24 years after the 1996 release of Quake, the righteous original soundtrack produced by Nine Inch Nails has now come to vinyl.
Are you an old-school id Software fan who woke up this morning feeling a little hot and bothered without quite knowing why? Have you been silently weeping into your Trent Reznor body pillow these long decades, waiting for something to come along and fill that void in your black little soul? Well, Nine Inch Nails’ Quake soundtrack on vinyl might be just the thing.
Fans have shown that they still maintain a voracious appetite for all things related to classic id Software games like Quake and Doom. Last year saw the popular release of an unofficial fifth episode for the original Doom from creator John Romero himself with an accompanying soundtrack from Buckethead, and the string of tech wizards getting Doom to run on any device with a screen is an endless source of amusement.
The long-awaited vinyl release of Nine Inch Nails’ Quake soundtrack taps into that same nostalgic fervour. The grimy, atmospheric sounds provided the perfect background when we were exploring muddy industrial environments and exploding large, meaty enemies into smaller-but-no-less-meaty giblets. It still holds up 24 years later, and is being released alongside a “definitive edition” of the score for The Social Network.
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT 2020 COULDN’T GET ANY WEIRDER… The Social Network and Quake are available on vinyl and shipping NOW! Who had that on their 2020 bingo card?
The Social Network Vinyl:https://t.co/1TwpKz6Fwp
Quake: https://t.co/H88exJWAfk pic.twitter.com/LbhNhxawxh
— nine inch nails (@nineinchnails) September 16, 2020
According to a note that has since been removed from the NIN store page, an unnamed video game publisher (which is definitely, absolutely, totally not Bethesda) blocked the inclusion of a booklet of essays from the original Quake creators:
“*NOTE WE DESIGNED THIS REISSUE TO INCLUDE A BOOKLET CONTAINING ESSAYS FROM ID SOFTWARE’S JOHN CARMACK AND AMERICAN MCGEE. A CERTAIN UNNAMED VIDEO GAME PUBLISHER MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE PACKAGE, SO PLEASE HONOR THEIR WISHES BY NOT CLICKING HERE [link removed] TO EVEN SEE THE ESSAYS OR HERE [link removed] TO PRINT THE BOOKLET OUT FOR YOURSELF.”
If you’re in looking to pick up your own copy of the album (and, really, why wouldn’t you be?), head over to your choice of either the US or UK version of the NIN store page.
