title: Maryland

text: The WMATA's Metrorail rapid transit and Metrobus local bus systems (the 2nd and 6th busiest in the nation of their respective modes) provide service in Montgomery and Prince George's counties and connect them to Washington, D.C., with the express Metrobus "Route B30" serving BWI Airport. The Maryland Transit Administration (often abbreviated as "MTA Maryland"), a state agency part of the Maryland Department of Transportation also provides transit services within the state. Headquartered in Baltimore, MTA's transit services are largely focused on central Maryland, as well as some portions of the Eastern Shore and Southern MD. Baltimore's Light RailLink and Metro SubwayLink systems serve its densely populated inner-city and the surrounding suburbs. The MTA also serves the city and its suburbs with its local bus service (the 9th largest system in the nation). The MTA's Commuter Bus system provides express coach service on longer routes connecting Washington, D.C. and Baltimore to parts of Central and Southern MD as well as the Eastern Shore. The commuter rail service, known as MARC, operates three lines which all terminate at Washington Union Station and provide service to Baltimore's Penn and Camden stations, Perryville, Frederick, and Martinsburg, WV. In addition, many suburban counties operate local bus systems which connect to and complement the larger MTA and WMATA/Metro services.


title: Maryland

text: The MTA will also administer the Purple Line, an under-construction light rail line that will connect the Maryland branches of the Red, Green/Yellow, and Orange lines of the Washington Metro, as well as offer transfers to all three lines of the MARC commuter rail system.


title: Maryland

text: Freight rail transport is handled principally by two Class I railroads, as well as several smaller regional and local carriers. CSX Transportation has more extensive trackage throughout the state, with , followed by Norfolk Southern Railway. Major rail yards are located in Baltimore and Cumberland, with an intermodal terminal (rail, truck and marine) in Baltimore.


title: Maryland

text: The government of Maryland is conducted according to the state constitution. The government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.


title: Maryland

text: Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Maryland General Assembly is composed of the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate. Maryland's governor is unique in the United States as the office is vested with significant authority in budgeting. The legislature may not increase the governor's proposed budget expenditures. Unlike many other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties.


title: Maryland

text: Most of the business of government is conducted in Annapolis, the state capital however some cabinet departments and state officials have their offices in Baltimore. Elections for governor and most statewide offices, as well as most county elections, are held in midterm-election years (even-numbered years not divisible by four).


title: Maryland

text: The judicial branch of state government consists of one united District Court of Maryland that sits in every county and Baltimore City, as well as 24 Circuit Courts sitting in each County and Baltimore City, the latter being courts of general jurisdiction for all civil disputes over $30,000, all equitable jurisdiction and major criminal proceedings. The intermediate appellate court is known as the Court of Special Appeals and the state supreme court is the Court of Appeals. The appearance of the judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals is unique; Maryland is the only state whose judges wear red robes.


title: Maryland

text: Maryland imposes five income tax brackets, ranging from 2to 6.25 percent of personal income. The city of Baltimore and Maryland's 23 counties levy local "piggyback" income taxes at rates between 1.25 and 3.2 percent of Maryland taxable income. Local officials set the rates and the revenue is returned to the local governments quarterly. The top income tax bracket of 9.45 percent is the fifth highest combined state and local income tax rates in the country, behind New York City's 11.35 percent, California's 10.3 percent, Rhode Island's 9.9 percent, and Vermont's 9.5 percent.


title: Maryland

text: Maryland's state sales tax is six percent. All real property in Maryland is subject to the property tax. Generally, properties that are owned and used by religious, charitable, or educational organizations or property owned by the federal, state or local governments are exempt. Property tax rates vary widely. No restrictions or limitations on property taxes are imposed by the state, meaning cities and counties can set tax rates at the level they deem necessary to fund governmental services.


title: Maryland

text: Since before the Civil War, Maryland's elections have been largely controlled by the Democrats, which account for 54.9% of all registered voters as of May 2017.


title: Maryland

text: State elections are dominated by Baltimore and the populous suburban counties bordering Washington, D.C., and Baltimore: Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore counties. As of July 2017, 66 percent of the state's population resides in these six jurisdictions, most of which contain large, traditionally Democratic voting blocs: African Americans in Baltimore City and Prince George's; federal employees in Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery; and post-graduates in Montgomery. The remainder of the state, particularly Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, is more supportive of Republicans. One of Maryland's best known political figures is a Republican – former governor Spiro Agnew, who pled no contest to tax evasion and resigned in 1973.


title: Maryland

text: In 1980, Maryland was one of six states to vote for Jimmy Carter. In 1992, Bill Clinton fared better in Maryland than any other state, except his home state of Arkansas. In 1996, Maryland was Clinton's sixth best; in 2000, Maryland ranked fourth for Gore; and in 2004, John Kerry showed his fifth-best performance in Maryland. In 2008, Barack Obama won the state's 10 electoral votes with 61.9 percent of the vote, to John McCain's 36.5 percent.


title: Maryland

text: In 2002, former Governor Robert Ehrlich was the first Republican to be elected to that office in four decades, and after one term, he lost his seat to Baltimore Mayor and Democrat Martin O'Malley. Ehrlich ran again for governor in 2010, losing again to O'Malley.


title: Maryland

text: The 2006 election brought no change in the pattern of Democratic dominance. After Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes announced that he was retiring, Democratic Congressman Benjamin Cardin defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele, with 55 percent of the vote, against Steele's 44 percent.


title: Maryland

text: While Republicans usually win more counties, by piling up large margins in the west and east, they are also usually swamped by the more densely populated and heavily Democratic Baltimore–Washington axis. In 2008, for instance, McCain won 17 counties to Obama's six; Obama also carried Baltimore City. While McCain won most of the western and eastern counties by margins of 2-to-1 or more, he was almost completely shut out in the larger counties surrounding Baltimore and Washington; every large county, except Anne Arundel, went for Obama.


title: Maryland

text: From 2007 to 2011, U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-5), a Democrat, was elected as Majority Leader for the 110th Congress and 111th Congress of the House of Representatives, serving in that post again starting in 2019. In addition, Hoyer served as House Minority Whip from 2003 to 2006 and 2012 to 2018. His district covers parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties, in addition to all of Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties in southern Maryland.


title: Maryland

text: In 2010, Republicans won control of most counties. The Democratic Party remained in control of eight county governments, including that of Baltimore.


title: Maryland

text: In 2014, Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican, was elected Governor of Maryland. Hogan is the second Republican to become the Governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew, who resigned in 1969 to become vice president. In 2018, Hogan was re-elected to a second term of office. Per the Constitution of Maryland, Hogan is term-limited, and may not run for a third consecutive term in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election.


title: Maryland

text: In a 2020 study, Maryland was ranked by the "Election Law Journal" as the 5th easiest state for citizens to vote in.


title: Maryland

text: The first person known to describe himself as a drag queen was William Dorsey Swann, born enslaved in Hancock, Maryland. Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community's right to assemble.


title: Maryland

text: In February 2010, Attorney General Doug Gansler issued an opinion stating that Maryland law should honor same-sex marriages from out of state. At the time, the state Supreme Court wrote a decision upholding marriage discrimination.


title: Maryland

text: On March 1, 2012, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed the freedom to marry bill into law after it passed in the state legislature. Opponents of same-sex marriage began collecting signatures to overturn the law. The law faced a referendum, as Question 6, in the November 2012 election.


title: Maryland

text: A large majority (57%) of Maryland voters said they would vote to uphold the freedom to marry, with 37% saying they would vote against. This is consistent with a January 2011 Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies poll showing 51% support for marriage in the state.


title: Maryland

text: Voters voted 52% to 48% for Question6 on November 6, 2012. Same-sex couples began marrying in Maryland on January 1, 2013.


title: Maryland

text: In May 2012, Maryland's Court of Appeals ruled that the state will recognize marriages of same-sex couples who married out-of-state, no matter the outcome of the November election.


title: Maryland

text: The most populous areas are served by either Baltimore or Washington, D.C. broadcast stations. The Eastern Shore is served primarily by broadcast media based around the Delmarva Peninsula; the northeastern section receives both Baltimore and Philadelphia stations. Garrett County, which is mountainous, is served by stations from Pittsburgh, and requires cable or satellite for reception. Maryland is served by statewide PBS member station Maryland Public Television (MPT).


title: Maryland

text: "Education Week" ranked Maryland #1 in its nationwide 2009–2013 Quality Counts reports. The College Board's 9th Annual AP Report to the Nation also ranked Maryland first. Primary and secondary education in Maryland is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education, which is headquartered in Baltimore. The highest educational official in the state is the State Superintendent of Schools, who is appointed by the State Board of Education to a four-year term of office. The Maryland General Assembly has given the Superintendent and State Board autonomy to make educationally related decisions, limiting its influence on the day-to-day functions of public education. Each county and county-equivalent in Maryland has a local Board of Education charged with running the public schools in that particular jurisdiction.


title: Maryland

text: The budget for education was $5.5billion in 2009, representing about 40 percent of the state's general fund. Data from the 2017 census shows that, among large school districts, four Maryland districts are in the top six for per-pupil annual spending, exceeded only by the Boston and New York City districts.


