'The Walking Dead' Soundtrack: Highly-Anticipated Original Soundtrack Set for October 20 Release

By Trisha Cerdena Oct 09, 2017 08:46 AM EDT

Released by Lakeshore Records and Sparks & Shadows, the first soundtrack for AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is set to be released in CD and digital form on October 20, and on LP on October 27. The soundtrack, which includes Emmy award-winning composer Bear McCreary’s original score for the critically acclaimed series, is already available for preorder.

McCreary, who previously made music for major films such as “Colossal” and “10 Cloverfield Lane,” shared his personal favorite tracks from the first seven installments of “The Walking Dead.” He has also selected some of the tracks most often requested by fans.

“Narrowing down the highlights from seven years of work was a tremendous challenge,” the 38-year-old composer commented.

“The Walking Dead” made its debut in October 2010 across 120 countries and instantly became a major hit. McCreary’s crescendo for the show’s “Main Title Theme” had easily drawn millions of viewers into the show’s post-apocalyptic world.

“When we started discussing the first season we agreed that drama, action, and horror would be felt more intimately if the score were used only in pivotal scenes, and that it should be written with tonal clarity,” McCreary explained, referring to his early steps to making an original score for “The Walking Dead.”

With the lack of sound that survivors would easily notice, McCreary prepares the bigger moments with music that viewers would expect they would be faced with something more significant. “This approach allowed me to create big emotional impacts with sparse musical gestures,” he added.

As “The Walking Dead” entered its next few installments, McCreary was also able to delve into a wide range of musical approaches. For instance, the second and third seasons introduced more “acoustic guitars and drums to connect with the farmhouse setting (check out ‘Message to Morgan’).”

When viewers met new controversial characters such as the Governor, McCreary made use of “synth pulses” to add on to his traditional organic instrumentation whereas “creepy electric guitar gestures” were further incorporated in later seasons, such as when Negan was introduced to the viewers.

When asked about the release of “The Walking Dead” soundtrack, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native shared his keenness and opened up about continuing on with his work for “The Walking Dead.”

“I am thrilled there is finally a way for fans of this global phenomenon to experience my music in an album format,” he said. “Most of all, I am excited because my experience on ‘The Walking Dead’ continues. As of this writing, I am gearing up to dive into our eighth season, I look forward to many more years of musical exploration!”

Meanwhile, “The Walking Dead” season 8 is set to premiere on October 22, Sunday, at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.