"Toru" - Liner Notes - November 15, 2000

This track has an unusual name because it is difficult to remember the spelling of "Lut Gholein" and because Toru Takemitsu's brilliant use of spacing and time was a great inspiration for what I was trying to achieve in this track. This piece was relatively important to the game as a whole, as it needed to make a strong statement of departure from the world of Act I while also maintaining a thematic connection to what had come before. I enjoyed the opportunity to use some radically different elements than the guitars and choral sounds that dominate both the original Diablo and the opening quarter of Diablo II.

The foundation of this piece, like the Arcane Sanctuary music, is found in a Chinese wind gong whose exciting dynamics I was hoping to exploit. I love the way this instrument radically changes color from a steady mysterious drone to a harsh, fearsome noise, and felt it was not only perfect for the pacing which our second town needed, but also gave a properly exotic feeling to the strange new world players could enter upon slaying Andariel. The original Diablo theme proved quite rugged and serviceable in supplying this piece with a resolution.

- Matt Uelmen

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