The director of the PS4 exclusive explains the game’s reveal. The more intimate version, subtitled “Farewell to Faye,” is just as captivating, and it’s thrilling to hear the character’s song re-imagined in this way. Game director Cory Barlog explains Faye and her deeper role God of War’s ending asks you to rethink its beginning. From the subtle humming of the first statement of the theme to the soaring high notes over the choir in the closing statement, her voice draws you in. The version of “Memories of Mother” on the official soundtrack is a special piece that takes advantage of Eivør’s amazing range. But in this case, the collaboration between Bear and Eivør was meant to be, and she brought Faye to life.Įivør’s unique vocal stylings are heard throughout the game, reminding us that Faye is ever present, guiding the way for Kratos and Atreus. Sometimes creative pairings are like arranged marriages, good intentions don’t often make good partners. Could this be the voice of Faye?Ī call to Eivør’s agent Roy Lidstone-Jackson led to a meeting in Los Angeles and a demo recording session for Bear and Eivør.
We were instantly struck by the beauty and power in her voice especially in her song, Trollabundin. Hats off to Keith for “discovering” Faroese singer, Eivør on YouTube. The final idea was to give the deceased mother of Atreus, Faye, a voice. We were aiming to retain the DNA of the original scores by using strings, brass, and choir, but wanted to tweak the choir just a bit to reflect the new setting of the game. The second idea was to use an Icelandic choir to sing in Old Norse rather than a traditional choir singing Latin text. Cory and Bear immediately hit it off, and we knew that we had found the right fit. We were certain that the new score would rely on an assortment of Scandinavian instruments to help place it in the Norse world, so Bear’s expertise in this area was crucial. Keith had worked with Bear on SOCOM 4 and was impressed with his ability to integrate ethnic instruments into a modern orchestral sound, and by his gift for composing memorable themes. The first was to have Bear McCreary compose the score. We began by laying out a few high-level ideas to pitch to game director Cory Barlog. Would the bombastic onslaught of strings, brass, and choir remain? Would the fans like music that deviated from the sound of the original? Who would be up for the challenge of reimagining the sound of GOW? We had many conversations imagining, in very broad terms, what the new music might sound like. When co-producer Keith Leary and I were first briefed on the details of the God of War reboot story, our creative wheels were spinning.