MusicFreaks

Tag: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

  • Ice Nine Kills on their “intense” ‘Dead By Daylight’ collab and why horror will never die

    The world of survival horror has always held a potent fascination, but recently, rock music has jumped headfirst into the shadows, forging an electrifying new path. Boston-based band Ice Nine Kills have done just that, teaming up with the immersive, tense world of online multiplayer gaming to create an anthem that doesn’t just play—it forces you to feel. Their new single, Play Dead, is a perfect example of how music and dread can collide in a spectacularly immersive experience.

    The collaboration stems from the universe of Dead By Daylight, a game renowned as one of the most played horror titles in history. This game plunges four players into the nightmare of being survivors attempting to escape a relentless killer, a digital crucible that has already drawn inspiration from iconic cinematic and gaming franchises like Stranger Things, Saw, Alien, and classics such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

    For Ice Nine Kills, entering this digital realm felt less like a detour and more like stepping into a shared creative DNA. Lead singer Spencer Charnas shared that collaborating with the game world felt like encountering a universe already rich with their artistic sensibilities. “It has built such a strong legacy, and we have a lot of respect for the game’s strange, sinister, and completely immersive atmosphere,” Charnas noted.

    The band aimed to ensure their track, ‘Play Dead’, wasn’t merely influenced by the horror world but felt organically woven into it. This required meticulous attention to detail, working closely with longtime Dead By Daylight composer Michel F. April and engaging directly with the game’s creative team and diehard fans to capture the authentic tension and atmosphere.

    This fusion isn’t new for the band; Ice Nine Kills have a history of exploring darker themes through their music, having released several horror-themed albums and contributed to soundtracks for films like Scream 7 (‘Twisting The Knife’) and Terrifier 3 (‘A Work Of Art’). This latest project simply continues that tradition of weaving intense emotional landscapes into their sound.

    When asked about the unique combination of horror, gaming, and guitar music, Charnas highlighted the power of immersive storytelling. “At their best, each of those things is not only intense but completely immersive,” he explained. “It can be equally thrilling to get swept away into the stylistic storytelling of a great game, a killer movie, or a captivating song.”

    The aesthetic appeal of this cross-media phenomenon lies in its ability to create a trifecta of creative and aesthetic experiences. Whether it’s the killer scores in the first Scream film or the haunting music driving hours of gaming, bringing these elements together creates powerful fandoms that seamlessly cross over into different worlds.

    This fascination with cinematic terror naturally extends to games. Charnas reflected on his love for classic games, noting how essential the old Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games were not just for gameplay but for their curated soundtracks. These titles served as immersive pathways, introducing him to diverse bands like Dead Kennedys and My Chemical Romance.

    As the world navigates uncertainty, horror often finds a uniquely compelling place. While some genres focus on social commentary or true crime, horror as an art form offers something distinct: a potent form of escapism. It allows us to safely engage with deep-seated fears and profound questions in ways that are often wonderfully silly, smart, and intensely thrilling.

    The journey from making musical love letters to contributing to iconic horror franchises like Dead by Daylight demonstrates a powerful reconnection between art forms. Ice Nine Kills is proud to contribute to bringing energy back to the intersection of rock music and cinematic dread, proving that the genre never truly dies, and there is always room for exhilarating, challenging inspiration.

    The band is also gearing up for further sonic exploration, with recent singles like ‘The Art Of Dying’ and ‘The Great Unknown’ continuing to paint a picture of their expansive creative identity. Their presence in the evolving landscape of horror and gaming continues to push boundaries, confirming that intensity and immersion are the ultimate goals when crafting art.

    Credit: NME

  • The Future of Music in Gaming

    The relationship between music and gaming has been a slow-burn revolution, unfolding over decades. What began as an almost philosophical pursuit—understanding how technology and art conspire to shape our reality—has evolved into an urgent demand for structural change in how we monetize culture.

    For those who have worked at the intersection of music and technology, this shift from single-track sync licenses to full catalog deals is not just a business negotiation; it is about fundamentally changing the infrastructure of interactive entertainment. It has been a slower, harder journey than most, but the conviction that licensed music should be a native, structural part of how games are built and played has finally earned its voice.

    The journey began long before today. In the early 1980s, as technology—from the earliest gaming consoles to the nascent computer systems—emerged, a peculiar synergy was born. As one visionary noted, those initial synthetic sounds from games unknowingly marked the beginning of our awareness of music’s profound role in memory and emotional engagement. Technology and art were revealed not as opposites, but as co-conspirators shaping human experience.

    This realization evolved into a cultural force in the 1990s. As gaming franchises reached unprecedented scale, music moved from mere atmosphere to core storytelling. Breakthrough titles like Grand Theft Auto introduced licensed radio stations, making recognizable songs a central part of the player experience. This was followed by cultural manifestos like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, which treated soundtracks not as accompaniment but as cultural statements, effectively turning games into new media platforms.

    Yet, this powerful fusion immediately ran into a significant hurdle: the licensing system. It remains a fragmented, high-stakes mess built on outdated infrastructure. Securing rights requires navigating separate approval chains from record labels, music publishers, and collecting societies across dozens of territories. This complexity means that most game developers opt for library music or simply give up, leaving billions of players—who are also music fans—locked out of the full commercial potential.

    The real opportunity lies in recognizing the magnitude of the engagement. Today’s gaming landscape, especially User-Generated Content (UGC) platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, represents a massive cultural operating system where identities are formed and communities thrive. These spaces do engage with music—curated events and virtual fashion drops—but they lack the deep integration required for true, scalable monetization.

    The proof is in the numbers. Activations like Travis Scott’s performance inside Fortnite drew tens of millions of unique participants, matching the scale of major television events. These moments generate unparalleled cultural impact, turning music into an engine for viral discovery. This phenomenon proves that when music creates emotional architecture, it drives engagement, and this power is undeniable.

    However, the infrastructure still lags behind the potential. The current system generates spectacular marketing spikes but fails to build lasting economic architecture. There is a massive structural gap: music captures a tiny fraction of the enormous youth culture concentrated in gaming platforms. This gap presents an opportunity for a new revenue class that does not yet exist.

    The solution involves building this necessary plumbing. New technologies and companies are emerging to bridge this divide, developing licensing frameworks, rights data systems, and adaptive music systems embedded directly into game engines. As developers gain access to AI-native music generation tools, the window for incorporating licensed catalog music as a native feature is narrowing. The imperative now is not just making deals, but building the foundational structures that allow music to be natively integrated, ensuring that the sound of the next revolution is truly felt by everyone.

    Credit: Hypebot