The mythical story of Assassin's Creed Valhalla continues.

With the recent release of Dawn of Ragnarök, the latest expansion of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, fans of the franchise have been given the chance to return to the world of the Æsir, Havi (a.k.a Odin), through the dreams of the game's main protagonist Eivor. It's loaded with around 35 hours of additional content and lets players explore a more magical and powerful scope of the game.

Without a doubt, what makes Dawn of Ragnarök even more exciting is the music. Created by Los Angeles-based music composer and violinist Stephanie Economou, Ragnarök pulls away from the feel players first dive into when they play Valhalla. It's inspired by black metal and neo-folk (how much more Viking can you get with that?), giving it a whole other neck-breaking experience.

"The thing I love most about the music for the Assassin’s Creed franchises is that there really are no rules," Economou tells Bandwagon. "In the case of Ragnarök, I felt I was able to explore a different side of me as a composer, which opened the doors to a new creative process."

Bandwagon caught up with Stephanie Economou to talk about her work on Dawn of Ragnarök, the role of sound and music in gaming, and how she hopes to empower women in the music industry.

What was it like working on the music of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök?

It was a really rewarding undertaking. In early discussions with the creative team, they mentioned wanting the sound for this score to be somewhat of a departure from Valhalla. The game developers were interested in exploring influences of black metal for the score, which I thought was a really fun and unexpected challenge, so I set out to design the sound of the Muspels, Jötnar, and Surtr (our nemesis) to reflect the black metal style.

Much of the score weaves between that tonal palette and a more neo-folk and primitive orchestral lens to give the story the emotional breadth and power I felt it needed.

Tell us the story about how you got involved in this project.

I was fortunate enough to compose the score for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris, which is what led to my involvement in this game. It was cool to go from scoring The Siege of Paris DLC, which I composed through a largely historical musical lens, to a story like Ragnarök which is based in Norse mythical worlds.

The thing I love most about the music for the Assassin’s Creed franchises is that there really are no rules. In the case of Ragnarök, I felt I was able to explore a different side of me as a composer, which opened the doors to a new creative process.

What kind of research did you do to capture and translate the feel of the music for this game's score?

Because I knew I wanted to explore the black metal direction, I sought out some amazing musicians who were fluent in that genre before I had even written a note of music. I grew up listening to System of a Down and other heavy metal bands (Toxicity is still one of my favorite albums to this day), but black metal was a subgenre I had less familiarity with, so I enlisted the help of Wayne Ingram and his band Wilderun. They are a killer progressive black metal and neo-folk group and I knew that I wanted them to be the primary featured musicians on this score.

Wayne introduced me to the music of Bathory, Heilung, and Wolves in the Throne Room, which were great catalysts for getting the inspiration flowing. I also felt heavily influenced by Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik’s album Skuggsjá. Einar wrote some amazing original songs for Dawn of Ragnarök and I was lucky enough to have him record vocals on my main theme which felt like a really special, full-circle experience.

Is composing music for video games any different from writing for film and TV? If so, what challenges do you face?

It’s a considerably different process, but the fundamentals are still the same. I always start by finding a template of sounds or an instrument palette that I want the music to speak through. Then I usually write a theme for the story or for a main character, which provides fodder for the music to grow.

In the case of film and television scores, oftentimes I’ll just jump in and start scoring a scene right away to picture; something meaty that I can sink my teeth into which will lead to the discovery of a theme. In my experience with games, however, I’ve found that it can be some time before you receive any in-game video captures, so you’re frequently writing music just from concept art alone.

I discovered that composing a theme suite is the best way to explore ideas in game music. Many composers do this for film and television music as well, but I find it to be particularly crucial in games to get the creative momentum going.

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I think the biggest challenge in composing for video games is that you have to be very clever about how you design your music. Oftentimes the music requires multiple, looped layers of intensity or tension on top of an existing bed, so you have to decide how these layers will intertwine and relate while still ensuring they are well-shaped pieces of music on their own. Looped music should never sound like it’s repeating; it needs to evolve and travel and have dynamic intrigue, yet still function in order for it to be implemented successfully in the game.

If I need to write a multi-layered piece, I always start by deciding on meter and tempo. If I need a high intensity layer on top of a low intensity base layer, I might make the base layer have a half-time feel, so when the high intensity layer enters, it can be double-time and give the player a feeling like the stakes have stepped up. Sometimes I’ll write in odd or compound meters and then have the high intensity layer subdivide the beat in unexpected ways to create a sense of unease. It’s kind of like a puzzle and I think the fun in composing game music is in finding different methods to engage the listener’s ear and design these intricate twists and turns to immerse the player in the story.

How do music and sound play a role in storytelling and how do you make it effective?

I think sound and music are everything to a story. Music is a uniquely manipulative narrative tool. It can tonally play the antithesis to an on-screen emotion and open up an incredible depth and dimension that wasn’t there before. You can have an intense, tragic scene and accompany it with light, ethereal music in a major key and it can alter the entire emotional response for an audience. Sound and music can transport us and transform us. 

What does it take to create music for this industry and what pushes you to stick around?

It takes drive, passion, dedication, and a thick skin to be a composer. I have always prided myself on my work ethic, which can be somewhat all-consuming, admittedly. I think all of these morals were instilled in me from a young age, as my parents are incredibly hard-working and I am continually inspired by their diligence to career and family. They inspire me to keep pushing forward and so do younger generations of women composers. I feel motivated to leave a legacy for them and help carve space for their voices in this industry.

Could you tell us a bit about The Alliance for Women Film Composers and how you help empower women in the music industry?

The Alliance for Women Film Composers is a community of women and non-binary composers, songwriters, orchestrators, arrangers, and artists who work in media music. The Alliance focuses on community-building, education, and outreach with the objective of generating visibility and opportunity for women and NB composers.

As part of our mission to support and elevate their work, the AWFC website has a searchable online directory of our members, offering a spotlight for industry professionals to discover and access their talents for professional opportunities.

We also offer many unique initiatives, such as our Mentorship Program which I founded and spearheaded with two other board members (Ronit Kirchman and Nami Melumad). This program pairs emerging composers with established industry professionals for a six-month intensive one-on-one guidance and career development. This community is a crucial space which highlights and celebrates diverse voices in film, television, and game music.

What music have you been listening to these days? Anything from Asian artists in particular?

I’ve really been loving everything from Aska Matsumiya, Jesi Nelson, Sherri Chung, and Jina An. They’re all enormously talented composers.

Stream the Dawn of Ragnarök soundtrack below.