For the second incarnation of the successful Game of Thrones mixtape Catch the Throne, HBO has reached out to artists such as Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Anthrax and Killswitch Engage.
For cable TV innovator HBO, the runaway success of Game of Thrones has lead to fans from all walks of life including, not surprisingly, quite a few musical fans. And as a follow up to last year’s hugely successful (being streamed over 2.5 million times) Catch the Throne: The Mixtape, HBO has paired with even bigger musicians in an attempt to release an even more impressive mix.
Just like Volume 1, which featured Big Boi and Common, Volume 2 will also feature superstars from the rap and hip hop community. This time, however, the featured tracks include contributions from Snoop Dogg and Method Man. According to Snoop:
Off the top, I love Game of Thrones–I even gave my expert analysis of this season on my GGN show. It’s like the rap game, it’s gangster, about family, loyalty and trying to get to the top. I had to get involved. Give the fans a little bit of how I see it.
Unlike the first installment, however, the new mixtape has made a point to reach out to the metal faction of Game of Thrones fans, seeking contributions from the likes of Anthrax and Killswitch Engage. Ian Scott, leader of slayer and longtime proponent of the fantasy series, even said:
As fans of Game of Thrones, we are extremely excited to collaborate on this project. Recording a song about the Lannister family allows us to connect more with our fans and Game of Thrones fans in a way we would have never imagined.
The mixtape will launch on April 12th in anticipation of the season five premier of Game of Thrones and, like its predecessor, will be completely free for listeners to stream. To help spread the word about the mixtape, the artists invovled have been using the hastag #CatchtheThrone, and listeners are encouraged to do the same. Lucinda Martinez, SVP of Multicultural Marketing at HBO stated:
Catch the Throne: The Mixtape garnered much praise and piqued interest of artists wanting to partake in its sequel. We’re excited to seize the opportunity to channel the fandom of these artists into volume 2 and give audiences another opportunity to experience original music inspired by the show. We are particularly excited to integrate heavy metal into the mixtape this time around to continue our celebration of this groundbreaking series.
In its half-decade on HBO, Game of Thrones has been no stranger to input and appearances from musicians. For instance, Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson played deaf-mute executioner on the series for years. Also, Icelandic post-rock trio Sigur Rós contributed their version of “The Rains of Castamere” to a recent episode of the series, showing just how many different types of musicians the show has reached.
Stayed tuned to mxdwn for more information about the upcoming mixtape, such as full contributor and track listings, as well as where it will be available for streaming. In the meantime, you can watch the season five trailer for Game of Thrones here.
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