Karen O (of indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs) has collaborated with Rise of the Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics to produce an original song for the game. As featured on Rolling Stone, the track "I Shall Rise" serves as the soundtrack to the Rise of the Tomb Raider launch trailer and is available to download today from all good digital music retailers including iTunes, Amazon & Google Play.
"Exploring Lara Croft’s relentless journey as she tests the limits of the human spirit, “I Shall Rise” is not only featured in the game, but is the soundtrack to both the launch trailer and the global TV campaign for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Inspired by Lara Croft’s journey through a hostile world as she searches for the secret of immortality, “I Shall Rise” captures the gravity and cinematic presentation of Rise of the Tomb Raider, and marks Karen O’s first original song for a video game." - Crystal Dynamics
“Karen truly captures Lara’s indomitable spirit and determination. The mood and atmosphere the song evokes is simply fantastic and compliments the game’s aspirational sense of adventure really well.” - Noah Hughes, Crystal Dynamics Creative Director
Although her first video game recording, O is no stranger to film soundtracks, having recorded the entire audio accompaniment to 2009's Where The Wild Things Are. She elaborates to Rolling Stone:
"They wanted drama and high-stakes and melodrama. That was very appealing to me because I love making music connected to a storyline. It was all stuff I loved like having the theme song to Lara Croft becoming an icon and the creation myth to the moment she becomes Lara... The emotional and very human story, of a young woman’s perseverance and journey in accepting her destiny as the Tomb Raider is inspiring on many levels, and I drew on those inspirations for this song. She’s such an iconic hero, the opportunity to compose this song and be part of Lara’s history is exciting.” - Karen O
There's still no word on an official Rise of the Tomb Raider soundtrack release, but as "I Shall Rise" was written and recorded explicitly for the title, the song is also set to feature within the game. While Tomb Raider: Underworld's launch trailer featured Lamb's "Gorecki" in 2008, such an internally licensed song (with a music video to boot) has not graced the Tomb Raider video game franchise since 2003's "Angel of Darkness" by Alex C. - the vinyl of which is still a rare collector's treasure to this day.
Enjoy the trailer and the official lyrics to "I Shall Rise" after the jump below!
As I walk through frozen sands
Through the flames of burning lands
My feet are torn
They’re torn to strands
I will not thirst
As I cross the raging sea
Waves are crashing over me
They drag me down, they drag me down
I will not drown
They’ll know my name
After the storms are passing through
They’ll know my name
When they’ve forgotten all about you
They’ll know my name
After the storms are passing through
They’ll know my name
When they’ve forgotten all about you
They’re calling out, they’re calling out my name
They’re calling out, they’re calling out my name
[Chorus]
And I shall rise oh well I shall rise again and again
I shall rise oh well I shall rise again and again
Chorus continues…
this song is beautiful! so addicting, i keep listening to it repeatedly. I think the verse "again and again" fits the whole franchise.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best songs i've heard! It's (in my opinion) comparable to Adele's "Skyfall".
ReplyDelete