Old Gods Of Asgard is Poets of the Fall's "alter ego" name - a fictional legendary American rock band from the 70's that exists within the Remedy Connected Universe, first appearing in the Remedy Entertainment game Alan Wake. In Alan Wake's American Nightmare, a fourth-wall joke is made that Old Gods of Asgard sound like Poets of the Fall when on stage but cranky old men when interviewed.
In Alan Wake II, the founding members of Poets of the Fall take on the live action roles of the Old Gods of Asgard in their prime, who Alan encounters in The Dark Place on the chat show In Between with Mr Door. Marko Saaresto portrays Odin Anderson, Olli Tukiainen portrays Bob Balder and Markus Kaarlonen portrays Tor Anderson.
On 27th September 2023 the first Old Gods album was announced on backstagerockshop.com - Rebirth: Greatest Hits, for release on 8th December 2023. The album artwork had previously been included as a collectable in Control.
Discography (real)
Albums
| Album | Release |
|---|---|
| Rebirth: Greatest Hits | 8th December 2023 |
Singles & EPs
| Album | Release |
|---|---|
| Balance Slays the Demon | 2012 |
| Memory Thought Balance Ruin | 19 February 2016 |
| Take Control | 27 August 2019 |
Featured
| Album | Release | Track |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Wake (Soundtrack) | 19 February 2016 | The Poet and the Muse (as Poets of the Fall) |
| Control (Original Game Soundtrack) | August 2020 | Take Control |
Media appearances
Alan Wake
The player meets Odin and Tor Anderson at multiple points in the story. The track The Poet and the Muse later provides a diegetic clue as part of the plot. Towards the end of the game, there is a horde defence battle on stage at the Andersons' place while Children of the Elder God plays over speakers.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Balance Slays the Demon plays over speakers in the final boss fight against Mr Scratch, again giving diegetic clues to the player. Reversed speech in the track can be edited to hear "It will happen again in a town called Ordinary." This is a reference to Control.
Quantum Break
An office worker can be heard singing Children of the Elder God while playing Alan Wake on their PC. There are multiple references to an Old Gods of Asgard tribute band called Stonecrow. At one point in the game, a live action tv feed shows Dominic Monaghan wearing an Old Gods of Asgard t-shirt, with the classic design.
Control
The player is given a cassette player prior to the frantic Ashtray Maze sequence, which plays Take Control in a dynamic way depending on how the player progresses. The in-game version of the track features many more loop sections and stems than are included in the official release. Prior to the release of Control, Sami Järvi (Sam Lake) and Marko Saaresto released a promotional video teasing the inclusion of this dynamic track.
Alan Wake II
The Old Gods of Asgard take on their most significant role in a Remedy game yet. In Alan's 'Initiation' chapters, the band are the house band for 'In-Between With Mr Door', a mysterious talk show hosted in The Dark Place. In the 'Initiation' chapters, Odin is depicted by Maarko Saaresto, Tor by Markus Kaarlonen and guitarist Bob Balder by Olli Tukiainen.
Notably, in 'Initiation 4: We Sing', the Old Gods of Asgard perform Herald of Darkness alongside Wake and Door. The section of the game, otherwise known as 'The Story of the Journey of Alan Wake: The Musical', mimics a massive stage production and incorporates dynamic soundtracking similar to Control's Ashtray Maze. The song was also performed at the 2023 Game Awards by Poets of the Fall as the Old Gods of Asgard, as well as Ilkka Villi/Matthew Poretta as Alan Wake and David Harewood as Warlin Door.
In newcomer Saga Anderson's 'Return' chapters, she discovers that Tor is her grandfather and Odin her great-uncle. She also discovers from the legendary rockers that the Anderson family have seer powers, which allows them to remain unaffected by the ever-changing story. In these chapters, Tor is depicted by Stuart Milligan and Odin by Harry Ditson.
'Return' features two songs by Old Gods of Asgard, the first being Anger's Remorse. In-universe, the song is written by Tor as an apology to Saga's mother Freya for pushing his daughter away. Saga uses a vinyl record of the song, which was only ever pressed once, to open an Overlap and prevent the now-Taken Cynthia Weaver from turning Tor.
The second, Dark Ocean Summoning, is written by Tor and Odin to summon Alan Wake back from the world of The Dark Place, assisted by Saga Anderson with the Clicker. As the brothers perform the song on the shores of Cauldron Lake, Saga frantically fights hordes of Taken until the song finishes, and she uses the power of the song and the Clicker to bring the writer back to the real world.
The last we see of the brothers in Alan Wake 2, they are following Saga into Cauldron Lake after she was thrown in by Scratch (Wake infected by the Dark Presence). An extra scene added in The Final Draft (a New Game Plus mode with more content) shows the Anderson brothers and Saga interacting in the alternate world of The Dark Place.
The Old Gods of Asgard is the best band in the history of mankind. They were fearless pioneers who worked a rock'n'roll magic of their own, and they've never been equaled! You may never have heard about them before because they didn't sell out like so many other bands, but they made six great records and quit at the height of their powers!
From the fictional website of the fictional band.
For more information, see oldgodsofasgard.com and the band's page on the [Wake wiki].
Trivia
- The merchandise for Old Gods of Asgard released on Backstage Rock Shop in 2022 features a different logo to that used in the games, perhaps for copyright reasons.