Mass Effect 3 Gets The Sound Of Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream

The soothing sounds of Clint Mansell will accompany BioWare’s Mass Effect 3 later this year. Who’s that? The longtime Darren Aronofsky collaborator who’s scored films like The Fountain, Black Swan and Requiem For A Dream.

Mansell’s work can also be heard in sci-fi fodder like Duncan Jones’ excellent Moon and the big screen adaptation of id Software’s Doom. But his most recognizable work may be “Lux Aeterna,” the theme from Requiem For A Dream used again and again as go-to dramatic music.

The composer tells The Quietus “with something like Mass Effect you’re more like a DJ, with all these elements.”

“You’ve got the holding pattern, then the big explosion where you need the score to kick in,” he explains. “Then you need to take it off on a tangent. You’ve got all these different elements that change depending on what the player does. You have to figure out an overall symphony, but be able to break it down into component parts. You can bring the pain when required.”

Not feeling any pain, it seems, is former Mass Effect maestro Jack Wall. He tells Eurogamer that it was “time for a change” and that he still has a great relationship with developer BioWare.

Unspoilt By Progress: A Conversation With Black Swan Composer Clint Mansell [The Quietus via SlashFilm – thanks, David!]