Well, since I already ranked the soundtrack of the original Doom, might as well go straight for the sequel! I of course am much more familiar with this one's soundtrack, and the overall gist is that Bobby Prince abandoned much of the grungy rock-sounding tracks for more eerie-sounding music for this particular game. Well, let's get down to it.
21. Title
Kind of obvious that once again, the title track takes last place, owing to its relatively short length. Bobby clearly got the idea for this one from the screeching violins of Psycho or something. It STILL works out for showing that you are about to face your next Doom in any case though.
20. The Ultimate Challenge
This song is just retaken from Wolfenstein 3D, and since it fit for the boss levels there, it fits for Grosse here as well. But not really that great for an actual Doom level per se. There's really not much else to say.
19. Intermission
The intermission screen music for Doom II is a cute little attempt at horror music, and is heavily drum and bass driven, with the accompanying melody that follows it working well enough. It's not really great if you actually put it into a level though, but that's fine, there's very few levels that even use it as a level track.
18. Between Levels
This track stands out in stark contrast to the horror-sounding tracks that the rest of the soundtrack has. It's fast-paced, almost as if it would work in a casual racing game, with a relatively fun-sounding melody. It also is interestingly inspired by another fast-paced-but-not-so-well-used track from Wolfenstein 3D, the track Zero Hour used for E3/6L4/8 in that game. Quite strange!
17. The Healer Stalks
This one just sounds like weird jive music every time I hear it. Very odd to hear it in Doom each time, especially the latter half of the track which just definitely doesn't fit in with Doom much. Not to mention it's almost always heard after you complete a single level Doom II PWAD and are dropped back to Underhalls each time.
16. Evil Incarnate
Like Ultimate Challenge, taken straight from Bobby's own work in Wolfe...er...actually, Spear of Destiny. It definitely set the mood well when it was the Angel of Death's stage there, and it works out even better when you first enter Wolfenstein for the first time. Familiar territory, but it's much darker, much larger, much more forboding. It works, in other words.
15. Bye bye American Pie
The first track that I managed to find the inspiration of, this track definitely wants to let you know the urgency of the level you're in. In a way it's kinda silly, even for Barrels O' Fun. Even more when it's used for MAP23 of both Evilution and Plutonia as well! Its usage is heavily varied, but it's never really been a true favorite of mine. At least he tried to spice up Them Bones to make it even spookier. Still, what's up with using Don McLean's famous song title, and then making it sound like an Alice in Chains song?
14. Countdown to Death
This one would have been one of my lowest ranking tracks because I always thought it sounded boring. But then I found out from a post on Doomworld that apparently there is a clock ticking in the music itself. In other words, the clock ticking is literally the beat of the track. It still has that horror feel to it, but the revelation gives it a few more brownie points.
13. The Dave D. Taylor Blues
I don't know much blues myself, but this one is kinda like Healer Stalks in that it definitely doesn't sound Doom-y. It might work for the city levels, but the only one it's used in is Inmost Dens and eh, I think it would work better in Downtown or something, for that hustle and bustle feel. Then again (foreshadowing) DOOM worked better there. But I digress. This track also seems to have two distinct versions, as the D_DDTBL2 and D_DDTBL3 versions seem to have an erroneous length for the final note in the lead melody. An interesting track, no questions there.
12. Into Sandy's City
I'm sorry, I just don't see the resemblance between this song and Stone Temple Pilot's Sex Type Thing. I really don't. That said here's another track that could fit well in the city theme more than where it ended up. Administration Center (MAP21 of TNT) had a decent use of this track too. It's okay, and the more bleaker sound of this track near the end of the actual song is good.
11. Text Screen Music
Can you imagine having this song play when you're at a campsite, reading a relatively scary story? I could. This text screen music is pretty fun to listen to overall, adding more and more layers as the song goes but never feeling like it will go off the rails. All while you read the words of the Doom II story.
10. Adrian's Asleep
Although it's based off of Alice in Chains' Angry Chair, I had never really thought of that track all that much when listening to this. It's a sleeper hit for Doom II's soundtrack though, the right kind of creepy despite being used only once on one level in the game. Fits very well with any map that is slow-paced.
9. Opening to Hell
Very, very ambient track to showcase the final battle of Doom II. While all those damn JRPGs I played always tried to make final battle themes a mix of both atmospheric music, action-packed battle music, and all that jazz, Opening to Hell just keeps it simple. A whistle melody, with the rest of the instrumentation just slowly churning in. It's an interesting way to open the hellish finale of the game in any case.
8. In the Dark
Bobby Prince's longest track, almost seven minutes in length. Heavily bass-driven, but sort of gives a very strange pop beat, like it would perhaps fit in any Halloween setting. At times, I was never sure if I would really like this track or not, but it's certainly not a track that I would ever hate, since it seems to fit just about anywhere. Yeah, it's a long track, sure, but at least it closes out with some spooky Halloween-like noises at the end before looping back. In other words, it works great.
7. Shawn's Got The Shotgun
Inspired by Slayer's South of Heaven, this track has to be the most metal-sounding out of all the tracks, with drums accompanying the rocking guitars at each turn, making this a memorable track with a memorable riff. Though I'll be honest, the actual unused Doom music is much more fun to listen to. Still, ya can't really go wrong with an action-packed level with this music in the background. And it still works for less action-packed levels too.
6. Waiting for Romero to Play
A relatively calm-sounding track compared to its contemporaries around it, gives you a complete false sense of security when you play The Courtyard, or even some moments in Monster Condo. At times, it feels like ordinary music you'd listen to in a home, which, hey! That fits Monster Condo quite well! Definitely a track for more atmospheric levels, for sure.
5. Message for the Archvile
Easily the most interesting track Prince has constructed, very slow to start, but just adds more and more layers to give it the feel. Something's coming in the beginning, things sound creepier, then the synths start coming making you feel like you should be ready for it. The guitar parts are intriguing, sometimes they seem silly and that possibly depends on the level you're playing with it. But I don't think anyone hates this track and I definitely like it a lot.
4. Running From Evil
Everyone in the community who has played Doom II knows this at some point. Many Doom II single-level PWADs don't have new music, so they'll be treated to this track's opening riffs, then the synth blaring and such. That is, assuming they are the people who are willing to stomach listening to Running From Evil all the time. Me? Got no real problem with the track even with lots of exposure to it. One can even argue that the second half with the guitar solo is more well done than At Doom's Gate's iconic riffage.
3. The Demon's Dead
This is the very first Doom track I was familiar with, only because of the whole installation of Doom95 for Doom II way back when. It's a track with a nice riff to give you familiarity that you're definitely playing a Doom game, combining the sludgey guitar work with the horror theme. An excellent piece of work that Bobby Prince constructed here.
2. Getting too Tense
This has to be the most underrated track in all of Doom II. Barely anyone talks about it, and it's only used in one level in the game, that being MAP28, a very late game map. But in my opinion, this hits all the strides: a sinister sounding beginning, marching drums, a decent melody and a number of riffs that promote not just fear and loathing, but urgency. It seems to work no matter where you place it. Heck, the title of the track checks out fantastically.
1. DOOM
And here we are, #1 pick for my favorite Doom II track, which may or may not be expected. Everything I said about Getting too Tense applies to this one more, a sinister sounding beginning (rendered much more atmospheric), then getting tenser later on, with the slow drum beat, the synths working out excellently, and a haunting melody that exemplifies the two aspects of Doom, fighting monsters in a much more horrifying setting, that of Earth. And the title, of course, basically tells you everything you really need to know.
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