In a world of outrageous shooter games, Call Of Duty prides itself on its realism. The 2003 original dropped you into the middle of World War Two, as did 2021’s Vanguard, but 2007’s Modern Warfare took the conflict to the very near future. Focusing on the shadier side of combat, the Black Ops series has played faster and looser with history. Sure, the first Black Ops was set in the middle of the Cold War – but by the time 2015’s Black Ops 3 was released, the story had shot forward 100 years to a dystopian future ravaged by climate change and the sort of twisted technological advancements that would make Elon Musk proud.
Then there’s the imminent Black Ops 6. Released later this month, the game is set during the early ’90s, against the backdrop of the first Gulf War, and deals with a clandestine force infiltrating the CIA. Anyone who resists them is declared an enemy of the state, which is all a bit Mission Impossible. As far-fetched as the Black Ops stories have gone though, the sonics have always grounded the games. And the man responsible for that is Jack Wall, who’s scored every one since 2012’s Black Ops 2. “The music gives each game a sense of place and time,” he tells NME. “That’s important, because each one is so unique.”
This soundtrack is a ‘90s baby
As soon as Wall found out Black Ops 6 would be set in 1991, he started listening to as much music from that era as possible. “It’s interesting because you had the tail end of the ‘80s with stuff like Depeche Mode, mixed with the very start of what would become grunge, with early Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains,” says Wall. His scores typically feature a lot of orchestration, but he wanted something to “bridge the gap” between that and what was happening in the early ‘90s. “It’s a hybrid of everything. We knew we needed a lot of synths but there’s the rockier stuff as well.”
To capture the ferocity of early grunge, Wall reached out to alt-rock duo ROMES, who he describes as a “modern day Nirvana”. As well as co-writing a number of tracks including Black Ops 6’s multiplayer theme ‘Raining The Fire’, the pair helped “fuck up” the more polished moments of the score with snarling guitar and thundering drums. Wall also recruited bassist Juan Garcia-Herreros, who played on Hans Zimmer’s Dune film soundtrack, to add another dimension to things. “It’s not what I’m typically known for, but it added a really cool, hard edge to the thing.”
“I wanted to harken back to that period with this score, but we also modernised it,” says Wall. It’s a lesson he learned from scoring the time-hopping Black Ops 4. For one level set in the 1910s, he was asked to write a song that would have been played on the Titanic. “I researched the hell out of it, but honestly, all the music from that era was unlistenable to me.” Instead, he introduced a 1930s-style big band to the year 1912, but it still worked. “We’re not afraid to do our own thing.”
It always serves the story
In total, Wall will typically create around 160 minutes of original music for each Black Ops soundtrack. Twenty minutes of that will be used in the game’s ever-expanding multiplayer mode, the rest is for the single-player campaign. “Developers Treyarch spend a lot of time on the actual narrative, more so than most first-person shooters, and that’s what I gravitate towards,” Wall says. “I’m always trying to tell the story with the score.”
Black Ops 6 might be Wall’s fifth time scoring a complete Call Of Duty game, but there are no shortcuts or cheat codes. “The story really dictates what each soundtrack should be. When I’m shown it, that’s when I get inspired to sit down and start writing.”
And for Black Ops 6, the story is a political thriller that pits the player against a shadowy organisation known as The Pantheon. “I was sceptical at first, but the way it develops… it’s really satisfying,” he says, not wanting to give too much away. “There’s a lot of mystery, a lot of ‘what the hell’s going on?’” – with that uncertainty reflected in the score. By the end, the music is a lot more “ambient, trippy and weird,” he teases.
The main theme hints at the game’s plot
Each score is built around two important songs – the main theme and the multiplayer track. “They’re the two that keep me up at night,” Wall laughs – released earlier this year, the latter is a snarling chunk of menacing rave rock while the more orchestral main theme dials up the ominous drama.
“It’s an epic theme because I love writing music that feels epic,” says Wall. “It really is this monolithic thing.” Rather than just sounding cool, it also gives you a hint of what to expect from the game. “There’s a sole horn at the beginning that denotes the vibe – the one dealing with the many. But by the end of the song, it’s got this giant, everybody in the pool vibe. It’s really rousing.” Once he’d written that, the rest of the score fell into place.
Working on Black Ops is always about being better
“The advancements of the game are definitely inspiring,” says Wall, who’s also always trying to improve on what’s come before. “What’s the point otherwise?” He writes a bulk of the score by himself, but the rest is a result of collaboration. “I get bored of myself sometimes,” he admits. “It’s more fun working with other people, and it always inspires me to go in different directions.”
It’s also important for him to work with real musicians, instead of relying on digital samples or AI-generated fills. “Because all composers have access to the same sounds, I have to use something organic to tickle my creativity. That’s what makes it worthwhile to me,” he says. “If I could push a button and spew out a great video game soundtrack, it would still lack something.” Without that human element, “it just wouldn’t move the air in the same way.”
It’s meant to feel like a movie
Fans have already been given a glimpse at Black Ops 6 via a handful of teaser trailers, and each one has felt like a ‘90s action flick. That’s exactly what Wall was going for with the music. “I score every level, every cutscene and every menu like it’s a movie,” he explains.
Wall started his career in music, before pivoting to film, TV and eventually made the jump to video games. “For years, my biggest beef with gaming was the transitions,” he admits, with the jump from cutscene to playable level destroying that feeling of immersion. “They always just feel clunky, which ruined it for me.”
Black Ops 6 is the first game where those transitions feel nearly perfect, says Wall. It’s not the only upgrade either. “The game is going to play like a movie. You’re going to sit there and be amazed by the beauty of it. Some of the cutscenes look like they were shot on film and the music mix sounds incredible,” he says. “Cold War was great, but this one is a real jump in quality. It’s honestly crazy how good it’s gotten.”
‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6’ launches for Xbox, PlayStation and PC on October 25