G2 Esports recently expanded their reach into the world of music and kicked things off with one hell of a power metal track called "Our Way." The track features company founder Carlos "ocelote" Rodriguez, guitarist Jason Richardson (ex-Chelsea Grin, ex-Born Of Osiris), drummer Luke Holland (ex-Starset), vocalist Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast), violinist Taylor Davis, and cellist Tina Guo (Dune).
We sat down with Rodriguez to discuss what G2 Esports is, how prevalent metal is in the gaming world and what band Rodriguez would pick to represent G2 Esports if he could.
Above all, tell me a little bit about G2 Esports.
G2 Esports is the world-leading esports organization. It's home to some of the world's greatest entertainers, players, and creators. Our aim is and has always been to become the most relevant, most ambitious gaming company worldwide and deliver the highest quality entertainment for our fans. After 8 years of settling ourselves at the top of esports, we are starting our expansion into [the overall realm of] wider entertainment.
I was surprised when I saw that G2 Esports had created a metal song to launch the 2022 Pro Kit Jersey. What made you want to choose metal, and specifically the lineup that you chose for the song? There are some big names in there.
Metal is one of my favorite genres, especially this kind of epic power metal. We believe that authenticity has to follow trends, but not only that. It was important that whatever we produced was created from passion, from the heart. This was a crazy project. As you say, we worked with legendary musicians; not just from the metal world like Luke Holland and Jason Richardson, but some with a more eclectic background, like Tina Guo. It was the best mix of talent for what we wanted to achieve and it added another layer of authenticity and hype to the track.
Is metal a prevalent genre within the gaming world? Or is it more of a "case-by-case/taste-by-taste" basis? I ask because it seemed like metal got a huge boost within that world when Mick Gordon did the Doom soundtrack.
Back in 2000/2010, I would have said yes, but I think today things have been diluted a bit. I think the synergy comes from the fact that both started as something very niche and were viewed by the mainstream industry as something that would not last. And we have proven them wrong! But I wouldn't say it's necessarily prevalent anymore.
From a narrative standpoint, metal and all its sub-genres are "gut-driven," and carry a lot of emotion. So naturally, when it comes to illustrating big fights and empowering gamers, it can make sense as a first choice. On this note, a big shout out to the work Mick Gordon has done for the Doom soundtrack: easily one of the greatest game OST of this decade.
I saw in the description of "Our Way" that you made the song copyright free. Have you received any cool or interesting covers or remixes?
We’ve had some epic engagement from the G2 community. Some streamers have covered Our Way on guitar, drums, even violin! There has been some great content on YouTube with creators reacting to the song for the first time which is really cool. We know that epic metal isn’t the easiest type of music to recreate or cover. But, as I said, we didn’t release it for its marketability. "Our Way" was created to surprise the G2 army, explore a whole new entertainment space, and ultimately have fun.
Will there be more G2 Esports metal collaborations in the future? Maybe a full album?
Maybe! There are zero limitations to where we can take our music. We already have projects lined up that fans of other genres will rate as much as I rate this one. Never say never to an album, but let us get a few sick singles out first! This is the start of a crazy ride, way beyond just competitive video games.
Alright, final question – if you had to pick one metal band to be the official metal of G2 Esports, who would it be?
I think I would go with a band like Kamelot. Their music is empowering, spectacular, fast-paced… I think it would describe the G2 state of mind perfectly.
