Erik Desiderio on Last Epoch’s era-defining soundtrack

The composer chats through his approach to scoring the time-travelling ARPG, writing lyrics in Old Norse, and the challenges of bowing an instrument without frets (or a fretboard!)

By Thomas Quillfeldt

The action RPG genre is a hotly contested space.

Competing with devilish incumbents and relative newcomers, Last Epoch by Eleventh Hour Games launched in early access in 2019 before achieving 1.0 in February 2024.

In the modern era of video games though, a developer’s work never really stops as they seek to attract new players, keep current players entertained, and tempt back those who have put the game down.

As the 1.2 update Tombs of the Erased is released in mid-2025, we caught up with lead composer Erik Desiderio to learn about the epochal journey he’s been on with the game.

Audio lineage

Desiderio’s interest in stringed instruments and audio in general comes as no surprise, given his background: “My grandfather played guitar for Tony Bennett, and my dad was an acoustics expert who designed ships and planes for the government, focusing on how radar and sonar waves bounced off of them. In his spare time, he created a few video games and wrote the scores, so I was aware of music for games from an early age. My work is a combination of both of their disciplines: music and the technology behind the creation of it.

Photo credit: Ashly Covington

“Musically, I started on guitar and later focused on bass, playing in jazz groups, rock bands and in orchestras, which gave me a wide range of musical understanding.”

His first video game gig was 2016 VR title Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games, which led to Anshar Online (both an online multiplayer and VR game), Star Trek Fleet Command, and Diablo III DLC Rise of the Necromancer. Given his involvement with the Diablo series—the ur ‘action RPG’—it’s obvious why Eleventh Hour Games paid attention to his work.

The early bird catches the unique loot

Despite leaving early access 2024, Last Epoch was playable as far back as April 2018, when a demo was released around its successful $250k Kickstarter campaign.

Eleventh Hour Games, an “all-remote” games company centred in the USA, began as a team of eight developers. Desiderio recalls joining the project while the team was a medium size of ~35 that had been labouring on Last Epoch for 3 years. In 2025, the developer is 100-strong, not including external vendors.

At the point the composer joined, "there were a few existing tracks, but the game’s musical identity hadn’t really been defined yet. I had the opportunity to shape the overall sound and tone from the ground up, building something cohesive and expressive that resonated with the world and its players. Seeing how fans have connected with the music as it’s grown over time has been incredibly rewarding."

On the eve of the latest expansion, Desiderio says: “I feel incredibly fortunate to contribute to the evolving soundscape of Last Epoch. With each expansion, the game continues to grow, offering new locations, characters, storylines, and intense battles—all of which I get to enhance through music. It’s exciting to revisit themes, refine them, and uncover fresh melodies hidden somewhere deep inside my mind. This ongoing development allows me to explore new directions and experiment with sounds, ensuring the music remains dynamic while contributing to the larger narrative of the game.”

Music composition = game design

Desiderio explains: “Before diving into composition, I collaborate closely with the level designers to discuss the narrative context and how it fits within the larger chapter. I then play through the level myself, recording the gameplay, video, and sound effects to get a sense of its pacing and energy.”

“While composing, I always watch the video to match the tone and flow of the action. I also pay close attention to the sound effects, ensuring that my music complements them by finding a balance in the frequency range. For example, if the sound effects emphasize low frequencies, I’ll avoid heavy bass or low drums and focus on higher-pitched instruments to leave enough sonic space for both elements.”

Divine inspiration and a legendary lute

“For the Divine Era I used a lot of lute and tagelharpa,” says Desiderio. “The lute captures the beauty of the world, and the tagelharpa embodies the conflict. My knowledge of the lute was non-existent when I decided to use it for the soundtrack, so there was a pretty steep learning curve figuring out how to play it. I cheated a little and tuned it similar to a 12 string guitar, but in D instead of E.”