title: Maryland

text: Maryland has a broad range of private primary and secondary schools. Many of these are affiliated with various religious sects, including parochial schools of the Catholic Church, Quaker schools, Seventh-day Adventist schools, and Jewish schools. In 2003, Maryland law was changed to allow for the creation of publicly funded charter schools, although the charter schools must be approved by their local Board of Education and are not exempt from state laws on education, including collective bargaining laws.


title: Maryland

text: In 2008, the state led the entire country in the percentage of students passing Advanced Placement examinations. 23.4 percent of students earned passing grades on the AP tests given in May 2008. This marks the first year that Maryland earned this honor. Three Maryland high schools (in Montgomery County) were ranked among the top 100 in the country by US News in 2009, based in large part on AP test scores.


title: Maryland

text: Maryland has several historic and renowned private colleges and universities, the most prominent of which is Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876 with a grant from Baltimore entrepreneur Johns Hopkins.


title: Maryland

text: The first public university in the state is the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which was founded in 1807 and contains the University of Maryland's only public academic health, human services, and one of two law centers (the other being the University of Baltimore School of Law). Seven professional and graduate schools train the majority of the state's physicians, nurses, dentists, lawyers, social workers, and pharmacists. The flagship university and largest undergraduate institution in Maryland is the University of Maryland, College Park which was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856 and became a public land grant college in 1864. Towson University, founded in 1866, is the state's second largest university.


title: Maryland

text: In 1974, Maryland, along with seven other states, mainly in the South, submitted plans to desegregate its state universities; Maryland's plans were approved by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.


title: Maryland

text: Baltimore is home to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Maryland Institute College of Art. The majority of public universities in the state (Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Frostburg State University, Salisbury University and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore) are affiliated with the University System of Maryland. Two state-funded institutions, Morgan State University and St. Mary's College of Maryland, as well as two federally funded institutions, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the United States Naval Academy, are not affiliated with the University System of Maryland. The University of Maryland Global Campus is the largest public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance-learning institutions in the world.


title: Maryland

text: St. John's College in Annapolis and Washington College in Chestertown, both private institutions, are the oldest colleges in the state and among the oldest in the country. Other private institutions include Mount St. Mary's University, McDaniel College (formerly known as Western Maryland College), Hood College, Stevenson University (formerly known as Villa Julie College), Loyola University Maryland, and Goucher College, among others.


title: Maryland

text: Maryland's 24 public library systems deliver public education for everyone in the state of Maryland through a curriculum that comprises three pillars: Self-Directed Education (books and materials in all formats, e-resources), Research Assistance & Instruction (individualized research assistance, classes for students of all ages), and Instructive & Enlightening Experiences (e.g., Summer Reading Clubs, author events).


title: Maryland

text: Many of the library systems have established formalized partnerships with other educational institutions in their counties and regions.


title: Maryland

text: With two major metropolitan areas, Maryland has a number of major and minor professional sports franchises. Two National Football League teams play in Maryland, the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore and the Washington Commanders in Landover. The Baltimore Colts represented the NFL in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983 before moving to Indianapolis.


title: Maryland

text: The Baltimore Orioles are the state's Major League Baseball franchise. The National Hockey League's Washington Capitals and the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards formerly played in Maryland, until the construction of an arena in Washington, D.C. in 1997 (now known as Capital One Arena). University of Maryland's team is the Maryland Terrapins.


title: Maryland

text: Maryland enjoys considerable historical repute for the talented sports players of its past, including Cal Ripken Jr. and Babe Ruth. In 2012, "The Baltimore Sun" published a list of Maryland's top ten athletes in the state's history. The list includes Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken Jr, Johnny Unitas, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Ray Lewis, Michael Phelps, Jimmie Foxx, Jim Parker, and Wes Unseld.


title: Maryland

text: Other professional sports franchises in the state include three affiliated minor league baseball teams, one independent league baseball team, the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, two indoor football teams, three low-level outdoor soccer teams, and the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. Maryland is also home to one of the three races in horse racing's annual Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, which is run every spring at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The Baltimore Stallions were a Canadian Football Team in the CFL that played the 1994–95 season.


title: Maryland

text: The Congressional Country Club has hosted three golf tournaments for the U.S. Open and a PGA Championship.


