Nailing the Sound of Horror: NIN + id | A Quake Documentary

The Quake soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails is an innovative collection of ambient sound design, and industrial music. From the hard hitting “Quake Theme”, with its raging guitars, powerful drums, and insidious synthesizers, to “Life,” a pounding, synthesized, resonant beats with eerie ambient drones, the entire soundtrack captures the essence of id Software’s technical FPS masterpiece: Quake.
The care and attention to detail is evident in the soundtrack’s 10 track commercial release. Prior to 2020, the Quake Soundtrack was only available if you had the disc spinning in your cd rom drive, a detail that frustrated the id Software developers. With Nightdive’s 2021 remaster, and Trent Reznor’s reclaiming of the rights of the soundtrack, modern day Quake players can finally enjoy the game and the music without mods, or cumbersome discs.
What drew me into Quake’s soundtrack development is the fact that I knew nothing about how this distinctive, masterfully crafted recording was created. Doom (2016) introduced me to the idea of expertly crafted industrial metal in the form of a video game soundtrack, and discovering Quake led me into an even deeper pool of inspiration. I was eager to research and dive into the internet’s many resources to find the answers to my many questions - and when the internet left holes in the story, I even dug up a few books at my local Los Angeles county library. I’m glad I made this video - I had a blast researching, reading, bookmarking old forum discussions, even messaging a well known composer to better understand the business of soundtracks and the creative side of sound design - but will save that convo for a separate video.
If you’re at all interested in how this soundtrack was made, and how the team at id Software gelled with the team at Nine Inch Nails, then I think you might enjoy this documentary. As always, if you like the content, please consider subscribing, leaving a comment, or liking the video! You can find The Yetti Den at the links below
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Chapters:
00:00 For Friendship
00:42 id Software & Nine Inch Nails
01:45 We Especially Like Space Invaders
02:30 Le Pig: Wolfenstein 3D
04:00 The Masters of Doom: John Romero and John Carmack
05:00 The Lovecraftian Antagonist Called Quake
06:55 A Courtship of Freaks and Geeks
08:25 Downward Spirals: The War Room
10:00 Trent "The Ranger" Reznor
11:10 140 MPH, I Have Some Cars
12:00 The Old Funeral Home: Nothing Studios
13:00 McGee and the Nails
13:40 "Ugh, Ugh" - 1,000 Sounds
17:18 1995-1996: Hexen, Ultimate Doom and David Bowie
18:48 The Egos at id
19:40 No MIDI, No Chip Tunes
20:55 Spinning Discs: Nothing's Label Woes
21:27 New Forms of Writing
23:28 The Recording Studio Layout
24:00 Digital Distortion
26:15 I Can Stop At Anytime
Video Sources:
120 Minutes: 1996 Night of Nothing Showcase
A Look at Nothing Studios
Closer - Nine Inch Nails - Director’s Cut
Doom Soundtrack Live at the Game Awards 2016
Eraser - Nine Inch Nails - Sef Destruct 1994 Live
Id Software Documentary - 1993 - Tommy Vercetti
Id Software Interview Quake 1996
John Carmack at QuakeWorld 1996
March of the Pigs (Music Video)
Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Nine Inch Nails - New York 1996
Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie
Nine Inch Nails Woodstock ‘94
Quake Change video games forever John Carmack
Tech Train - John Romero Quake Postmotem
The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor and NIN Alt Nation
Trent Reznor Interview 1995
Wolfenstein 3D - id Software and Apogee Interview in 1992 - Neo Gamer
Articles and Interview Sources:
“I dare say it will hurt a little” - Big Man With a BGF
Quantifying Quake: Quantifying Quake: How the dark fantasy FPS changed games forever
Nine Inch Nails Store
Vintage Interview: nine inch nails’ Trent Reznor
Nine Inch Nails founding member, Chris Vrenna, on the making of Quake, 25+ years later
From Keen to Doom: id Software's Founders Talk 30 Years of Gaming History
Tech Train: John Romero Quake Postmortem
Lex Friedman: John Carmack
Quake Expo: John Romero Interview Part 1
YRB Magazine: John Carmack and American Mcgee reflect on the making of Quake and how NIN helped define the modern video game soundtrack
American McGee talks about Quake,Trent Reznor
Far Out Magazine: The Nine Inch Nails connection to the Sharon Tate Murders
Sega Saturn Magazine: The Nine Inch Nails Connection, No. 14, P.7
REAL HORRORSHOW:The Downward Spiral and Trent Reznor’s House of Horrors
WIRED: The Egos at Id
Big Man With a BFG: “I dare say it will hurt a little
Nine Inch Nails Store
From Keen to Doom: Id Software’s Founders Talk 30 years of Gaming History

[@theyettiden]

What's your favorite memory of Quake?