“I wanted to pair the beautiful sound of the lute with a harsh sound for a war-torn world, so I used a lot of tagelharpa. It’s an Old Norse instrument with 3 strings that you play with a German Style Bow. It has an ancient, primal sound that is scratchy and intense. It’s very boxy looking, with no real curves. My classical bass background came in handy, and a lot of the bowing technique is similar. However, there aren’t any frets, or even a fingerboard, so it’s a really challenging instrument to play in tune. I used a lot of open strings!

“One of the reasons I love recording unconventional instruments is the unplanned ‘happy accidents’. Because I'm not always familiar with these instruments, I can't fall back on a lot of the patterns that I've learned through the years. Sometimes, my hand might slip or I make an unexpected mistake, which often leads me to a fresh, uncharted direction in the music. Those moments often end up being my favorite parts of the compositions.

“The main problem with playing lute is that it's very challenging to play in tune—it doesn't benefit from modern tuners. Sometimes the tuner will slip, lose tension, and unravel like a broken fishing line. It makes a comical ‘bee-yow’ sound!”

Something the score has in common with other fantasy music is utilising the intimacy and mystery of the human voice. Desiderio says: “In terms of vocalists, I was lucky to work with Ffion Elisa from Northern Wales who recorded all of the wonderful female vocal parts that you hear throughout the Divine Era music. Her voice has become such an integral part of the soundtrack.

Erik Desiderio and Ffion Elisa performing music from Last Epoch

Erik Desiderio (+ clone) and Ffion Elisa performing music from Last Epoch.

“The Divine Era music was also filled out with a traditional orchestral sound which helped maintain consistency with the other eras,” he adds.

Purposeful ruination

“In order to create a stark contrast with the Divine Era music, the Ruined era features a lot of acoustic sounds that were electronically manipulated, so instead of a realistic sounding orchestra, it was run through distortion filters to give it a ruined edge,” says Desiderio.

“There are electric guitars played with an EBow (short for electric bow)—a device that vibrates the string using a moving magnet, so it doesn’t actually touch the string. It creates a sound that can swell in volume like a violin, it’s very expressive. Coupled with guitar pedals and processing I was able to achieve a very unique sound. A lot of the same melodies that were played by lute or sung in the Divine Era now reappear in the Ruined Era, but played on a guitar using an EBow, or synth sounds.”

Mastering the main theme

Desiderio’s favourite track is the “Last Epoch Theme”, featuring vocalists singing in Old Norse. “Since I’m not a Viking, Old Norse is not very familiar to me. That’s where I first was able to work with Ffion, and she did such an amazing job that we enlisted her for many other parts of the soundtrack.”

“I was also fortunate to work with Colm McGuiness from Ireland who had extensive experience singing in Old Norse and helped make the track come alive. Filling out the vocal section was Mason Lieberman, whose low vocals blended well with Colm and filled out the soundscape, and Matt Lambert, whose voice sounds like a high pitched drunken elf, which worked well in the upper range of the sonic spectrum.

“Instrumentally, there are strong, epic hits featuring the Tagelharpa and percussion that are played several times throughout the piece. The vocalists shout “Fyoern Oowled” which means “Ancient Era” in Old Norse. The rest of the lyrics describe the creatures crawling out of the void bringing desolation and death.”

Releasing the beast

The Limited Edition Last Epoch soundtrack vinyl. Check availability here.

Creating a soundtrack album for a video game is a somewhat different beast to creating cues to be implemented into a game. Desiderio reflects: “The main difficulty with putting together the soundtrack album was that there was so much music to choose from. Over the course of the past three years I have written over five and a half hours of music for the game! We decided to focus on the most recent music that hadn’t been released yet, the Divine and Ruined Eras.”

At the time of publishing, Last Epoch is set to expand even further. Desiderio explains: “The latest expansion, Tombs of the Erased, introduces eerie, spider-like creatures that dwell in the tombs and cemeteries of The Erased.”

“To capture their unsettling presence, I experimented with some spine-tingling sounds. One technique, in particular, involves violinists tapping the strings with the wooden part of their bow, rather than the horsehair. This creates a harsh, tension-filled sound that works perfectly to amplify the eerie atmosphere of these giant arachnids. It’s a great example of how the score continues to evolve and adapt to the unique world we’re building.”