title: Maryland

text: The official state sport of Maryland, since 1962, is jousting; the official team sport since 2004 is lacrosse. The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame is located on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore. In 2008, intending to promote physical fitness for all ages, walking became the official state exercise. Maryland is the first state with an official state exercise.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: God of War Ragnarök is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, marking the first cross-gen release in the "God of War" series. It is the ninth installment in the series, the ninth chronologically, and the sequel to 2018's "God of War". Loosely based on Norse mythology, the game is set in ancient Scandinavia and features series protagonist Kratos and his teenage son Atreus. Concluding the Norse era of the series, the game covers Ragnarök, the eschatological event which is central to Norse mythology and was foretold to happen in the previous game after Kratos killed the Aesir god Baldur.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The gameplay is similar to the previous 2018 installment. It features combo-based combat, as well as puzzle and role-playing elements. The gameplay has been revamped from the previous game: in addition to Kratos' main weapons, a magical battle axe and his double-chained blades, he also acquires a magical spear and his shield has become more versatile, with different types of shields that have differing offensive and defensive abilities. His son Atreus, as well as some other characters, provide assistance in combat and can be passively controlled. Additionally, and for the first time in the series, there are some story missions where the player takes full control of Atreus; his gameplay is similar to Kratos, but he uses his magical bow as his weapon. There are also more enemy types and mini-bosses than in the previous game. Originally slated for a 2021 release, the game was delayed in part due to Kratos actor Christopher Judge's health problems in August 2019, and later, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on development.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: "Ragnarök" garnered universal acclaim from critics and was praised for its storytelling, characters, visuals, level design, and overall improvements to the gameplay over its predecessor. It won Game of the Year at the Titanium Awards and was a nominee for the same award at The Game Awards 2022, where it won Best Narrative, Best Action/Adventure, and Innovation in Accessibility, among other awards and nominations. The game was a commercial success, selling 5.1 million units in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling first-party game in PlayStation history.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: "God of War Ragnarök" is a third-person action-adventure game. It features an over-the-shoulder free camera, while cinematographically, the game is presented in a continuous shot, with no camera cuts or loading screens. The gameplay is similar to the previous installment, "God of War" (2018), and like that game, it is single-player-only. Throughout the game, players battle Norse mythological foes, with more enemy types than in the previous game. In addition to enemies found in the previous game, some newer enemy types include einherjar, wyverns, stalkers (centaur-like creatures with antlers), phantoms, human raiders, and nokkens, among many others. The developers also added more mini-bosses to give the game more variety.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The player primarily controls the character Kratos in combo-based combat and puzzle game elements. Kratos' main weapons are a magical battle axe called the Leviathan Axe, and his signature double-chained blades, the Blades of Chaos. He also has a shield, the original version of which is called the Guardian Shield. Kratos also utilizes hand-to-hand combat. The Leviathan Axe is infused with ice elemental magic. It can be thrown at enemies and magically summoned back to his hand, similar to Thor's hammer Mjölnir. The weapon can be thrown at environmental objects to trigger a damaging explosion, and freeze objects and some enemies in place for puzzle-solving until resummoned. The Blades of Chaos, infused with fire elemental magic, are a pair of blades attached to chains that can be swung around in various maneuvers. A new mechanic for "Ragnarök" is that the blades can be used like a grappling hook to traverse over chasms, and pick up objects to hurl at enemies. Kratos also obtains a new weapon called the Draupnir Spear, a close- and long-range attack spear that is infused with wind elemental magic and can make copies of itself; Kratos can throw multiple spears at an enemy, then have them all explode at once. The spear is also used to traverse or unblock certain pathways. Each weapon has standard light and heavy attacks. They can be upgraded with runes to allow for magical runic attacks, with slots for a light and heavy magical attack, providing players with a variety of options for their own play style. The triangle button on the controller was also changed for "Ragnarök". In the previous game the button was only used to summon Kratos' axe back to his hand but if he already had the axe, nothing happened. Now, the button additionally allows the player to use "Weapon Signature Moves" to unleash a powerful magical attack depending on the weapon equipped. If on a higher ledge, the player can leap down to perform a powerful weapon attack on enemies below.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: In the previous game, the shield was only used for blocking and could perform a minor parry attack, and while multiple shields could be obtained, they were only cosmetic, changing the color of the Guardian Shield. For "Ragnarök", the shield was revamped for versatility; different shields can be obtained and used offensively or defensively depending on which is equipped. Smaller shields are more for parrying while larger ones are more defensive. For example, the Dauntless Shield has a parry attack that when triggered correctly, Kratos smashes the shield into a foe that tosses and stuns enemies. Conversely, guarding with the Stonewall Shield raises its kinetic energy and once it is fully charged, the player can slam the shield into the ground, emitting a large wave of energy that knocks back enemies. When not in use, the shield folds up and appears like a vambrace on Kratos' left forearm. Kratos' Spartan Rage ability was also updated to three variants: Fury, Valor, and Wrath. Fury is the standard mode for Spartan Rage and is identical to the previous game in which Kratos uses bare handed attacks to greatly damage enemies. Valor consumes rage energy to restore health and can also be used as a parry if activated at the right time, while Wrath unleashes a powerful weapon attack depending on what weapon is equipped.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Like the previous game, while the player plays as Kratos, his son Atreus provides assistance through artificial intelligence, helping in combat, traversal, exploration, and puzzle-solving. The player can passively control Atreus by dictating where he fires his arrows with his bow, either in combat or for puzzle-solving, as well as what magical spectral animals he can summon to further assist with combat. Additionally, Atreus' combat was updated to reflect his character's growth. In the previous game, Atreus was watching Kratos and learning how to fight, while in this game, Atreus has matured. He has longer chained combos, may initiate a fight before Kratos, and his magical abilities were expanded. There are also points in the game where another character will accompany Kratos instead of Atreus and they too can be passively controlled. For the first time in the series, the player can play entirely as a character other than Kratos (not including ""s multiplayer). This only occurs during some story missions when Atreus goes off on his own without Kratos and the player takes full control of Atreus. His gameplay is similar to Kratos in that he has close range combat by hitting enemies with his bow, and he has long range attacks by using his bow to shoot arrows. Additionally, he has special magical arrows, can create a shield from magic, and can summon magical spectral animals to assist in combat. Atreus also has his own rage ability in which he transforms into a wolf (and later, a bear) to deal greater damage. During these missions, Atreus typically has another character accompanying him and the player can passively control this character just as they do with Atreus when playing as Kratos. For some missions, Atreus has a magical floating sword called Ingrid that replaces the accompanying character.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The game retains the role-playing video game (RPG) elements of the 2018 installment. This includes the crafting system with many of the same resources to create new armor or upgrade existing armor and weapons with better perks. There are also many side quests found outside the game's core narrative. "Ragnarök" also adds armor transmogrification, which allows the player to change the appearance of their equipped armor to any other acquired armor without losing any of the equipped armor's stats. To transmog, however, the equipped piece of armor has to be fully upgraded.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: "Ragnarök" has over 70 accessibility options. The game's user interface (UI) system was redesigned "to allow for more flexibility and readability", and more customization options for combat and interaction systems were also added. All accessibility features from the 2018 installment were retained but also expanded upon to allow players to adjust the gameplay to suit their own play style and needs.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Like the 2018 installment, "Ragnarök" is set in the world of Norse mythology, taking place three years after the previous game. While only six of the nine realms of Norse mythology could be explored in the 2018 game, "Ragnarök" sees the player exploring each of the nine realms, and unlike the previous installment, all nine realms are visited as part of the story; the fiery realm Muspelheim and the fog realm Niflheim, now covered with ice and snow, were previously just optional realms to explore. The other returning realms include Alfheim, the home of the dark and light Elves, Helheim, the land of the dead, and Jötunheim, the land of the Giants. Midgard, the primary realm of the 2018 installment, has become a frigid wasteland, dramatically changed by Fimbulwinter, a three-year long winter that began upon the conclusion of the previous game. The Lake of the Nine, previously navigable by means of a boat in the previous game, is now frozen over. Previously inaccessible realms include Svartalfheim, the industrial abode of the Dwarves; Vanaheim, the lush home of the Vanir gods as well as the giant wolves Sköll and Hati; and Asgard, the humble home of the Æsir gods that is only visited as part of the story and cannot be accessed after its conclusion.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The main protagonists are Kratos (played by Christopher Judge) and his teenage son Atreus (Sunny Suljic). Kratos is the former Greek God of War while his son Atreus is half Giant, one-quarter god, and one-quarter mortal and is also referred to by his Giant name, Loki. Since the conclusion of the previous game, Kratos and Atreus have been in hiding at their home in Scandinavia in the realm of Midgard, training for the inevitable battle ahead of them. Other major characters include Mímir (Alastair Duncan), the smartest man alive and the pair's loyal companion, providing knowledge and counsel; Freya (Danielle Bisutti), a Vanir goddess, former Queen of the Valkyries, and Odin's ex-wife, also known as Frigg, who seeks revenge against Kratos and Atreus for the death of her son Baldur; the Huldra Brothers, Brok (Robert Craighead) and Sindri (Adam Harrington), a pair of dwarven blacksmiths who assist Kratos and Atreus by forging new gear and also found a way to travel to other realms without using the realm travel table in Týr's Temple; and Angrboda (Laya De Leon Hayes), one of the last remaining Giants who had been in hiding in Jötunheim in a secluded forest called the Ironwood and protecting its animals.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The game's primary antagonist is the Aesir god Odin (Richard Schiff), the king of Asgard and Allfather of the Nine Realms. An unseen character in the previous game, he is a pathological liar and manipulator obsessed with preventing his death at Ragnarök and will take any means to stop it. He lost an eye while looking into a rift between worlds in hopes of finding answers to prevent the catastrophic event. His ravens, including Huginn and Muninn, allow him and the Aesir to travel freely to any realm, and they are his watchful eyes over the realms. Thor (Ryan Hurst), the Aesir God of Thunder and eldest son of Odin, serves as a secondary antagonist; he is the half-brother of Baldur and father of Modi and Magni, all of whom Kratos and Atreus killed in the previous game. He wields the hammer Mjölnir, with which he slays Giants, despite being part-Giant himself, and does the bidding of his father despite being constantly belittled by him. Another antagonist is the Aesir god Heimdall (Scott Porter), another son of Odin and half-brother to Thor who has a superiority complex and believes himself to be untouchable due to his foresight ability. Known as the "Herald of Ragnarök", he watches over Asgard for threats, rides atop the horse Gulltoppr, and possesses the magical horn Gjallarhorn that signals the start of Ragnarök and opens simultaneous realm travel to Asgard. A minor antagonist is Grýla (Debra Wilson), Angrboda's estranged grandmother in Jötunheim who steals animal souls to experience their memories.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Other characters include Freyr (Brett Dalton), Freya's Vanir twin brother who has been leading a resistance against Odin and the Aesir in Vanaheim; Týr (Ben Prendergast), the Norse God of War but a peaceful one who was thought to have been killed by Odin prior to the events of the previous game; Sif (Emily Rose), Thor's golden-haired Aesir wife who wants Thor to stand up to Odin; Thrúd (Mina Sundwall), the daughter of Thor and Sif who dreams of becoming a Valkyrie and is unaware of Odin's true nature; the three Norns, who are the Fates of Norse mythology—Urð (Kate Miller), the Norn associated with the past, Verðandi (Emily O'Brien), the Norn associated with the present, and Skuld (Shelby Young), the Norn associated with the future; Surtr (Chris Browning), a fire Giant who lives in Muspelheim; and Kratos' second wife—Atreus' mother—Laufey (Deborah Ann Woll), a Giantess who goes by Faye for short and had died shortly before the start of the previous game—in "Ragnarök", she appears in flashbacks to Kratos, preparing him for her death and her final wish, which was the basis of the previous game.