[@Murukku47]

being 5 and watching my dad play it on my grandma's PC, trying it myself but not comprehending how to move and shoot at the same time, asking my grandma to help me play by giving her the keyboard while I aimed with mouse, and the first thing her doing being walking into the first pool of acid in the game

[@jkrichardironfox4811]

Buying a physical copy of the game when finding out that it doesnt run on modern systems without dos box emulators. Running the game as a 7 years old kid was a blast. goosebumps

[@unkles]

I was stoned off my ass at the age of 16 and my sisters boyfriend was playing quake 64 . He comes knocking at my door saying check this out . I go out to the living room and he shows me this level he said he thought was a secret . It was a level that had moon like gravity and it was tripping me out how high I was 😂

[@CardboardBox13013]

Grisly Grotto (E1m4?) Looking down at what I thought was a small out of place riveted square on the floor. Dropped down and realised - *that was the top of a grenade box! I AM IN 3D NOW!*

[@reasonablefacsimile]

Playing 'til ass-o'clock in the morning in my dark dorm room, getting startled by enemies suddenly growling behind me or falling from rafters. Those writhing, withered, moaning, crucified corpses on the wall. The amorphous slime enemies that made an some kind of unnatural clicking sound that reverberated down the corridors. The interplay between the medieval structures, the sci-fi vibe of the slipgates, and the cosmic horror of being alone in a forsaken realm beyond our own, inhabited only by some incomprehensible ancient evil. That stuff was absolutely mind-blowing at the time.

[@sadsixersfan.]

People don't talk about how much Quake set the tone for his film scoring career. Glad you made this.

[@themadmattster9647]

He helped organize the soundtrack for Natural Born Killers. I'd say he wanted to do films for a long time, this and Quake definitely led up to doing films, though Ghosts was also a precursor.

[@kwizzeh]

He was also the defacto audio director for Doom 3 until he dropped out of the project since I believe it was he thought it was out of his scope and expertise. This is apparent with the leaked Doom 3 E3 2002 build that contained work-in-progress material he did that was eventually replaced when Christian Antkow and Ed Lima took over for audio design duties.

[@sirgavalot]

Quake is how I got into NIN! My friends at school played it, we saw the NIN logo on the ammo boxes, figured out it was a band, and one of my mates got a copy of Broken

[@MickySarge]

Just landed here after the GQ Trent Reznor video made no mention of Quake.

[@rodpad]

Snap!

[@AlexCarby]

KZbin has been doing a good thing with it's algorithm recommending good videos from small sub number creators. As a fan of the Quake soundtrack this is a gem of a video my dude.

[@theyettiden]

Thanks for watching Alex!

[@moviemaniac1838]

Excellent video. I never knew Trent Reznor to the grunting sound in Quake.

[@theyettiden]

Same here! Love that they had so much connection to the game’s sound design.

[@nowheregirl3858]

Wired did an excellent article on how Reznor's "hup!" jumping sound influenced gaming forever. Google "A History of Hup, the Jump Sound of Shooting Games". A great read if you love Quake and the FPS genre.

[@b1llygo4t]

I used to keep the Quake demo disk in my CD case with all the other Halos. Quake is such a perfect game. It may be almost 30 years old, but it holds up great today and not many shooters have brought much more to the table since. The ambient NIN music melts perfectly into the textures of the floors and walls. It's not the same without it.

[@theyettiden]

It''s such a special game. It's like where do you go from Quake. I'm thinking about covering Half-Life, S.TA.L.K.E.R., Time Splitters - any others you think Quake fans would like?

[@KadathII]

so I was already into video games and loved doom when quake came out but for some reason it flew over my head. I only bought it last summer while it was on sale on switch, and even then I expected to play just a couple of levels before moving to something else. boy was I wrong. I still can't pinpoint exactly what makes this game work so well, why I kept thinking about it and reading things about it, but I know NIN's soundtrack gives it this strange, unique vibe. Like you're in this unknown dimension, filled with enemies and levels both alien and familiar, in an atmosphere telling you that the god of this realm hates you for the sin of existing and wants you to die. I certainly didn't expect this from a game, expecially one that came out in 1996. NIN & id are wizards.

