Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's New Soundtrack Volume Features Eerie Mechanicus-Inspired Tracks by Jesper Kyd

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has a new soundtrack volume out this week — here's an exclusive preview of tracks composed by Jesper Kyd.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is one of the best 40K experiences in gaming right now, and part of what brings it to life is its expertly crafted soundtrack - something that's expanding again with a third volume on the way.

Secrets of the Machine God is Darktide's latest free update and features a bunch of quality-of-life improvements as well as new weapons, a new in-game event, and a brand-new mission - but it also coincides with the release of a new soundtrack volume. We've been given an exclusive first look (or really first hear) at two tracks from the upcoming Volume 3 and can also share what composer Jesper Kyd has to say about bringing music for the latest update to fruition.

FatShark needed music for the Mechanicus order and decided to use a vocoder to represent the machine spirit element in this music. Jesper Kyd went all in on a vintage Roland vocoder and created a spiritual-infused vocal performance for the score. He aimed for the track ‘The Machine Spirit’ to sound like a spiritual séance of some kind.

This fits right in with Darktide's grim atmosphere, aesthetic, and setting. You can give them a listen for yourself below.

'The Machine Spirit' is a moody, atmospheric piece that you can immediately 'feel' ringing out around the metallic structures of Tertium as you round corners and traipse through grimy corridors.

'Reactivation', on the other hand, has the rhythmic clunks and clangs that you can imagine a metallic engine-type structure making in Tertium, with a quickening beat and pace that ramps up the tension as the piece continues.

You can pre-save Volume 3 of the soundtrack ahead of its full release later this week on July 4.

For those on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, Darktide remains a sweet way to get that Warhammer hit - especially while we wait for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 to arrive later this year on September 9, 2024.