Fans of one of gaming’s most iconic soundtracks will soon get to experience it in a whole new way, as composer Mick Gordon is set to play the Doom soundtrack live on stage for the first time as the headliner at Radar Festival in the UK next summer. Although Gordon played a medley at The Game Awards in 2016, this will be his first full-length set with a live band, orchestra, and full production.
Gordon is known for defining Doom’s identity with crushing riffs, industrial synths, and earth-shaking electronic production. His work on 2016’s Doom and 2020’s Doom Eternal established a new benchmark for video game soundtracks, with titles like Rip & Tear, BFG Division, and The Only Thing They Fear Is You becoming firm fan favorites. They’ve earned millions of streams and remain staples of game music playlists years after release.
While the music has always had the scope for being performed live, Radar Festival marks the first time it will be performed with both a live orchestra and full backing band. If you’ve long hoped to experience the soundtrack in a live setting, that time has finally come. It’s an even rarer opportunity considering Gordon’s split from developer id Software after the release of Doom Eternal raised questions about whether he’d be able to perform these tracks live again.
Speaking exclusively to GameSpot ahead of the reveal, Gordon said he hopes that the live performance opens up the potential for more collaborations between festivals and video game music. “I hope this thing shows the potential of this type of stuff to publishers and developers,” he said. “The game isn’t just that gap between the player and the television.”
Gordon explained how the collaboration came to be. “Ever since Doom 2016 … there’s been rumblings and multiple attempts to try and get some version of this into a live setting,” he said. “I’ve been trying for a number of years to get this thing off the ground. Then out of the blue Joe [James, Radar Festival organizer] came to me with a really awesome opportunity through Radar.”
Gordon commended Radar Festival for its audience blend of metalheads and gamers, since the festival features three days of live alternative music alongside a marketplace where developers and players join together to preview new games, run tabletop sessions, or just chat about all things gaming. Gordon noted the crossover between metal music and gaming spanning is pretty wide, adding, “For a long time, I’ve wanted to take what I love about video game music and put it into a live setting that matches the energy you would get from a live rock or metal show … Radar feels like the absolute perfect [festival] to do it. There’s no better,” he said.
But there was a time when Gordon thought a production of this magnitude might not be possible. “We released Doom Eternal on March 20, 2020, and lockdown was already in effect. I remember thinking, ‘Shit, anything we could have done around this exact moment of the game coming out is gone now.’ It felt, not like it was over or that we wouldn’t be able to do it, but certainly if there was an opportunity it was slowly passing by. But it’s interesting–music just survives.”
Gordon has confirmed that he’ll be bringing the legendary Doom Machine for the performance–the custom instrument he created specifically to compose the soundtracks. Theatrics will be in full swing too, as festival organizer Joe James tells GameSpot, “We’re looking at all options to make it epic. Fire, screens, projection mapping are all on the table.”
Radar Festival takes place between July 30 and August 1, 2027. You can sign up to their mailing list for 25% off tickets. Gordon is currently working on the soundtrack to the upcoming game, Defect.