[@jaspal666]

After I’d gotten my copy of Quake, played it for hours and hours. Listened to the soundtrack when not playing. Driving to work, I heard the Quake soundtrack on the RADIO. ID was running radio spots on DFW radio for Quake. That had me wtf😂😂😂

[@omarm6678]

Well produced video man, I thoroughly enjoyed this on my lunch break

[@theyettiden]

Thanks for watching!

[@tabi420]

underrated af

[@theyettiden]

🦾

[@OverEssents]

Epic vid, epic soundtrack

[@theyettiden]

Thanks!!

[@thevoid99]

"wolfenstein" and "quake" were my games back in the day. i loved those games. i miss them. i would love to have them again but i need a new laptop first.

[@AnthonyAdrianAcker]

Quake was my intro to NIN when it released. Even the shareware cd had the full soundtrack on it.

[@travismcnabb606]

This is a very well made documentary. Thank you.

[@AtlasBenighted]

Awesome video mate! 90s ID is a watershed moment indeed

[@tommhank.]

Great video!

[@theyettiden]

Thanks Tom.

[@midinerd]

Had no idea about the ninmcgee involvement but I'm not surprised.. haha. nice one thank you

[@cheinrich]

Thank you! Such a well done video!

[@elijahking2653]

Great video, and I'm glad I found your channel! I hope you keep growing and gain more subscribers. Keep up the good work!

[@theyettiden]

Thanks for the watch! This video was a ton of fun to make.

[@iveseenyourface5404]

This is FANTASTIC. Subbed.

[@sergioleyvaseiglie]

Great doco mate, loved it! ❤

[@skywaymags4598]

Great work man. Been looking for a video on this.

[@theyettiden]

Glad you liked it!

[@ClarkKentai]

I mostly love the Quake soundtrack, but half the time I have to turn it off because a bunch of the tracks have this high-pitched tone that damn near physically hurts when I hear it.

[@SyNRG]

Thanks for this video, i've always had a fascination with the soundtrack and the game since getting the shareware cd back in the day

[@Pa_blito]

Amazing video

[@augustusvonwatts555]

Good video

[@dashtongoff1391]

I’ve been wondering about this so thank you for showing me what went down bar for bar basically.

[@TheLetterTen]

Fantastic!

[@Mizzle420420]

Great video dude, really well done and solid content if anything I would have liked it to be longer. Idk how I missed this growing up at that time as a hardcore pc gamer and music lover. I was born in 1990 and got my first personal computer in May of 1997, I definitely played the shit out of doom and quake and was a fan of NiN but had no idea about their connection. Keep doin what your doin, man your gonna blow up with interestinf high quality videos like this. I Liked, Subbed, and Shared 💜🖤😎🖤💜 One Love

[@KillbotAndGorGorAttack]

Excellent video, coming from a big fan of the band and the game!

[@theyettiden]

Much appreciated!

[@ivanm.r.7363]

This game needs either a remake or a real dark fantasy sequel

[@PeaceDub]

Thank u! I will order the NiN Quake 12" for sure 💜

[@theyettiden]

I've been eyeing it myself as well. 😅

[@Graveyard_666]

Well done.

[@unconquered82]

I loved the music on CD feature. Astrocreep 2000 by White Zombie was awesome to play with Quake as well in my opinion.

[@pinnvophowns]

The main theme of Quake is amazing...

[@dansmoothback9644]

I played some Quake as a kid (more quake 2), so i have a bunch of nostalgia for it. I never heard the soundtrack as a kid tho. Getting in-game cd audio wasn't exactly easy as a 6 year old.

[@jbowDonDiego1380]

I love love love love qake 1 still have my orginal pc copy in fact. Played it alot and I even have the Xbox one port also love nin music amazing live show

[@BigSaur]

Did they release all the extra music that didn't make the final build?

[@rogermoreno1152]

I really wish iD would do a modern remake of the original Quake like they did Doom

[@theyettiden]

That would be amazing, especially if they could nail the atmosphere.

[@rogermoreno1152]

@@theyettiden exactly. And get Trent to score it again. I’m sure he would be more than happy to. I loved the original Quake, but never cared for any of the sequels. I didn’t like that it just became an online multiplayer arena style shooter. The original game was unique because of its Lovecraftian and medieval/gothic flavor. They lost all of that in the sequels

[@themadmattster9647]

the days when tech bros were COOL and not billionaire tyrants (and im NOT just talking about one of them! )

[@FeelingShred]

John Carmack is a strange figure. He claims to have fired (or influence to quit) John Romero because the guy "didn't wanna work and only wanted to play their games all day". Meanwhile the same guy hired a complete random dude that just moved to his apartment complex to work on his products. Michael Abrash accidentaly created a monster.

