Growing up in the South Bay Area of Greater Los Angeles, Uelmen began taking piano lessons at age six from his tutor, Lenee Bilski, who provided him with a strong theoretical foundation. At 13 years old, he moved with his family to San Jose, California, where he completed high school. During this time, Uelmen was self-taught, mostly influenced by jazz, classic rock, and classical music, especially Liszt and Debussy while he was in high school, and Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Waits later on. He later diversified his instruments to include the flute, guitar, keyboard and percussion.
He studied at Georgetown University from 1989 to 1993, where he earned the Mary Catherine Mita Prize for his thesis Cannibal Culture, Technology and American music in 1993. During college, he was also a keyboardist in a six-member bar band, where he acquired practical experience and learned about "arrangement, interaction and economy". He began working in video game music in 1994, when he was hired by Condor. His first notable work in this period was on the game Justice League Task Force for Sunsoft, released in 1995 for the Sega Genesis.
In March 1996, Blizzard Entertainment acquired Condor, which was renamed into Blizzard North. On December 31, 1996, Blizzard released their first game of the company's successful series, Diablo. His work in Diablo was so well received that Uelmen was loaned to Blizzard's StarCraft team (but stayed in Redwood City), where he did sound design; that game was released two years after Diablo, in 1998.
On June 29, 2000, Blizzard launched the second game of the Diablo series, Diablo II. In 2001, Uelmen, who composed the Diablo II Soundtrack, and cinematic soundtrack composers Jason Hayes, Glenn Stafford and Andrea Pessino won the International Game Developers Association award for Excellence in Audio for their work on Diablo II. Continuing his work in the Diablo series, on June 29, 2001, Blizzard launched what would be believed to be the last game of the series, the expansion pack Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. In an interview with Gamasutra, Uelmen was asked about his time at Blizzard between 2001 and 2005. When asked whether he had worked on the earlier version of Diablo III prior to the shutdown of Blizzard North, he responded, "I guess at this point I can say, yes, more or less. Blizzard has always had a number of projects, though, that may or may not see the light of day. Some of those have been talked about, but there definitely was more than one thing going on development-wise at the time."
From 2005 to 2007, Uelmen created some of the sound and music for Blizzard's popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft's expansion pack, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade; his work represents the majority of the music in the new area of the game, Outland. He is one of about ten composers who have contributed to World of Warcraft. After his departure from Blizzard, his work was used as the basis for some of the tracks in the Blizzard Entertainment and Eminence Symphony Orchestra collaboration, Echoes of War (2008).
In 2009, Uelmen joined the newly formed Runic Games, which includes several former Blizzard North and Flagship Studios employees. He composed the score for their 2009 game, Torchlight and served as sound designer. He continued to work at Runic on Torchlight II, which released in September 2012. Runic Games closed down in November 2017, shortly after releasing Hob.
In 2016, Uelmen followed his former long-time colleague Max Schaefer as he started the new game company Echtra Games. As of April 2020, he is working on the soundtrack to Torchlight III.
Crypt
Matt Uelmen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"The original call and response line between the bass and the electric twelve-string found in the beginning of this tune was scratched out on a cocktail napkin at a Chevy's in San José in October of 1998. Perhaps because this is one of the more important pieces in the game as a whole -- it is the first underground fighting locale if the player decides to explore beneath Bloodraven's graveyard -- it was edited to death. Many four-bar sections were scrapped and new sections added before I was finally happy with this one, with the original "rock-out" beat which comes in at 1:30 being cut to roughly a third of the original size.
As much fun as it is to play metal guitar solos, they can be less exciting to listen to repeatedly. Deep in the mix alongside the rainsticks and cymbal scrapes, you may notice the choral phrase "Miserere". Though I wanted to use more of the phrase clips from Spectrasonics' excellent "Symphony of Voices", this was the only one which seemed to have the proper diabolic ambience. I suppose the misery of souls in eternal anguish just has a more appropriate ring to it than the grateful praise of the saved."