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The game begins as Fimbulwinter nears its end. Kratos and Atreus return home from a hunting trip—fending off another ambush from a vengeful Freya—only to find their wolf Fenrir in his final moments. After Fenrir dies, Atreus' grief transforms him into a bear through his still-uncontrolled Giant magic, briefly battling his father before coming back to his senses. Shortly after, Thor arrives at their home—fulfilling a vision Atreus had at the end of the previous game—and is joined by Odin, who proposes to leave Kratos' family alone if Atreus abandons his secret search for Týr. Kratos refuses and duels Thor to a stalemate, but Odin tells Atreus he will leave Kratos alone if the former comes to Asgard. With the aid of the Huldra Brothers, Kratos, Atreus, and Mímir take refuge in Sindri's home on the branches of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, in the realm between realms.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Atreus admits that he and Sindri have been secretly reexamining the Giant shrines scattered throughout Midgard, searching for clues about Týr's whereabouts. Determining Týr is alive and imprisoned in Svartalfheim, Kratos reluctantly agrees to help Atreus, if only to prevent Ragnarök, and they travel to the Dwarven realm where they rescue the traumatized Týr. The group then head to Alfheim, visiting Gróa's shrine to better understand the prophecy concerning Ragnarök. Fighting against both the Elves and Týr's newfound pacifism, they learn of an alternative prophecy to Ragnarök—one in which only Asgard is destroyed but all other realms survive under a new champion, implied to be Atreus using his alternative Giant name of Loki.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Returning home, Kratos and Atreus have a falling out over the latter's supposed destiny. That night, Atreus awakens in Jötunheim with the Giantess Angrboda, who shows him a mural that seemingly foretells Kratos' death in Ragnarök and Atreus joining Odin. Atreus also learns that the Giants transferred their souls into spiritual stones to evade Odin's wrath. After helping stop Angrboda's grandmother Grýla from stealing animal souls, Atreus is entrusted with the remaining spirit stones—using one to put a Giant's soul into the body of a snake. Atreus returns to Midgard, where Kratos angrily informs him he has been missing for two days, but they are again attacked by Freya with her Valkyrie powers restored. However, Freya relents when Kratos shields her from Atreus and agrees to spare Kratos if he helps her break the curse binding her to Midgard. Taking the form of a falcon to circumvent Odin's spell, Freya travels with Kratos and Mímir to Vanaheim, where her estranged brother Freyr leads a resistance against Odin. As they travel, Kratos opens up to Freya about the deaths of his first family in Greece and the emptiness of revenge. After killing Níðhögg and breaking the curse, Freya admits that she can neither forgive Kratos for killing her son nor kill him in return, and the two make amends.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Back at the Huldra refuge, Kratos and Atreus have another argument regarding his recent deceitful behavior, ending in Atreus fleeing to Asgard to find a way to prevent his father's death. Atreus has a hostile encounter with Heimdall but is saved by Thor and Odin, the latter requesting his help in preventing Ragnarök by reassembling an ancient mask that can supposedly look into the rift between worlds and grant infinite knowledge. Meanwhile, seeking to reclaim Atreus, Kratos has Freya and Mímir lead him to the Norns, who say that Heimdall is destined to kill Atreus. In response, Kratos and Brok forge the Draupnir ring into the powerful Draupnir Spear, capable of bypassing Heimdall's foresight and harming him.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: While searching for mask pieces in Helheim with Thor's daughter Thrúd, Atreus accidentally releases the giant wolf Garm, who begins tearing holes in the realms, allowing Hel-Walkers to wreak havoc. Atreus reunites with Kratos as both attempt to stop Garm; during the fight, Atreus realizes he accidentally bound Fenrir's soul into his knife when the wolf died and resurrects Fenrir by infusing his soul into Garm. Now reconciled, Kratos and Atreus return to the refuge, where Atreus shares his knowledge of Odin's mask with the rest of the group, but the discussion is tabled when they learn that Freyr was captured by the Aesir. Kratos, Atreus, Mímir, and Freya return to Vanaheim to rescue Freyr, during which Kratos is forced to kill Heimdall and claims Gjallarhorn, inevitably setting Ragnarök in motion.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: While Freyr recovers, Kratos reluctantly allows Atreus to infiltrate Asgard and finish reassembling the mask in order to steal it from Odin; though Thor nearly kills him, Atreus is successful and escapes back to the refuge. Atreus gives the mask to Týr, who unexpectedly agrees to fight and reveals he knows of a secret way to Asgard. Brok, suspicious of Týr's abrupt change of heart, suddenly realizes Týr is calling Atreus "Loki" when only the Asgardians know him by that name. Týr fatally stabs Brok, revealing that he had been Odin in disguise the whole time. The group manages to drive Odin away and retrieve the mask, but a grief-stricken Sindri blames Atreus for Brok's death and abandons the group to mourn. Atreus and Kratos commit to Ragnarök, entering Muspelheim to help Surtr achieve a destined primordial form that will destroy Asgard.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Under Kratos' leadership, the united forces of the other realms gather at Týr's Temple in Midgard; Kratos sounds the Gjallarhorn to begin the siege of Asgard. Initially, the battle does not go well; the other realms are quickly cut off, the Elves and Vanir struggle with Asgard's defenses, Sindri comes alone so that no more dwarves will die, and the army is forced to rescue innocent Midgardian refugees from the uncontrollable Surtr. However, the tide turns when Angrboda arrives with Fenrir and the snake Atreus previously saved, now fully grown into Jörmungandr the World Serpent, who distracts Thor while Sindri destroys Asgard's war machines and protective wall; Thrúd and her mother Sif then defect after discovering Odin used refugees as living shields. Thor knocks Jörmungandr back in time with Mjölnir and engages Kratos in battle once again, but he is convinced to stand down to help his family only to be killed by Odin for disobeying. Odin then engages Kratos, Atreus, Freya, and Mímir, and the group overpower and defeat him. Atreus shatters the mask and traps the unrepentant Odin's soul in a spiritual stone, but a vengeful Sindri smashes it to kill the Allfather. As Surtr destroys Asgard, Freyr sacrifices himself to ensure everyone escapes through a rift made by Angrboda and Fenrir.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: After the siege, Atreus reunites with Angrboda in Midgard, who shows him and Kratos a mural his mother Faye had deliberately destroyed so that they could determine their own fate. Atreus resolves to find the other surviving Giants, and he bids a heartfelt farewell to his father. Looking further into the shrine, Kratos discovers a mural depicting him as the new Allfather of the realms, beloved and revered by all. Finally hopeful about his future, Kratos recruits Freya and Mímir to help rebuild and restore peace.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Asgard's Einherjar are cleared out and Freya kills the vengeful Valkyrie Queen Gná to reclaim her title, the Aesir relocate to Vanaheim and finally achieve peace with the Vanir, Thrúd begins wielding Mjölnir in honor of her father, and the real Týr is discovered and freed in Niflheim.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: In the game's secret ending, Kratos, Freya, Mímir, and an unforgiving Sindri attend a funeral for Brok in Svartalfheim.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: A sequel to 2018's "God of War" was teased at the end of that game; it ended with Ragnarök looming, as well as a secret ending that showed a vision of Thor confronting Kratos and Atreus at the end of Fimbulwinter. Although he did not officially announce a new game at the time, that game's director, Cory Barlog, confirmed that the 2018 installment would not be Kratos' last game, and it was later revealed that future games would continue to be set in the Norse environment and include Atreus. In April 2019, a teaser came in the form of a PlayStation 4 (PS4) dynamic background theme; the side of Kratos and Atreus' boat had runes that translated to "Ragnarök is coming". At the same time, in order to celebrate the first anniversary of the previous game's release, Barlog posted a thread of tweets on Twitter with pictures and a statement concerning the development process; some fans noticed that the first letter of each tweet spelled out "Ragnarök is coming". During the 2020 PlayStation 5 (PS5) Showcase event on September 16, a new "God of War" was officially announced for a 2021 release on the newer console. The short trailer, which had a voice over by Kratos actor Christopher Judge, did not officially reveal the name of the sequel, but just like the previous teasers, the trailer stated that "Ragnarök is coming". This led some sources to believe the title of the game to be "God of War: Ragnarök", but at the time, this was not confirmed by Sony. The tagline implied that this would be the start of Ragnarök in the "God of War" universe, which in Norse mythology is a series of events that bring about the end of days and the deaths of the Norse gods.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: When the game was first announced in September 2020, it was only announced as a PS5 title. However, after Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed their plans to support their previous console until at least 2022, speculation began on whether the new "God of War" would see a cross-gen release on the PS4, as some other titles that were originally thought to be PS5 exclusives were also announced to release on PS4 (e.g., "Horizon Forbidden West"). In June 2021, it was confirmed that the game would release on both the PS4 and PS5, in turn marking the first cross-gen release in the series. After the 2018 installment was ported to Windows (PC) in January 2022, Barlog was questioned on if "Ragnarök" would see a PC release, but he was unsure, stating it was Sony's decision, but did say they learned a few things about porting to PC if they were to do it again.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: By February 2021, neither Sony nor the game's developer, Santa Monica Studio, had given any updates regarding the game's release, prompting Barlog to tweet that the game would be out "when it's done". In June 2021, head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, stated that Sony had decided to delay the game until 2022 to ensure that Santa Monica could deliver on their desired gaming experience for players. Santa Monica Studio issued a statement regarding the game's delay, which said that while they were focused on delivering a top-quality game, they also wanted to maintain the safety of those involved with the development. The game's music composer, Bear McCreary, who also composed the music for the previous game, responded to the news of the delay, saying that it would be worth the wait.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Development was partly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as Hulst stated that there were issues getting access to performance capture and talent. The delay also brought a unique issue with Atreus actor Sunny Suljic, who was going through puberty during the time of production. His voice had changed a lot, especially during the delay, according to supervising dialogue designer Jodie Kupsco, who said "We had to go in and even out that performance so [that in the game] it sounds like it took place over a short period of time". Senior producer Ariel Angelotti said there were no changes to cinematics as a result of the delay, they just had to get creative in how they made the content. In following pandemic guidelines, Angelotti said that they had actors "stand in" for other characters in some scenes. For example, an actor for a main character would stand in as a background character "to be able to avoid a situation where too many people were on-set". In a series of tweets posted by Judge in late September, he said that he was the reason that the game was delayed due to surgery he needed in August 2019. Judge said that Santa Monica allowed him time to recover and waited for him to rehabilitate before continuing production. He also revealed that he had briefly quit the game after finding out that Eric Williams would be directing the sequel. Judge was uncertain about Williams; however, Barlog, who served as a producer and creative director on "Ragnarök", was able to convince Judge that Williams was fully capable of directing the game, which Judge affirmed after working with him.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: During Sony's May 2021 investment filing, they included a title treatment for the game which stated the title as "God of War: Ragnarök", although the investment filing was later changed to state only "God of War". A report found that the logo used in the filing was unofficial and fan-made. Following this, various media outlets were uncertain of the legitimacy of the title of the game. In a statement to "IGN", a representative from Sony stated that the game's logo and title were not yet finalized or official, and that the inclusion of the false logo in the investment filing was an error. However, the game's title was in fact confirmed to be "God of War Ragnarök" (without a colon) during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event on September 9.