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Trent Reznor writing Black Ops II theme

Academy Award-winning Nine Inch Nails frontman designed theme song for latest Call of Duty, rest of music from Mass Effect 2 composer.

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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has chosen Call of Duty: Black Ops II as the venue for his latest musical creation. Speaking to USA Today, Reznor revealed that he has written the theme song for Black Ops II, an "aggressively sounding" composition of guitar, bass, and drums-based rock.

Reznor is bringing his industrial rock sound to Black Ops II.
Reznor is bringing his industrial rock sound to Black Ops II.

Regarding his aim for the Black Ops II theme song, Reznor explained that the selection was deliberately designed to fit the form of the game's narrative.

"There is a lot of reservation and angst and sense of loss and regret and anger bubbling under the surface," he said. "So it didn't make sense to have a gung ho patriotic feeling kind of theme song. It has to feel weighty."

Reznor is a longtime gamer and is a fan of Activision's Call of Duty series.

"I have always looked to that franchise as the cutting edge of what seemingly unlimited budgets and full-on not cutting any corners can do in the current day and age," he said.

While Reznor composed the theme song for Black Ops II, the rest of the game's music comes courtesy of Mass Effect 2 composer Jack Wall. For more on Reznor's involvement with Black Ops II, his gaming habits, and new Nine Inch Nails music, check out the full interview.

Reznor and collaborator Atticus Ross won an Academy Award for the soundtrack to 2010 Facebook origin story The Social Network. Most recently, Reznor and Ross teamed up again for the soundtrack to the American film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's crime novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is due out on November 13 and is a sequel to 2010's original Black Ops, which is the best-selling series entry to date, moving more than 25 million copies as of August 2011. For more on the upcoming game, check out GameSpot's latest preview.

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