Town (Tristram Village) - Matt Uelmen
June 29th 2008 14:37
Diablo Original Game Score by Matt Uelmen
The harmonious embrace of 12-string guitar and flute create a breathtaking, medieval aura which emits the colors of a most unforgettable tale about an old village named Tristram and the desecrated church within the nearby graveyard that spawns terror after terror upon its people. American musician Matt Uelmen captures the essence of this village and the sorrow it harbors beneath fear with his Town (also known as Tristram Village) and manages to climb and conquer the most arduous of musical peaks, ie. making a melody the trademark of a story.
Matt Uelmen was born and raised in South Bay area, LA. His musical background is mainly made up of private piano lessons he took as a kid but he regards the methods of his tutor highly. He then went on to take a few guitar and jazz piano lessons and basically walked on an instrumental path on his own. He states that he did want to take a solid musical education but "the musical department was non-existent" in his university. He also played keyboards in a bar band until he decided to make a demo tape and take it to every publisher in the Bay Area. One of those publishers directed him to a company named Condor which would later become Blizzard North (and where he would work for the next 11 years). He started working with the company after months of persistence and hopeful door-knocking. He still advices to all the budding musicians out there to be persistent to the point of wearing the other party down due to the competitive nature of "good gigs".
Uelmen worked with Blizzard Entertainment all through Diablo and Diablo II as well as their more recent worldwide success, World of Warcraft. All three games are considered gaming masterpieces on their own and Uelmen did not fall behind these legendary products at all since his music is always a perfect fit to the scene, neither falling too much into the background nor surpassing the franchise. His minimalistic but still musically and ambiance-wise fruitful Diablo score gave way to a fully orchestral composition with Diablo II as he worked with Bratislava Symphony Orchestra. For World of Warcraft, he composed various Ahn'Qiraj themes apart from the walk music of Naxxramas. His contribution to World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade was even more significant with more than 3 hours of his mythical arrangements scattered within this first WoW expansion.
Blizzard officially announced that work for Diablo III has begun at Worldwide Invitational - Paris 2008 and confirmed the speculations that have been setting the Diablo community on fire since May. After 7 years of absence, the Lord of Terror shall return once again to cause suffering to the people whose plane he has long sought to claim. New heroes will rise from the ashes of the old and sword shall unite with sorcery in a battle to survive within the depths of degeneration. Diablo's presence will plague the mortal soil once again while his coming will be felt through his minions' foul breath lingering in the air. Dread shall strike the hearts of the weak while valor will fill the arms of the strong. The following is the official cinematic trailer of what awaits the gamer earthling:
Town (Tristram Village) opens with strong chords from a 12-string guitar, played by Matt Uelmen, himself. It instantly makes one feel as if listening to a bard in a shadowy inn lit by candles. The ghastly flute that is heard rising and falling throughout the track is a great representation of both the foulness that haunt the peoples of Tristram and their helplessness if not fear against this curse that befell them.
The guitar does not have a constant walk and its frequent change of pace gives the song a unique texture that manifests various emotions ranging from ardent and heroic to dramatic and emotional.
With many a colorful character such as Cain The Elder, Griswold The Blacksmith, Pepin The Healer, Adria The Witch and Farnham The Drunk (who can forget him?), Diablo is a timeless game that still has the ability to capture the player after 11 years of its original release and with its solemn Tristram that longingly awaits young and bold-hearted heroes.
"I can see what you see not.
Vision milky then eyes rot.
When you turn they will be gone,
Whispering their hidden song.
Then you see what cannot be,
Shadows move where light should be.
Out of darkness, out of mind,
Cast down into the Halls of the Blind."
Vision milky then eyes rot.
When you turn they will be gone,
Whispering their hidden song.
Then you see what cannot be,
Shadows move where light should be.
Out of darkness, out of mind,
Cast down into the Halls of the Blind."
Ink Blots
Browse videos online at Dailymotion
Browse music online at IMEEM
"Halls of the Blind" is an excerpt from "Book of the Blind" that sits upon a pedestal at the catacombs
Background information for Matt Uelmen complied via MobyGames, WoWWiki and RPGamer interview cache
Buy Diablo online from Amazon
Meet the artist Matt Uelmen at Wikipedia
Browse videos online at Dailymotion
Browse music online at IMEEM
"Halls of the Blind" is an excerpt from "Book of the Blind" that sits upon a pedestal at the catacombs
Background information for Matt Uelmen complied via MobyGames, WoWWiki and RPGamer interview cache
Buy Diablo online from Amazon
Meet the artist Matt Uelmen at Wikipedia
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Comment by Lilla
Enviro Warrior
An Extra Ordinary Life
Dream Herald
I don;t play games ...not from a lack of interest, just a lack of time... however, I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your words here about this game Diablo. (There is a great pizza restaurant in Caloundra (QLD) called Diablo's ....) ... but I digress ...
The thing is, that after your words and listening to this Matt Uelmen I find I am an instant fan (I love the sound of a 12-string guitar, used to play one myself, before it was stolen) ... and I am a great lover of instrumental soundtracks (especial medieval/cetic) for when the 'mood' takes me, I will hunt down some more of his stuff and appreciate any pointers in his direction.
Going now to search IMEEM.
Thanks for sharing.
Lilla ...
Comment by Ayda
Phantasmelodia
Tristram Village is a classic for us Diablo fans. That is why I just had to include it to my blog. Diablo's original score was never released as a soundtrack (after all Uelmen only wrote 6 tracks - 4 tracks for the 4 dungeon levels, 1 is for town and 1 is for the intro) but if you're interested in listening to it as well, please let me know.
I also heartily recommend the soundtrack of Age of Conan -- You can take a look at my analysis of its opening song here.
Thanks for stopping by. Don't be a stranger.
Much love.