The hype has been building for God of War: Ragnarök (out November 9th on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4), the newest installment of the hit video game series. Not only is it the first new God of War game in four years, it marks the end of the “Norse” series, which centers around Norse mythology and follows protagonist Kratos and his teenage son, Atreus.
As exciting as the new God of War is for fans, there’s something different about this release than the usual fare: Irish singer and songwriter Hozier has teamed up with the game’s composer, Bear McCreary, for a new song to accompany the official Ragnarök soundtrack, out the same day as the game. The track, titled “Blood Upon the Snow,” is a daring, cinematic number that hits at all the thematic notes of God of War: Ragnarök, and finds Hozier using his signature velvety tone to evoke both tenderness and awe.
It’s been a long few years for Hozier, who released his sophomore LP, Wasteland, Baby, in 2019 to widespread success, but has stayed relatively quiet since the dawn of the pandemic. Aside from a collaboration with producer Meduza last year, Hozier has been keeping his head down focused on his upcoming third album, releasing only one song, “Swan Upon Leda.” Now comes “Blood Upon the Snow,” which you can hear now via its accompanying lyric video here:
Needless to say, Hozier’s very excited for the collaboration to be released, and for the game to reach audiences around the world. “I’m interested in the digital arts as a maturing medium,” Hozier tells Consequence over Zoom. “The previous release in that series was some sort of a game-changing (no pun intended), cinematic achievement. And I was quite impressed with a vision that was going to take a story and maybe 30 hours of a journey without one camera cut.”
He praised the collaborative spirit between him, Bear McCreary, and the game’s director, Eric Williams. And though “Blood Upon the Snow” features a more dramatic, classical style, his new music won’t necessarily echo the same sonics. “We were trying to hit the beats of certain themes and trying to make it work for the universe of the game, to make it work in sympathy with Eric Williams’ vision and Bear’s vision as well, too,” says Hozier, “So it’s nice to sort of flex a different muscle.”
This may be Hozier’s first song for a video game, but his abilities as a storyteller and powerhouse vocalist have been on display since his 2014 self-titled debut. As he hits a soaring high note in climax of “Blood Upon the Snow,” it’s clear that the world could use some more Hozier music in the future.
Ahead of the release of God of War: Ragnarök and the God of War: Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack), Hozier sat down with Consequence to discuss crafting “Blood Upon the Snow,” using the natural world and the game’s narrative as inspiration, his love of the digital arts, and the status of Hozier’s yet-to-be-announced third LP. Read below for the full Q&A with Hozier, plus watch a behind-the-scenes mini-doc of the recording process that went into “Blood Upon the Snow.”
