybe you’re unfamiliar with audio mixing , & you’re thinking “okay there’s clearly a visual difference, but how does that translate to what I’m hearing?” Basically when there’s more definition in the wavelengths, there’s greater dynamic range between the instruments. In the case of music, dynamic range gives instruments more “breathing room” so-to-speak. While there are exceptions, in most cases you don’t want instruments to compete with each other for dominance. You want them to harmonize together to create new & interesting sounds.

The gist of all this, is that the compression has resulted in every instrument playing at the same level of volume creating a crowded audio space, like real estate in Hong Kong. You’ve got a soundtrack that is essentially fighting aainst itself, instead of working with each unique sound to create a total package of savage awesomeness. Even worse? This may be the last time that Gordon ever works with Bethesda (Thanks ResetEra):

It’s a damn shame. DOOM Eternal’s soundtrack in all of its uncompressed glory is a work of art. Heavy metal magic that pushes your heart rate up and makes you sweat bullets as you weave a bloody path through the hordes of hell, Gordon’s work perfectly complements one of the best games of the year. It’s a soundtrack which deserves better. Remix and remaster until it is done, Bethesda.

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