BIOGRAPHY AND WIKIPEDIA: Low Roar founder and lead singer, Ryan Karazija, HAS DIED

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Low Roar founder and lead singer Ryan Karazija, known for his large contribution to the Death Stranding soundtrack, has passed away.

A statement on the band’s social media platforms reads: “Ryan Karazija, front man and driving force behind Low Roar, has died at age 40.

“His beautiful music and lyrics, sung in his haunting voice have touched the lives of so many people all over the world, and will continue to do so.

“He was a kind and beautiful soul and our worlds are shattered by the loss of him. May we honour his memory through his art and hold him forever in his songs.

“The sixth Low Roar record was already underway and will be completed and released when it is ready. Please respect his family’s privacy at this incredibly difficult time.”

Low Roar shot to popularity with fans of gaming after being featured in the 2016 trailer for Hideo Kojima‘s Death Stranding.

Their song, “I’ll Keep Coming” scored the first trailer featuring Norman Reedus on a desolate beach. Karazija told VG247 in 2020 that Sony wouldn’t even let the band know what the song was going to be used for.

“Sony contacted us in an obscure email offering us a certain amount of money to use the song ‘I’ll Keep Coming’, and they were not willing to tell us what they’re going to use the song for,” Karazija told VG247. “At that time we were in a gutter so we accepted it. And it turned out it was for Death Stranding.”

Kojima, who discovered the band while on a trip in their native Reykjavík, featured the band heavily in Death Stranding. On the Deat Stranding OST, the band is featured 18 times, with the other four songs being from Silent Poets, Chvrches and Apocalyptica.

BIOGRAPHY: After leading the California-based indie rock band Audrye Sessions from 2002 to 2010, Ryan Karazija relocated to Reykjavík, Iceland and started the new project Low Roar, releasing a self-titled album in 2011. A second album, 0, was released in 2014 by Tonequake Records, followed by Once in a Long, Long While... in mid-2017. The Low Roar album, ross., was released in November 2019, with their latest album maybe tomorrow... released in July 2021.

The band's discography features heavily in the 2019 video game Death Stranding, following a collaboration with video game designer Hideo Kojima, after Kojima chanced upon their music while in a CD shop in Reykjavík. Kojima described Low Roar's music as "sensual" and "unique". When Sony first contacted the band to license their music for Death Stranding, the band was struggling, with much of their music being recorded on a laptop in Karazija's kitchen. The use of Low Roar's music in the video game had a significant positive impact on the band's popularity.

In 2021 they recorded the song "Feels" for the mobile game Arknights, later released in full under the title "Fade Away" on their 2021 album "maybe tomorrow...".

Their song "Help Me" plays over the end credits of the 2021 film Flee.

On 29 October 2022, it was announced through official social media that Ryan Karazija, the front man and lead singer of the band has past away at the age of 40. It was also announced that the sixth album, which is being edited, will be eventually released to the public.