Bear McCreary Shares Rare Tracks From Epic Concept Album, 'The Singularity'
Listen to the newly released tracks here.
By: Josh Sharpe Feb. 26, 2025
GRAMMY® Award–nominated, Emmy and BAFTA Award–winning composer and recording artist Bear McCreary has shared two previously unreleased B-sides from his epic concept album, The Singularity. “Escape from the Machines (1995 Demo)” – recorded when McCreary was just 15 years old – and “Supermassive Spiral” are available now.
Says McCreary: “In the summer of 1995, I wrote a searing prog rock–orchestral hybrid, “Escape from the Machines” and produced it on a four-track cassette recorder with my high school buddy (and future Grammy-winning producer Malay) Ryan on guitar. Nearly three decades later, I re-recorded and released the song on my debut rock album, The Singularity, this time featuring guitar legends Slash and Joe Satriani. With The Singularity: B-Sides & Demos, I am thrilled to reveal new aspects of my creative process. Besides the original demo of “Escape from the Machines,” this release also includes another instrumental, “Supermassive Spiral,” an epic rock-orchestral hybrid I’m proud of, but ultimately felt didn’t fit on the album. I hope that curious fans will be delighted to hear a scrappy thirty-year-old demo, as well as a fully produced album B-side, both of which illuminate my creative journey in creating The Singularity.
Morgan Sorne is one of the most distinct vocalists and multi-instrumentalists I have ever encountered, and I’m honored to have collaborated with him on many diverse projects, including Foundation, The Witcher: Blood Origin, and The Singularity. I am thrilled to bring Morgan out with me as part of my Themes & Variations Tour so fans around the world can experience his breathtaking originality for themselves.”
Known for his work on God of War, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Outlander, Battlestar Galactica, and The Walking Dead, McCreary will be playing selections from his iconic scores along with music from The Singularity on his hugely anticipated Themes & Variations World Tour, getting underway April 18 at London, UK’s indigo at The O2 and then traveling Europe and North America through May. Highlights include three shows in France, including two appearances at Bruguières’s annual Echos & Merveilles Festival, one featuring McCreary and his band (April 30) and another with the Neko Light Orchestra (May 4). North American headline dates begin May 22 at New York City’s Gramercy Theatre followed by stops at historic venues in Boston, Washington, DC, Montreal, Toronto, and Chicago. Support on all dates comes from award-winning multi-disciplinary artist, composer, musician, and McCreary collaborator Morgan Sorne, who has shared the stage with TV on the Radio, CocoRosie, Gary Numan, Saul Williams, and more. Tickets and exclusive VIP Packages for all announced dates are available now at bearmccreary.com/events.
“After celebrating the twentieth anniversary of my first screen credit, for composing the music to 2004’s Battlestar Galactica, along with the release of my debut rock record, The Singularity, the time has finally come to take my music on the road!” says McCreary. “I am thrilled to perform highlights from throughout my career and visit some of my favorite cities in the world. I look forward to connecting with fans and bringing my music to bombastic life on the concert stage. Let’s go!”
Live Dates
APRIL
18 – London, UK – indigo at The O2
21 – Warsaw, PL – Progresja
22 – Prague, CZ – Roxy
23 – Berlin, DE – Metropol
25 – Zurich, CH – Komplex 457
26 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg
28 – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique
29 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon
30 – Bruguières, FR – Echos & Merveilles Festival
MAY
4 – Bruguières, FR – Echos & Merveilles Festival*
22 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
23 – Boston, MA – Somerville Theatre
25 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
27 – Montreal, QC – Théâtre Beanfield
28 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
31 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
* w/ The Neko Light Orchestra
ABOUT BEAR McCREARY:
Three-time GRAMMY® Award–nominated, Emmy and BAFTA Award–winning composer and recording artist 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. McCreary has won multiple International Film Music Critics Association Awards and been named the 23rd Most Definitive Bear in Popular Culture by The Ringer. 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 GRAMMY® Award nominations 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.
ABOUT THE SINGULARITY
The Singularity is an epic concept album and graphic novel, featuring a legendary lineup of rock talent. On the album, McCreary creates 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 has enlisted a truly extraordinary cast of musicians and vocalists that includes Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Rufus Wainwright, Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Jens Kidman (Meshuggah), Joe Satriani, Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult), Asdru Sierra (Ozomatli), Morgan Sorne, 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). The album’s graphic novel was produced by Black Market Narrative.
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