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: It was also during this event that Eric Williams, who worked on every previous installment, was confirmed as the game's director, continuing the previous era's tradition of having a different director for each game. Also during the event, it was confirmed that "Ragnarök" would conclude the Norse era of the series. The main reason Santa Monica decided to end the Norse era with "Ragnarök" was due to the game's size and scale. The 2018 installment and "Ragnarök" each respectively took five years to develop, and they did not want to take another five years, totaling 15 years, to tell one story. Barlog also compared it to watching the extended editions of "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, stating that being able to condense the story to two games was similar to the feeling of watching that trilogy of films, as the consumer would feel they were told a complete story with a definitive beginning and end. Lead writer Rich Gaubery said there were pros and cons to doing a trilogy or ending the Norse era at two games. The developers debated on this and said that "Ragnarök" could have been split into two games, as it was much larger in scope than they had originally planned. They also worried if "Ragnarök" would do the apocalyptic concept justice in just one game. This caused some of the team to have concern if the game would be good as they thought "Ragnarök" would be two games because they were originally in the mindset that the Norse era was going to be a trilogy. The decision to end the Norse era with "Ragnarök" was ultimately left to Barlog. Both Williams and Barlog had to convince the team that they would be doing "Ragnarök" as one game, and Williams said that although they had to make adjustments for pacing, the story was not scaled back. Barlog told Williams that with the second game concluding the Norse saga, the three important plot aspects of the story that had to be retained were that Ragnarök would happen, Atreus would depart from Kratos in the game's conclusion, and Brok would be killed off, which was a decision Barlog had made back during the development of the 2018 installment, as Brok was described as the "family dog". Thematically, the game explores what kind of man Kratos would be without his son, and what kind of god would Atreus be without his father. Williams also said that there would likely not be a story-based expansion pack post-launch.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: On July 6, 2022, a new cinematic trailer was unveiled, which confirmed a worldwide release date of November 9, 2022. During Sony's 2022 State of Play event on September 13, a new story trailer was shown, featuring new gameplay and cinematics. Brief glimpses of Odin and a battle with Thor were shown, as well as the giant wolves Sköll and Hati, among other returning characters. Just like the 2018 installment, "Ragnarök" was done in one shot. Additionally, the game will support options for players to run the game in either higher resolution or better performance, including 4K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps), 1080p resolution at 60fps, a high frame resolution mode in 4K at 40fps, and a high frame performance mode that syncs to 120 hertz. The latter two high frame options are only available for the PS5 version of the game and require monitors with HDMI 2.1. Animation director Bruno Velazquez stated that Santa Monica wanted to ensure that "Ragnarök" was the best it could possibly be on the PS4, and as such, it does not fully utilize the capabilities of the PS5. Velazquez said that the PS4 version is a visual improvement over the 2018 installment and noted that all of the studio's design goals were achieved on the PS4 version, so the PS5 version "is essentially an enhancement of what's already possible [on the PS4]". The game does, however, include several features exclusive to the PS5 hardware, such as 3D audio, haptic feedback, higher frame rate, and overall better graphics. In terms of design, Velazquez said there were no compromises for the PS4 version and that the game would essentially be the same experience on both consoles. Santa Monica confirmed that the game would have a photo mode, but it would not be available at launch and would instead be added in a post-launch update.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: On October 7, 2022, Santa Monica announced that the game had gone gold. Additionally, it was revealed that eight other studios contributed to the development of "Ragnarök", including PlayStation Studios Creative Arts, Valkyrie Entertainment, Bluepoint Games, Red Hot, SuperAlloy Interactive, Jetpack Interactive, Super Genius, and Original Force. The exact contribution from each studio was not detailed, except SuperAlloy, which worked on motion capture. SuperAlloy specifically assisted with combat choreography, and the studio provided stunt coordination and stunt work for the game and key characters. Eric Jacobus also revealed that he again did the combat motion capture for Kratos, just as he did in the 2018 installment, as well as for some other characters.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: During the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event, game director Eric Williams revealed that Richard Schiff would portray Odin. Other casting announcements included Ryan Hurst as Thor, Ben Prendergast as Týr, Laya De Leon Hayes as Angrboda, and Usman Ally as a dwarf named Durlin. In addition to Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic returning as Kratos and Atreus, respectively, it was confirmed that Danielle Bisutti and Alastair Duncan would be reprising their respective roles as Freya and Mímir, and that Robert Craighead and Adam J. Harrington would reprise their respective roles as the Huldra Brothers, Brok and Sindri. SungWon Cho also announced that he would be providing the voice and motion capture for the squirrel Ratatoskr, and worked directly with the writers to write his scenes. A day before release, Scott Porter revealed that he played Heimdall, and the game's music composer, Bear McCreary, was also confirmed to play a Dwarf musician named Ræb.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Unlike the popular portrayal of Thor by Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Thor in "Ragnarök" looks closer to his depiction in Norse mythological literature, having a hefty build with long red hair and beard. This type of portrayal was similarly done for the other Norse gods such as Odin himself, shown as a softly spoken and somewhat friendly middle aged man, as in the literature, they are not as flashy as the Greek gods were. In portraying Thor, Hurst took inspiration from another Marvel Comics character, Hulk, citing his rage and power. He also took inspiration from Tommy Lee Jones' character in "No Country for Old Men" (2007), Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, noting how he was a powerful character that harbored regret.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Following the announcement that "Ragnarök" had been delayed to 2022, Santa Monica's developers received harassment from some fans, including threatening messages. The delay was announced shortly after Alanah Pearce revealed her involvement on "Ragnarök". Pearce was blamed for the delay and she received threatening messages of sexual harassment. Cory Barlog came to her defense—and all of Santa Monica's developers—stating that he made the call to delay the game and that it had nothing to do with lower-level staff. Furthermore, after a rumor circulated that Santa Monica would reveal the release date towards the end of June 2022, and that date passed, some developers received explicit images from angry fans in an attempt to get them to reveal the release date.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Additionally, the reveal that Angrboda would be black was controversial to some fans. They claimed that since the game is set in Scandinavia, she should have been white. The developers, however, defended the decision due to the diversity of the Dwarves in the game, among other changes such as Mímir having a Scottish accent, and the fact that the character of Angrboda is of a mythological race with a power of transformation.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: There was also some backlash to the reveal that "Ragnarök" would be released on both the PS4 and PS5 due to concerns that the PS4 version would hold back the PS5 version. Comparing the situation to what happened with 2007's "God of War II", which had released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 although the PlayStation 3 had already been out for a few months, Barlog said that despite not releasing on the newer console at the time, it still worked out well for that game.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: "God of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack)" was released on November 9, 2022, by Sony Classical Records and was also included in the game's special editions. It was composed by Bear McCreary, returning from the previous game. The soundtrack features Faroese singer Eivør on the tracks "God of War Ragnarök", "Holding On", "Svartalfheim", "Pull of the Light", and "Remembering Faye". McCreary had previously featured Eivør on the 2018 installment's soundtrack.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Irish folk artist Hozier is featured on the track, "Blood Upon the Snow", which was Hozier's first contribution to a video game soundtrack. Hozier was particularly interested in working on the song as he was a fan of the series and also interested in the maturing medium of digital arts. He was also familiar with McCreary's other works. Due to Hozier being signed with Sony's Columbia Records in the United States, he was approached by Sony to contribute to "Ragnarök". To help in composing the song, the game's director Eric Williams talked Hozier through the character arcs of Kratos and Atreus. Hozier was also inspired by nature and the natural world. In working with McCreary, Hozier said they were able to find a balance so that the song was "not too elegiac, not too much of an elegy, not too sweet, not too lullaby-esque, not too outrageously doom and gloom, and not too absolutely metal". Paolo Ragusa of "Consequence" described the song as "a daring, cinematic number that hits at all the thematic notes of "God of War: Ragnarök", and finds Hozier using his signature velvety tone to evoke both tenderness and awe". Hozier and McCreary performed the song live at The Game Awards on December 8, 2022.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: "God of War Ragnarök" was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Players who purchase the PS4 version can upgrade to the PS5 version for US$10. In addition to the standard base game (physical and digital), there are three special editions: the Jötnar Edition, the Collector's Edition, and the Digital Deluxe Edition. Early copies of the base game were also marketed as a Launch Edition and included the Risen Snow Armor and Tunic skins for Kratos and Atreus, respectively, which are also included with the three special editions. Pre-orders for all versions opened on July 15, 2022.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The items in both the Jötnar Edition and the Collector's Edition are housed within a box called the Knowledge Keeper's Shrine (a shrine featured in the game). Both editions include a SteelBook game case; however, they do not include a physical copy of the game, only digital versions for both platforms. The centerpiece of both editions is a 16-inch replica of Thor's hammer Mjölnir, and both also include 2-inch carvings of the Vanir twins (Freya and Freyr). Physical items exclusive to the Jötnar Edition include a 7-inch vinyl record of music by Bear McCreary, a pin set of a Falcon, Bear, and Wolf (which represent Freya, Kratos, and Atreus, respectively), a replica Draupnir ring, Brok’s dice set, and a Yggdrasil cloth map which shows each of the nine realms. Instead of Brok's dice set, the Collector's Edition has a Dwarven dice set. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes the Darkdale armor and weapon skins for Kratos and Atreus, the official "God of War Ragnarök" soundtrack, a mini artbook by Dark Horse Comics, a PlayStation Network avatar set, and a PS4 background theme; all of this downloadable content (DLC) is also included with both physical special editions.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Available separately is a limited edition "Ragnarök" themed DualSense controller for the PS5. There is also a PS5 bundle that includes the console (disc version), a regular DualSense controller, and the standard version of the game.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: Since launch, Santa Monica has supported the game with patch updates to address software bugs. A Photo Mode, which was revealed prior to launch, was added as part of update patch 3.00 on December 5, 2022. It allows players to take customized in-game screenshots. Players can adjust, among other things, the field of view, depth of view, filters, the visibility of characters, and the ability to change the facial expressions of Kratos, Atreus, Freya, Brok, Sindri, Týr, Angrboda, Thor, and Thrúd.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: "God of War Ragnarök" on PS5 received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator Metacritic, garnering a score of 94/100. This ties it with both the original 2005 installment and the 2018 installment for the highest Metacritic score in the series. The game was praised for its storytelling, characters, visuals, level design, and overall improvements to the gameplay over its predecessor. Most reviewers agree that it excelled over the 2018 installment in almost every aspect, and that it was a fitting end to the Norse era of the series. The game was, however, subject to minor criticism, such as the excessive hints during puzzles.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: The PlayStation 5 version of "God of War Ragnarök" was the third bestselling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, with 29,377 physical copies being sold. The PlayStation 4 version was the sixth bestselling retail game in the country throughout the same week, selling 11,260 physical copies. In the United Kingdom (UK), although the exact sales numbers were not revealed, it was reported that "Ragnarök" sold more physical copies on its first day than any previous "God of War" title did in their first week, with 82% of the total sold on PS5 and 18% on PS4. Of the PS5 sales, 12% came from the PS5 bundle. Additionally, it sold 51% more in its first week than the 2018 installment did. This made "Ragnarök" the biggest launch in the series in the UK, which was largely due to it being the first cross-gen release in the series. In terms of physical copies, it was the country's second biggest launch of the year, behind "FIFA 23", and it had a bigger launch than "", "Elden Ring", and "". "Ragnarök" became the fastest selling first-party game in PlayStation history, selling 5.1 million units in its opening week.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: At the 2020 Golden Joystick Awards, the game received the award for Most Wanted Game. That same year, it also received the award for PlayStation.Blog's Most Anticipated Game. It was also a nominee for Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards in both 2020 and 2021. Various media outlets also included the sequel on their respective lists for most anticipated games of 2021, prior to the game's delay to the following year. It was a nominee for Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2022 Golden Joystick Awards, and was named as "Time" magazine's #1 game of the year. "Ragnarök" is up for ten nominations at The Game Awards 2022, including Game of the Year and Best Game Direction.


