Music
The Prodigy Frontman Keith Flint Dies at 49
Sad news to open the week as The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint was found dead at his Essex home this morning from an apparent suicide. He was 49.
A pioneer of 90s rave, the music video for the band’s “Smack My Bitch Up” was one of the many inspirations for our V/H/S.
The UK-based band was made famous with their video for “Firestarter” off their incredible Fat of the Land (1997).
His suicide was confirmed the following Instagram post. If you or anyone you know is thinking about taking their own life, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Bobby Prince, the composer who provided the soundtracks to legendary titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Doom II, has passed away.
Prince’s family confirmed the composer’s death on June 16 late last week at the age of 81. No cause of death was released.
id Software, the company that gave Prince his first job in the industry, paid tribute to the composer, referring to him as a “video game music pioneer.”
Indeed, in addition to providing the soundtracks to id Software’s hits in the FPS genre, Bobby Prince also provided the soundtracks to other id Software classics, such as portions of the scores for Commander Keen series and the forerunner to the modern FPS, Catacomb 3-D. Prince also worked with Apogee Software and 3D Realms, providing the soundtrack for Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, and teaming with Lee Jackson for Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem 3D.
Bobby Prince’s death comes just after the Library of Congress announced back in May that his soundtrack for Doom would be preserved in the National Recording Registry.
The soundtrack for Doom and its sequel took inspiration from designer John Romero‘s collection of CDs at the studio, which included the likes of Alice in Chains, Pantera, and Metallica. In spite of the limitations composers faced with the sound cards of the era, Prince was able to replicate riffs from songs like “Master of Puppets” and “Painkiller” for tracks like “At Doom’s Gate”, the iconic opening track for Doom‘s first level, E1M1.
For Doom II‘s soundtrack, Prince continued to employ the same tactic, lifting rifts from songs like “Sex Type Thing”, “After All (The Dead)”, “South of Heaven” and more.
In addition to composing, Bobby Prince was also a practicing lawyer, and had pursued a career as an attorney before making his way into the video games industry.
Bobby Prince is survived by his wife Connie, and his sons, Robert Caskin Prince IV and Andrew (Cristy) Prince.