- Matt Uelmen
Matt Uelmen's "Crypt" is a haunting and atmospheric instrumental piece that was composed for the video game "Diablo II". The song is notable for its gritty, suspenseful tone that perfectly captures the eerie, underground environment of the crypt. The track opens with a call and response between a bass guitar and an electric twelve-string guitar, which gradually builds in intensity as more layers are added.
One of the most interesting aspects of "Crypt" is the use of a choral phrase from Spectrasonics' "Symphony of Voices" called "Miserere". The clip is buried deep in the mix, alongside rainsticks and cymbal scrapes, and adds an unsettling atmosphere to the already foreboding track. The use of a choral phrase that references the misery of souls in eternal anguish is a perfect fit for the game's dark, demonic themes.
Another notable feature of "Crypt" is the editing process that took place during its composition. According to Uelmen, many four-bar sections were scrapped and new ones added before he was finally happy with the track. This attention to detail is evident in the final version of the song, which manages to build and release tension in a way that perfectly complements the gameplay experience.
Line by Line Meaning
The original call and response line between the bass and the electric twelve-string found in the beginning of this tune was scratched out on a cocktail napkin at a Chevy's in San José in October of 1998.
Matt found his inspiration in the most unexpected of places and his unique creation process made this song what it is today.
Perhaps because this is one of the more important pieces in the game as a whole -- it is the first underground fighting locale if the player decides to explore beneath Bloodraven's graveyard -- it was edited to death.
The song was edited over and over again because it is such an integral part of the game, with a prominent role in the underground fighting scene.
Many four-bar sections were scrapped and new sections added before I was finally happy with this one, with the original "rock-out" beat which comes in at 1:30 being cut to roughly a third of the original size.
The song was crafted over time, with many iterations until Matt was completely satisfied with how it sounded. He ultimately chose to cut down one of the original sections to create the perfect version.
As much fun as it is to play metal guitar solos, they can be less exciting to listen to repeatedly.
While it's enjoyable to perform epic guitar solos, they can get repetitive and lose their excitement after a while when it comes to listening to them.
Deep in the mix alongside the rainsticks and cymbal scrapes, you may notice the choral phrase "Miserere".
If you pay close attention while the song plays, you'll hear a choral phrase called "Miserere" blended in with the sound of rainsticks and cymbals.
Though I wanted to use more of the phrase clips from Spectrasonics' excellent "Symphony of Voices", this was the only one which seemed to have the proper diabolic ambience.
Matt intended to include more of the "Symphony of Voices" in this song, but only this particular choral phrase complemented the song's eerie tone and gave it the desired effect.
I suppose the misery of souls in eternal anguish just has a more appropriate ring to it than the grateful praise of the saved.
Matt chose the choral phrase that reflected the somber atmosphere of the song, believing it conveyed the anguish of tormented souls more accurately than one representing the joy of the saved.
Contributed by Caden M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dugeor
And so it came to pass that the Countess, who once bathed in the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins, was buried alive... And her castle in which so many cruel deeds took place fell rapidly into ruin. Rising over the buried dungeons in that god-forsaken wilderness, a solitary tower, like some monument to Evil, is all that remains.
@IlMemetor72
There is great evil here...
@MrNoot39449
The Countess' fortune was believed to be divided among the clergy, although some say that more remains unfound, still buried alongside the rotting skulls that bear mute witness to the inhumanity of the human creature.
@GibLit1988
Call me insane, but I think this is a very beautiful and psychedelic track way more than I think it's anything eerie or unsettling.
@bitjezeverpeisek
its a little psychedelic indeed :) Last week I wondered if non-gamers can enjoy the music (without the context), this was one of the tracks that came to mind
@larrote6467
I won't call you insane, but ignorant; psychedelic?
@mrt6012
Its soo different when you listen to it on acid
@triledink
The electric guitar at 0:26 always gave me chills back in the day.
@gaborszentleleky4436
This is masterpiece. I played the game about 8 years ago and I remember this one. Just like Diablo 1, Diablo 2 is cool. And I plan to play this game again, but this time, even to beat the game (as I didn't do earlier)
@edvardsverdins
One of the best pieces of music that has ever been composed for any game soundtrack!!!