[@rgerber]

and John Romero created two full episode Wads 25-30 years after Doom's release (Sigil)

[@FeelingShred]

HAHA Zoom guitar pedals, you always end up using them at one point in your life 🤣🤣Zoom 👍

[@thecookiejoe]

what machine did you play HL2 on? Because that HEAVILY impacted how it gelt on day 1. I know that because I played it day 1. Just do give you an idea what hardware people were actually using back in the days: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 512 MB PC3200 DDR RAM GeForce 6600 GT 128Mb RAM 120 GB Seagate 7200 SATA-II and a 450 Watt PSU which probably pulled double that from the wall :D You ask why this matters? HL2 originally had loading screens in every hallway that exists in the game. I kid you not they are there for that. If you play this today you may not notice because modern versions and modern pcs pretty much narrow that load time down to zero. I had a PC worse than what I posted above on day 1. The game loaded 10 Minutes and then you could play for another 4. It was bad. I got a machine close to the above a couple weeks later and it ran a lot better, but 2-4 minute loadtimes where still a thing. When it was loaded it ran great, just the loading was horrible. I think it's one of the first things they addressed with a patch.

[@BenjaminSteber]

Record companies always come off like the "We did it, Patrick, we saved the city." Spongebob meme.

[@humanharddrive1]

i heard that it was mostly chris vrenna who made the music, and reznor was just boozing and playing doom all the time. Sandy Petersen is full of shit btw

[@sycoraxrock]

7:58 It was Manson. I guarantee you it was Marilyn flipping Manson.

[@muchossaugus9927]

The music was always the weakest part of Quake 1 and why I prefer literally any other oldschool FPS. At least they added some proper music with the addons. Its not even like the music fits or anything, I never considered Quake horror. The first thing I usually do is replace the music with something from the addons, Quake 2 or Doom.

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

To each that own but the eldritch themed stuff is "horror" to most of us and silly generic butt metal completely ruins the atmosphere of a game with such a theme.

[@42ccb]

The levels are always the weakest part of Quake 2. Just straight up corridors, boring enemies (and it's sad, because setting of the game is cool). And also this boring metal music. Sonic Mayhem only became great composer in Quake 3. So, everyone have own taste, but this is your own opinion, that Q2 atmosphere is better for you than first's. The Quake 1 is about atmosphere, Quake 2 just is about shooting.

[@muchossaugus9927]

@@42ccbQuake 2 OST is better than Quake 3s but then again I like both. I just recently replayed the entirety of Quake 2 in the remaster and cant agree about corridors. Pretty much the same level design as in Quake 1.

[@georgwalt7978]

funnily quake works great with a manson cd in the retro pc

[@MagnitudePerson]

NIN = sellout Skinny Puppy = true legendary horror sounding industrial

[@RearAdmiralTootToot]

NIN being a sellout later on doesnt mean that their soundtrack for Quake wasn't the best dark atmospheric soundtrack of all time.

[@drummachinequeen]

for the record, multiple members of skinny puppy, throbbing gristle, and coil all worked with trent throughout his career, not just early days. nin has always intended to be more pop/rock structured and trent has often stated he never considered the industrial label accurate. to each their own but context matters :)

[@rarpumpkin1101]

L

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

Why is he a "sellout"? I don't think that Reznor ever compromised his artistic vision for money. Quite the opposite, actually. He literally went to war with his record company and risked getting blacklisted because he didn't want to make another synthpoppy record for them, instead working in secret and putting out one of the hardest and brashest "fuck you" records of all time, complete with a bunch of unairable "almost snuff" videos. It's just that Trent was inspired by a wide range of music and his vision involved more conventional song structure and some hooks. So yes, even that record earned him a Grammy, for a song that has "fist fuck" in it, of all things! BTW, I quite enjoyed the last SP album, though it's definitely more catch and "poppy" itself. Way more so than Trent's last album. Did cEvin sell out? :) Their old stuff was great for its time, though didn't age too well (IMO) with all the silly repeating movie samples. One of my favorite things about Trent's old stuff is that he was a lot more subtle with his sampling, when compared to SP and all the clones.

[@42ccb]

What's the reason of this quake. Skinny puppy is much more underground music than NIN, as people stated above it was more pop and mass oriented. Actually, NIN popularized the industrial music.

[@Whiplashed]

Great video!