Game of Thrones composer creates Gears of Wars 4 score

LOS ANGELES— The composer for Game of Thrones is swapping the sword-filled realm of Westeros for the monster-plagued world of Sera.

Emmy- and Grammy-nominated Ramin Djawadi (photo) has crafted the score for Gears of War 4, the forthcoming fifth installment in the action-shooter series for Xbox One and PC. The film and TV composer says he put his own spin on the game’s soundtrack while remaining faithful to the nearly decade-old Gears series.

“Obviously, I wanted to make it very different from Game of Thrones,” said Djawadi. “Whenever I approach a new project, I want to make sure I’m setting up a new sound — even though we’re still using a lot of orchestra and percussion.’’

Djawadi described the score, which was recorded at Sony Pictures Studios, as emotional and orchestral with synth elements. He said the music will also feature a few unique acoustic instruments he’s collected in his travels.

“There are some really nice scenes that are probably unexpected for Gears, where we’re really pushing the emotional undertones with strings,’’ he said.

Djawadi actually returned to his roots in the interactive industry with his Gears of War 4 gig. He originally started creating music in the ’90s as a sound technician at System Shock and Thief developer Looking Glass Studios.

The game, out Oct. 11, is set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and centers on the son of Gears series protagonists Marcus Fenix and Anya Stroud. Djawadi worked closely with the developers at The Coalition, which took over the Gears franchise from Epic Games in 2014.