Hello everyone,

My name is ThoughT and I am the Lead Composer for No More Room in Hell 2, and was also the lead composer for the original NMRiH. You may remember my music from such exciting NMRiH events as, “Spawning with the hopes of not being eaten” as well as “being eaten shortly after spawning.” We had good times together.  

First off I must say, to my immense flattery and surprise, it’s been made clear to me that people see NMRiH’s soundtrack as a unique style of music, which has been shown through numerous submissions of “NMRiH inspired” fan music. I couldn’t be more thankful for the support that the community has shown for the soundtrack. Seriously, it’s beyond anything I could have imagined, thank you!

No More Room in Hell 2 stands as the first sequel that I have ever had the privilege of working on and as I have begun to work on the new soundtrack, I’ve found myself faced with interesting challenges that I’ve never had to deal with before.

In order to create to create music of this magnitude I need to get myself into a certain emotional headspace. One way I like to attempt this is through editing “mood videos” so I can visually see emotion and then attempt to translate that into music. I’ve featured two of them in this post for you to enjoy. The video for Moral Compass (above) as well as the background video (below) that plays when you go to www.nmrih2.com.

When looking at how to proceed with the soundtrack for NMRiH2, I’ve really had to sit and question if I should just continue in the now ‘traditional NMRiH style’ or try to venture forth to something new. It may seem like an easy choice to some, yet the more I think about it, the more I realize that something with my process would need to change. The first time around, I could play NMRiH and get ideas and inspiration. This time around, the soundtrack is starting at square one with the game itself and it’s an entirely new, blank slate that is certainly proving an intimidating trial. I want to pay homage to the original game’s soundtrack and make nods to the original songs where it feels right, as well as maybe a few well deserved remakes; yet at the same time, not overdoing it. Knowing where or when to do this has been one of my very real challenges because NMRIH is my comfort zone while NMRiH2 is it’s own game and deserves to be treated as such. Sometime’s I guess it’s just hard to let go and remember that NMRiH2 stands to introduce a slew of new classic tracks to the community like the original, if given the chance.

The new engine allows an additional level of visual, and auditory fidelity that we always wanted to do, but couldn’t achieve with the technical constraints of the first NMRIH. The gameplay and art will be emotional, intense, and stressful, and we want to complement each of those feelings and moments with our music and audio (We even have dynamic music system that can adapt to player situations, but more on that next time).

Earlier I mentioned that I was starting NMRIH2 with a blank slate, however, instead of starting at square one, I want to actually start at square ZERO. Zero, meaning before anything bad ever happened in the NMRiH universe. Zero is the world we live in and represents what will be lost.

The dichotomy of past and present is important to truly appreciate the horrors in NMRiH2. Without appreciating the backstory and the gravity of the situation, we could honestly just skin a zombie to look like any generic enemy and get the same return. I feel strongly that on top of storytelling and visuals, one of the best ways to convey the emotional tension of the situation is through music. What is coming after you isn’t just a monster, but was a person. That person had a family, aspirations, dreams and goals that were robbed from them. It may seem silly to be thinking of the zombies as people, but it helps inspire all of us on an emotional level. We can feel a world where millions of our countrymen, friends, and family have been robbed of their lives, and who they are. We are alone, forced to survive in a world no longer hospitable to human life. We are victims, but even more so the zombies themselves are the greatest victims of tragedy.

Please enjoy and check back for more updates and to watch this concept become a reality! Before we part I have one last work in progress track to share, enjoy!