title: God of War Ragnarök

text: While no future games have been confirmed, prior to the release of the 2018 installment, Cory Barlog said that after the Norse era of "God of War", future games could see the series tackling either Egyptian or Maya mythology. He also said that although the 2018 installment (and subsequently "Ragnarök") focused on Norse, it alluded to other mythologies co-existing in the world, including Celtic, Japanese, and Irish mythology.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a solo career and contributed to numerous movie soundtracks. Cornell was also the founder and frontman of Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend Andrew Wood.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement, and is well known for his extensive catalog as a songwriter, his nearly four-octave vocal range, and his powerful vocal belting technique. He released four solo studio albums, "Euphoria Morning" (1999), "Carry On" (2007), "Scream" (2009), and "Higher Truth" (2015); the live album "Songbook" (2011); and two compilations, "The Roads We Choose" (2007) and "Chris Cornell" (2018), the latter released posthumously. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song "The Keeper", which appeared in the 2011 film "Machine Gun Preacher", and co-wrote and performed "You Know My Name", the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film "Casino Royale". His last solo release before his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the 2016 film of the same name.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Across his entire catalog, Cornell sold 14.8 million albums, 8.8 million digital songs, and 300 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. alone, as well as over 30 million records worldwide. He was nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, winning three. He was voted "Rock's Greatest Singer" by readers of "Guitar World", and ranked No. 4 on the list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" by "Hit Parader", No. 9 on the list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time" by "Rolling Stone", and No. 12 on MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music".


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell struggled with depression for most of his life. He was found dead in his Detroit hotel room in the early hours of May 18, 2017, after performing at a Soundgarden concert an hour earlier at the Fox Theatre. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell was born Christopher John Boyle on July 20, 1964, in Seattle, Washington, where he was raised. His parents are Edward F. Boyle, a pharmacist of Irish Catholic descent, and Karen Boyle ("née" Cornell), an accountant of Jewish background and self-proclaimed psychic. After his parents' divorce when he was a teenager, he and his siblings adopted their mother's maiden name, Cornell, as their surname. Cornell was one of six children; he had two older brothers and three younger sisters. He attended Christ the King, a Catholic elementary school, where he performed for the first time in front of a crowd, singing the 1960s anti-war song "One Tin Soldier". He attended Shorewood High School where he later dropped out. When he was in seventh grade, his mother pulled him and his sister out of Catholic school; Cornell claimed because they were about to be expelled for being too inquisitive. He recalled the episode in a 1994 interview: "With a religion like that, it's not designed for anyone to question. Being young people who have a natural curiosity and half a brain, you're going to start finding inconsistencies, which there are tons of in organized religion. We both sort of made it clear in classroom situations that we didn't get it. 'Explain this to me.' And they couldn't, so we started creating a lot of problems."


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell traced his musical influences back to Little Richard via The Beatles. He spent a two-year period between the ages of nine and eleven solidly listening to The Beatles after finding a large collection of Beatles records abandoned in the basement of a neighbor's house. He described himself at this age as a loner; he was able to deal with his anxiety around other people through rock music. During his teenage years, he spiraled into severe depression, dropped out of school, and almost never left the house. At the age of 12, he had access to alcohol and marijuana; he used them daily by 13, stopped for a year, but relapsed at age 15 for another year until he turned to music. At 14, he had a bad PCP experience and later had panic disorder and agoraphobia.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell took piano and guitar lessons as a child. He once explained that his mother saved his life when she bought him a snare drum, the instrument he adopted in beginning his path to become a rock musician. Before becoming a successful musician, he worked as a busboy, as a dishwasher, as a fish monger at a seafood wholesaler and was a sous-chef at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In the early 1980s, Cornell was a member of a cover band called The Shemps, which featured bassist Hiro Yamamoto and performed around Seattle. After Yamamoto left The Shemps, the band recruited guitarist Kim Thayil. Cornell and Yamamoto stayed in contact, and after The Shemps broke up, the pair started jamming together, eventually bringing Thayil in to join them.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Cornell, Thayil and Yamamoto with Cornell originally on drums and vocals. In 1985, the band enlisted Scott Sundquist as the drummer to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals. The band's first recordings were three songs that appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called "Deep Six". In 1986, Sundquist, who by that point had a wife and a child, decided to leave the band and spend time with his family. He was replaced by Matt Cameron, the drummer for Skin Yard, who became Soundgarden's permanent drummer.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Soundgarden signed to Sub Pop, releasing the "Screaming Life" EP in 1987 and the "Fopp" EP in 1988 (a combination of the two was issued as "Screaming Life/Fopp" in 1990). Though the band was being courted by major labels, they signed to independent label SST Records in 1988 to release their debut album, "Ultramega OK", for which they earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1990. The band subsequently signed with A&M Records, becoming the first grunge band to sign to a major label.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 1989, the band released their second effort and their first album for a major label, "Louder Than Love". Following the album's release, Yamamoto left the band to finish his master's degree in physical chemistry at Western Washington University. He was replaced by former Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman. Everman was fired following Soundgarden's tour supporting "Louder Than Love". In 1990, the band was joined by a new bassist, Ben Shepherd.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden quickly became one of the most successful bands from Seattle's emerging grunge scene in the early 1990s. With Shepherd, the new line-up recorded "Badmotorfinger" in 1991. The album brought the band to a new level of commercial success, and Soundgarden found itself amidst the sudden popularity and attention given to the Seattle music scene. "Badmotorfinger" included the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage". The three singles gained considerable airtime on alternative rock radio stations, while the videos for "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" gained considerable airtime on MTV. The song "Jesus Christ Pose" and its music video was the subject of widespread controversy in 1991, and the video was removed from MTV's playlist. "Rusty Cage" was later covered by Johnny Cash on his 1996 album, "Unchained". "Room a Thousand Years Wide" was released (along with the B-side "HIV Baby") as a 7" single through Sub Pop's "Single of the Month" club a full year before the release of "Badmotorfinger", and later re-recorded for the album. "Badmotorfinger" exposed Soundgarden to its first mainstream success: it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1992, and was later ranked number 45 in the October 2006 issue of "Guitar World" on the magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time.


title: Chris Cornell

text: The band's fourth studio album, 1994's "Superunknown", proved to be the band's breakthrough album. Upon its release in March 1994, "Superunknown" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200. The album launched several successful singles, including "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun", and brought Soundgarden international recognition. "Superunknown" achieved quintuple platinum status in the United States, triple platinum status in Canada, and gold status in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands. "Rolling Stone" gave "Superunknown" four out of five stars. Reviewer J.D. Considine said "Superunknown" "demonstrates far greater range than many bands manage in an entire career." Considine criticized "Black Hole Sun" and "Half", stating that the former is "not a very good song" while the latter "is the virtual definition of a B-side." Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" said that ""Superunknown" actually tries to broaden its audience by breaking heavy-metal genre barriers that Soundgarden used to accept." He added that "Soundgarden ... want[s] something different from standard heavy metal." David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the album an A, saying "Soundgarden is pumped and primed on "Superunknown", and they deliver the goods." He praised it as a "hard-rock milestone—a boiling vat of volcanic power, record-making smarts, and '90s anomie and anxiety that sets a new standard for anything called metal." The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995. Two singles from "Superunknown", "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman", won Grammy Awards, and the music video for "Black Hole Sun" won a MTV Video Music Award and a Clio Award. "Superunknown" was ranked number 336 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and "Black Hole Sun" was ranked number 25 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest songs of the '90s.


title: Chris Cornell

text: The band's fifth album was 1996's self-produced "Down on the Upside". The album spawned several singles, including "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". The album was notably less heavy than the group's preceding albums, and marked a further departure from the band's grunge roots. Soundgarden explained at the time that it wanted to experiment with other sounds. David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly" said, "Few bands since Led Zeppelin have so crisply mixed instruments both acoustic and electric."


title: Chris Cornell

text: However, tensions within the group arose during the sessions, with Thayil and Cornell reportedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark. Despite favorable reviews, the album did not match the sales of "Superunknown".


