Bear McCreary Releases 'The Singularity'

Two-time GRAMMY®-nominated, Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning composer Bear McCreary has released his epic album The Singularity digitally via Sparks & Shadows Records.

The CD and vinyl release come out next week, on May 10. Two days after the physical release, McCreary will perform the album live, at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles with special guests including Slash, Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult), Asdru Sierra (Ozomatli), Gene Hoglan (Dethklok), Brendan McCreary (Battlestar Galactica), Raya Yarbrough (Outlander), nerdcore rapper Mega Ran, and singer Morgan Sorne.

The Singularity is an ambitious concept album, graphic novel, and concert experience featuring a legendary lineup of rock talent. 

On Wednesday, May 8, Image Comics will release the graphic novel companion to the album, created by McCreary with writer Mat Groom and produced by Black Market Narrative.

The Singularity sees McCreary creating a unique hard-rock adventure bursting with cinematic energy from use of live orchestra choir, and international colors including bagpipes, morin khuur, and nyckelharpa.

McCreary is joined by a truly extraordinary cast of musicians and vocalists that includes Slash, Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Rufus Wainwright, Jens Kidman (Meshuggah), Joe Satriani, Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult), Asdru Sierra (Ozomatli), Gaelic rapper and poet Griogair, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Brendon Small (Metalocalypse), Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), Eivør (God of War), Guthrie Govan and Bryan Beller (The Aristocrats), Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa), Ben Weinman (The Dillinger Escape Plan), Steve Bartek and John Avila (Oingo Boingo), Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals), Esjay Jones (We Are PIGS), Sigurjón Kjartansson (HAM), Raya Yarbrough (Outlander), rapper Mega Ran, and legendary metal drummer Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Dethklok). 

The Singularity was co-written and co-produced by McCreary’s brother, Brendan McCreary, who also contributes lead vocals to eight songs. The accompanying story is revealed in three spoken-word monologues lifted directly from the graphic novel, performed on the album by celebrated actors Lee Pace (Foundation, The Hobbit), Danai Gurira (Black Panther, The Walking Dead), and Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy, God of War Ragnarök).

“I began writing The Singularity when I was fifteen,” says McCreary. “I was obsessed, even then, with melding my love of hard rock, symphonic film scores, and dramatic storytelling into a cohesive whole, laying the groundwork for what would become a concept album, graphic novel, and multimedia concert experience. I spent the next three decades trying to perfect it.”

ABOUT BEAR McCREARY:

Two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated, Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning composer Bear McCreary began his career as a protégé of legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein, before bursting onto the scene scoring the influential and revered series Battlestar Galactica in 2004. Since then, McCreary has been a four-time Emmy Award nominee and Emmy winner for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme for Da Vinci’s Demons, a musical palindrome that sounds the same forwards and backwards, and has won multiple International Film Music Critics Association Awards. He has been named the 23rd Most Definitive Bear in Popular Culture by the Ringer and has also been the subject of a clue on Jeopardy! Recent projects include the Amazon Original hit series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Foundation for Apple TV+; the beloved Starz series Outlander; Netflix’s Academy Award-nominated documentary Crip Camp (produced by Barack and Michelle Obama); Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters; Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Films’ 10 Cloverfield Lane; AMC’s global phenomenon The Walking Dead; Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; and the video game Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge for Disney. McCreary’s acclaimed scores to Sony PlayStation’s blockbusters God of War and God of War Ragnarök have earned him honors including a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and awards from the Game Awards, the D.I.C.E. Awards, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, the International Film Music Critics Association, the ASCAP Composers Choice Awards, and the BAFTA Games Awards.

McCreary has long enjoyed collaborating with artists from across the musical spectrum, including Hozier, Fiona Apple, the late Sinéad O’Connor, and Shirley Manson (Garbage), among many others. He has composed concert commissions for the Calder Quartet and Getty Center, the Hagen Philharmonic and Ballet in Germany, the Television Academy, the Seattle Symphony, and the Golden State Pops Orchestra. In July 2014, Maestro Gustavo Dudamel conducted a suite of McCreary’s music with the L.A. Philharmonic and L.A. Master Chorale at the Hollywood Bowl.

Photo Credit: Ted Sun

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