'Doom Eternal' Composer Breaks Silence Regarding Game OST Controversy

Mick Gordon, the musical mind behind the metalcore soundtrack from the two most recent "Doom" games," spoke up about his experience working with id Software and the alleged toxic treatment he received from the studio.

The composer penned a lengthy explanation on Medium to refute "Doom Eternal" executive producer Marty Stratton's accusations of him being hard to work with.

First, Gordon explained how difficult the "Doom Eternal" project was. He was expected to work on a tight schedule, and Stratton shut down his proposals for a more realistic approach, saying that the producer insisted they stick to the original plan. His submissions then were rejected for not fitting the game's vision.

The composer further claimed that id Software refused to pay him for the tracks they rejected, and they began to withhold approval for any of the music he submitted. This resulted in him working for 11 months without getting paid. The game was eventually released with critical and commercial success.

However, the OST drew flak from the gaming community for featuring hastily-edited tracks using rejected music and demos that were never meant to go public. Gordon and Stratton had a heated exchange over email and Skype, and the composer ultimately alleged that he was offered a six-figure sum to remain quiet over their dispute and accept all accusations against him.

Then, Stratton blamed the OST's failure largely on Gordon in his now-notorious Reddit post, which caused a tide of angry gamers to harass the composer through messages, emails and personal calls to his phone.

Gordon tried to have the post taken down and was briefly successful before it was once again reinstated. Shortly after, he claimed Stratton's lawyers contacted him and said that taking down the post "greatly offended him [Stratton]."

He ended the blog post by stating that everything he said was done under his right to defend himself in defiance of the gag order he had received as well as the abuse and harassment he had experienced while working on "Doom Eternal."

Neither id Software nor its parent company Bethesda has yet to respond to Mick Gordon's public statement.