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 1997, Soundgarden received another Grammy nomination, for the lead single "Pretty Noose". As tensions grew within the band, reportedly due to internal strife over its creative direction, Soundgarden announced it was disbanding on April 9, 1997. In a 1998 interview, Thayil said, "It was pretty obvious from everybody's general attitude over the course of the previous half-year that there was some dissatisfaction."


title: Chris Cornell

text: On January 1, 2010, Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion via his Twitter account, writing: "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" The message linked to a website that featured a picture of the group performing live and a place for fans to enter their e-mail address to get updates on the reunion. Entering that information unlocked an archival video for the song "Get on the Snake", from Soundgarden's second studio album, 1989's "Louder Than Love".


title: Chris Cornell

text: In March 2010, Soundgarden announced that they would be headlining Lollapalooza 2010. Soundgarden made the announcement through their website and email list. On April 16, 2010, Soundgarden held a secret show at the Showbox Theater on First Avenue in downtown Seattle, publicized via the band's mailing list. The show was billed as "Nudedragons", an anagram for Soundgarden.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Asked in August 2010 if Soundgarden would record new material, Cornell replied, "it would be exciting to record one song, to hear how Soundgarden-ish that might be this much time later. But for me, it's been more of a trip relearning the songs and playing them together. Some of the songs we're approaching we've never played live."


title: Chris Cornell

text: Soundgarden made their first television appearance since their reunion on the second episode of Conan O'Brien's show on TBS, "Conan", on November 9, 2010, and toured North America in summer 2011. In summer 2012, Soundgarden released a new single and video, "Live to Rise", for "The Avengers" movie soundtrack. Their sixth album, "King Animal", was released in November 2012 to largely positive reviews.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Soundgarden had continued to tour worldwide, and guitarist Kim Thayil mentioned in several interviews that the band was to begin work on material for their seventh album.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Following Cornell's death, the surviving members of Soundgarden discussed the possibility of moving on with a replacement for him, but Thayil confirmed in an October 2018 interview with "Seattle Times" that the band had once again dissolved. Thayil said in an interview with "Music Radar" in July 2019 that the surviving members of Soundgarden are trying to finish and release the album they were working on with Cornell. However, the master files of Cornell's vocal recordings are currently being withheld and they can't finish the album.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 1998, Cornell began working on material for a solo album on which he collaborated with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of the band Eleven. The album, titled "Euphoria Morning", was released on September 21, 1999. In his first ever solo tour Cornell spent seven months on the road from September 13, 1999, to March 7, 2000, playing 61 shows in support of "Euphoria Morning". Cornell performed two of those coinciding with the debut of the album on September 21 and 22, 1999 at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood California. Attendance for the shows were high, considering he performed the initial shows before fans were even familiar with the music. The touring band was made up of some of the contributing musicians Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider, Rick Markmann, and Greg Upchurch. The album proved commercially unsuccessful selling 393,000 copies in the U.S., although the album's single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Cornell recorded a version of "Can't Change Me" in French, this version is a bonus on "Euphoria Morning"s deluxe version and on the Japanese and European editions. The album includes "Wave Goodbye", Cornell's tribute to his late friend Jeff Buckley. It has been noted that "Euphoria Morning" is influenced by Buckley's songwriting and distinctive vocal style. The album was re-released in 2015 on CD and vinyl and retitled "Euphoria Mourning", with Cornell stating in the press release that he had originally intended the album to be called that, but his manager at the time, Jim Guerinot, suggested that "Euphoria Morning" without the "u" would be a better title. "The title was so beautifully poetic to begin with, just the concept of euphoria in mourning; it was a moment I felt inspired and I let all the air out of it. So when we decided to do its first vinyl release I thought, I want to change the fuckin' title! [Laughs] It's time to change it," Cornell stated.


title: Chris Cornell

text: An unreleased song called "Heart of Honey" was also recorded in collaboration with Johannes and Shneider during this period. According to Alain Johannes, "Heart of Honey" was recorded for the film "Titan A.E." but not used. The song leaked on the internet. While on his solo tours between 2011 and 2016, Cornell would often pay tribute to the late Natasha Shneider and play the song ""When I'm Down"", (from the album "Euphoria Morning" that Shneider produced) accompanied by a vinyl recording of the original piano track that Shneider performed for the song.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Though not officially released onto CD, an hour-long acoustic concert Cornell performed on September 7, 2006, at O-Baren in Stockholm, is widely available for download under the title "Chris Cornell: Unplugged in Sweden". A promotional CD for his solo album, "Carry On", was released in March 2007, titled "The Roads We Choose – A Retrospective". The 17-song CD included songs from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and Cornell's solo work.


title: Chris Cornell

text: On June 5, 2007, Cornell released his second solo album, "Carry On", produced by Steve Lillywhite. It debuted at number 17 on the American "Billboard" charts. Among the artists who accompanied him on his second solo release was friend Gary Lucas, who contributed acoustic guitar to some of the tracks. Cornell stated that he was always writing, and that there were some songs that he was not able to put onto an Audioslave album. While recording his second solo album, Cornell was involved in a motorcycle accident. He was apparently "rear-ended by a truck in Studio City, Los Angeles while riding his motorcycle" and "catapulted 20 feet into the air." He was able to walk away from the accident, but had severe cuts and bruises. He returned to the studio later that day.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 2007, Cornell appeared as support to Aerosmith on at least two legs of their 2007 world tour—Dublin, London, and Hyde Park—and to Linkin Park in Australia and New Zealand. These shows formed part of his own ongoing world tour which began in April 2007 and continued into 2008 and 2009. Cornell described his touring band—comprising guitarists Yogi Lonich and Peter Thorn, bassist Corey McCormick and drummer Jason Sutter—as "musicians that could get the whole picture" playing music by Soundgarden and Audioslave, as well as his solo material.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 2008, Cornell was featured on the Main Stage of Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour. Throughout the tour, Cornell collaborated with Linkin Park's Chester Bennington while performing "Hunger Strike", and with Street Drum Corps for a number of his Soundgarden tracks. While Linkin Park would perform their Grammy-winning song "Crawling", he would appear on stage singing the second verse of the song, the outro, and harmonies Aaron Lewis provided for the "Reanimation" version.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell worked with producer Timbaland on his studio album "Scream", which was released on March 10, 2009. Timbaland has referred to the recording sessions as "The best work I've done in my career," and predicted that Cornell will be the "first rock star in the club". Cornell called the new album "a highlight of my career". The album was largely panned by critics, but was the highest-charting album of Cornell's solo career, reaching No. 10 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Chris Cornell

text: On April 2, 2009, Cornell took over Atlanta Rock station, Project 961, WKLS. For 24 hours the station became "Chris-FM" and included a two-hour special of Cornell DJing and playing his favorite songs of his career with the stories behind them leading up to a rebroadcast of his solo show from the previous night. On September 11, 2009, Cornell performed John Lennon's "Imagine" on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien".


title: Chris Cornell

text: In January 2011, Cornell announced his solo acoustic "Songbook" tour, continuing a series of acclaimed solo acoustic shows in Los Angeles during 2009 and 2010. The first leg of the sold-out tour began on April 1, 2011, and continued through the U.S. and Canada until May 6, resuming in October and visiting New Zealand, Australia, South America and the U.S. again before ending on December 17. The tour received universally positive reviews.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In November 2011 Cornell, released "Songbook", an acoustic live album featuring songs recorded during Cornell's "Songbook" tour in North America. It was his first live album as a solo artist, and it included stripped-down performances of songs from his entire career as a solo artist as well as with Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog, plus covers of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" and John Lennon's "Imagine". The album received largely positive reviews, with AllMusic calling it Cornell's "best solo offering to date". Cornell continued his "Songbook" tour in Europe and the U.S. during 2012 and 2013 to further acclaim.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell performed a 10-minute acoustic set at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball in the White House on January 21, 2013, which recognized Medal of Honor recipients and Wounded Warriors. He returned later in the evening with Soundgarden to perform at Barack Obama's Inaugural Ball, doing a three-song set at the event.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In January 2015, Cornell announced via his Twitter account that he was in the studio recording a new solo album. Cornell's last studio album, "Higher Truth", was released on September 18, 2015. The last solo release prior to his death was the charity single "The Promise", written for the ending credits for the movie of the same name about the Armenian genocide. Prior to his death, Cornell committed all proceeds from the song to support refugees and vulnerable children.


title: Chris Cornell

text: On February 26, 2018, Cornell's first posthumous song was released. He composed the music and added lyrics to Johnny Cash's poems "You Never Knew My Mind" and "I Never Knew Your Mind". The song, titled "You Never Knew My Mind", is featured on the album "Johnny Cash: Forever Words", a collection of songs created from Cash's unused poetry, lyrics and letters interpreted by several artists.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 2019, Cornell won a posthumous Grammy award in the Best Rock Performance category at the 61st Grammy Awards for his single "When Bad Does Good".


