For a first-person shooter, there's no greater honour than a musical theme from Trent Reznor. It's only ever been bestowed on two games: Id Software's Quake, and Treyarch's Black Ops II. Both were studios at the peak of their pop cultural powers, commanding the kind of crossover appeal that publishers dream of but rarely achieve. In 2012, a new Call Of Duty campaign was still a catalyst for water-cooler conversation, including one in Reznor's studio. "I think I have played them all," he told USA Today at the time, "with the exception of one or two that may have come out when I was on long touring jaunts."
The theme Reznor composed for Black Ops II is a muted, bass-led mood piece. It growls more than it barks, and when it finally bites – with teeth, to use the language of Nine Inch Nails – it comes as a shock. "There is a lot of reservation and angst and sense of loss and regret and anger bubbling under the surface," said Reznor. "So it didn't make sense to have a gung-ho, patriotic-feeling kind of theme song. It has to feel weighty."
