Silent Hill: Townfall recently got its first full-length trailer, which showed more of the series’ latest cursed location, St. Amelia. But other than the quiet beachfront and classic foggy streets, fans may have also noticed something else: its music.
The music that accompanies this trailer is sombre, imposing, and composed by Anthony Scott Burns, otherwise known as Pilotpriest. “When I first met with our composer-to-be, we clicked immediately,” Jon McKellan, Screen Burn’s writer and director says in a blog post. “A true fan of the games, our first conversations were simply hours of excited discussions about the series’ previous soundtracks and experiences, and what we’d love to do with Townfall.
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“Not only is he an incredibly talented composer, but his experience as a film director and visual artist weaves its way into the soundtrack too, creating the kind of music that manages to evoke visuals as you listen, and magnifying the game experience tenfold.”
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Pilotpriest has previously directed projects such as Our House and Lost Boy and has also composed for short sci-fi horror film Chimera among others. But for the longest time, he has been a fan of Silent Hill and Akira Yamaoka’s own work composing for the series.
“I was immediately hit by the fact that this ‘game’ was actually frightening me,” Pilotpriest says. “As I continued playing, I rapidly realised how much of the primal terror came from Yamaoka-san’s haunting score. His soundscape of warbly ethereal drones, hypnotic melodies, stark industrial percussion, and dirt laden frequencies blended seamlessly with the world on screen. The music didn’t just support the experience: it defined it.”
Years of admiration have now come full circle as Pilotpriest prepares the score for Silent Hill: Townfall: “Crafting this score has been one of the highlights of my life, and the most natural creative collaboration of my career, where decisions have often come from instinct rather than discussions, aligned in tone, intent, and purpose.”
But he hasn’t gone about it alone, as well as Pilotpriest, Screen Burn has also employed the help of sound designer Byron Bullock and his team at Arrival.
McKellan worked with Bullock “for many years” on Alien: Isolation. But Bullock has also worked on games such as Ghost of Yotei, Helldivers 2, Dead Space, Control, and The Dark Pictures: Little Hope.
“Byron’s team became a co-dev partner on the game,” McKellan explains. “Handling all aspects of the game’s audio from cutscene, foley and sound effects, through to implementing a fully dynamic score system that evolves as you play; reacting to you and your enemies’ actions to enhance the experience, working closely with Pilotpriest to craft every dynamic stem, loop and stinger.”
This is something I’m really excited to see pan out in Townfall. Alien: Isolation haunts my nightmares for many reasons, and one of the biggest is the sound design in that game. The creaks, low hums, and howls that echoed around the ship pushed my poor blood pressure through the roof as my mind played tricks on me. I’d often convince myself it was in fact the Xenomorph closing in on my location. Sometimes it was.
“It’s been great to work with old friends again, and our partnership with Arrival felt like getting the band back together,” McKellan says. “Bringing Pilotpriest into that fold, we’re very proud of the collaboration, and the experience we’ve created. We can’t wait to show more later this year.”
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