title: Chris Cornell

text: Audioslave was formed after Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine and the remaining members were searching for another vocalist. Producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they contact Cornell. Rubin played the Soundgarden song "Slaves & Bulldozers" for the remaining Rage Against the Machine band members to showcase his ability. Cornell was in the writing process of a second solo album, but decided to shelve that and pursue the opportunity to work with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk when they approached him. Morello described Cornell: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It didn't sound great. It sounded transcendent. And ... when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it." The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal and began working in the studio in late May 2001.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Their debut album, "Audioslave", released in November 2002, spawned hits such as "Cochise", "Like a Stone" and "Show Me How to Live", and has reached triple platinum status in the United States. The band was nearly derailed before the album's release; Cornell was going through alcohol problems and a slot on the Ozzfest tour was canceled. During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview with "Metal Hammer" that was conducted from a clinic payphone. In a "San Diego CityBeat" article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife. The problems were ironed out and Cornell remained sober. The band toured through 2003, before resting in 2004 to record their second album.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Audioslave's second album, "Out of Exile", was released in May 2005 and debuted at number one on the U.S. charts. The album has since gone on to achieve platinum status. The album features the singles "Out of Exile", "Be Yourself", "Your Time Has Come" and "Doesn't Remind Me". Cornell admitted to writing his most personal songs ever on this album, influenced by the positive changes in his life since 2002. He also described the album as more varied than the debut and relying less on heavy guitar riffs. Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden, but by the band's second album, "Out of Exile", noted that they had established a separate identity. The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking, and pointed out that "Out of Exile" is "the sound of a band coming into its own". AllMusic praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable".


title: Chris Cornell

text: On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba. Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70,000 people. The band traveled to Havana on May 4 to interact with Cuban musicians. Cornell commented: "Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries." The 26-song set concert was the longest the band had ever played.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In early 2006 the band returned, recording their third album as they had written most of the material during the tour. The band released the album, titled "Revelations", in September 2006. "Revelations" was influenced by 1960s and 1970s funk and R&B music. The first two singles were "Original Fire" and "Revelations". Two of the songs from the third album, "Shape of Things to Come" and "Wide Awake" were also prominently featured in Michael Mann's 2006 film, "Miami Vice", prior to the release of the album. Despite the exposure to other forms of media and the positive critical buzz for their third album, Audioslave did not tour behind the release. They went into hiatus to allow Cornell to complete "You Know My Name", the theme song for the 2006 James Bond film, "Casino Royale", and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of the Nightwatchman.


title: Chris Cornell

text: All of Audioslave's lyrics were written by Cornell, whilst all four members were credited with writing the music. Their songwriting process was described by Wilk as "more collaborative" and "satisfying" than Rage Against the Machine's, which was "a battle creatively". Cornell, for his part, saw Soundgarden's songwriting method as inferior to Audioslave's. Cornell's lyrics were mostly apolitical; Audioslave's Morello referred to them as "haunted, existential poetry". They were characterized by his cryptic approach, often dealing with themes of existentialism, love, hedonism, spirituality and Christianity. Cornell's battle with addiction to prescription drugs and alcoholism was a defining factor in the writing and recording process. Even though the singer admitted that he was "never able to write effectively" while drinking, and attended rehab after recording the debut album, Morello stated that "Revelations" was "the first record [Cornell] didn't smoke, drink, or take drugs through the recording." However, Morello said: "Chris was stone sober during the making of our "Out of Exile" album. Chris was also sober during the making of "Revelations" and prior to recording he gave up smoking as well. I apologize for any confusion or concern that was stirred up by the original article. Sobriety can be a matter of life or death and Chris's courage in maintaining his health for years has been an inspiration."


title: Chris Cornell

text: News about Cornell's departure emerged in July 2006, when insiders stated that after the third album he would leave to pursue for a solo career. The singer immediately denied the rumors, stating: "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. [...] I always just ignore [them]." On February 15, 2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, stating that "Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors." As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion with de la Rocha coming back, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in 2007, Audioslave officially disbanded.


title: Chris Cornell

text: On January 17, 2017, it was announced that Audioslave would reunite for their first show in twelve years at Prophets of Rage's Anti-Inaugural Ball, protesting President Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States. The event took place on January 20, 2017.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Asked in February 2017 if there would be more Audioslave reunion shows in the future, frontman Cornell replied, "It's always a possibility. I mean, we've been talking about it for at least three or four years now. We were talking about actually picking dates, and it just ended up not working out because everybody's so busy. They have another band again, they all have separate bands that they do themselves, I have Soundgarden and a solo career that's taking up a lot of time, and I just did Temple of the Dog. So, it's really honestly as simple as we end up having a window of time where it's comfortable for everybody and we want to do it, because I definitely feel like everybody's up for it."


title: Chris Cornell

text: From 1986 to 1987, Cornell was also a member of the satirical Western swing band Center for Disease Control Boys.


title: Chris Cornell

text: While still in Soundgarden, Cornell recorded an album with members of what would become Pearl Jam. This collaboration went under the name Temple of the Dog, and the self-titled album was released in 1991. The album is a tribute to their mutual friend, and Cornell's former roommate, Andrew Wood. Wood, the former lead singer of Mother Love Bone, had died of a heroin overdose the year before. Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Mother Love Bone teamed up with Mike McCready, new vocalist Eddie Vedder, and drummer Dave Krusen in 1990, forming Pearl Jam. Cameron would eventually become Pearl Jam's drummer in 1998.


title: Chris Cornell

text: "Temple of the Dog" has gone on to sell more than a million copies, thanks in large part to the singles "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Hunger Strike", the latter of which features a duet between Cornell and Vedder. This was the first time Vedder was recorded professionally. Vedder said about "Hunger Strike" in the 2009 book "Grunge Is Dead"; "I really like hearing that song. I feel like I could be real proud of it – because one, I didn't write it, and two, it was such a nice way to be ushered onto vinyl for the first time. I'm indebted to Chris time eternal for being invited onto that track."


title: Chris Cornell

text: During a 2003 Pearl Jam show at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Cornell appeared as a surprise guest. After playing a short acoustic set, Cornell joined Vedder and the rest of the band to perform "Hunger Strike" and "Reach Down".


title: Chris Cornell

text: On October 6, 2009, Cornell made a surprise appearance during a Pearl Jam concert at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. The reunited Temple of the Dog played "Hunger Strike". At the end of the concert, Cornell took a bow with the band along with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In September 2011, he joined members of Pearl Jam for a Temple of the Dog live reunion at the two-day PJ20 Festival at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin.


title: Chris Cornell

text: On both October 25 and 26, 2014, Cornell joined Pearl Jam onstage to perform "Hunger Strike" at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California during the 28th Annual Bridge School Benefit, the latter being the last time that Vedder and Cornell performed the song together. On January 30, 2015, Pearl Jam bandmates (minus Vedder) Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron joined Chris Cornell and Mike McCready during the Mad Season Sonic Evolution Concert at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony. The group performed two songs, "Reach Down" and "Call Me a Dog".


title: Chris Cornell

text: The band toured for the first time in the fall of 2016 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their self-titled album. Vedder did not participate on the tour citing "family commitments", but the crowd sang his part in "Hunger Strike", and Cornell dedicated the song to Vedder during the band's concert at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on November 21, 2016.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 1992, Cornell and three other former members of Temple of the Dog played under the name M.A.C.C. (McCready, Ament, Cameron, Cornell), recording the song "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" for the 1993 album, "". The band performed the song live for the first time during the first Temple of the Dog tour in November 2016.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell worked as a co-producer and backing vocalist on the Screaming Trees' 1991 album, "Uncle Anesthesia".


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 1992, Cornell co-wrote the song "The Message" for the album "Cuatro" by the metal band Flotsam and Jetsam.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell, together with Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, and Mark Arm of Mudhoney, contributed vocals on the Alice in Chains song "Right Turn", from the 1992 EP "Sap", although the band given credit for this song is Alice Mudgarden. The song was featured in the 2001 film "Black Hawk Down".


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell contributed vocals on Alice Cooper's "Stolen Prayer" and "Unholy War" (which he also wrote) from the 1994 album, "The Last Temptation". In 1997, Cornell collaborated with Eleven on a rendition of the song, "Ave Maria", for the Christmas compilation album, "A Very Special Christmas 3".


title: Chris Cornell

text: In the '90s, Cornell teamed up with Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson for a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses", when the sisters were performing as "The Lovemongers". Bootleg versions of the live performances are available online. Cornell and the Wilsons also performed "Wild Horses" and The Lovemongers' song "Sand" at Layne Staley's funeral in 2002.


title: Chris Cornell

text: It was incorrectly believed (for many years) that Cornell had written the Eleven song "Someone to Die For", featured on the 2004 "Spider-Man 2" soundtrack. The song is performed by Jimmy Gnecco of Ours and Brian May of Queen on the soundtrack, and the lyrics are credited to Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider and Cornell in the album. However, the ASCAP song database only shows Johannes and Shneider as the songwriters. Cornell had recorded a demo of the song some time earlier, which was released only to members of the Eleven street team. The version recorded by Cornell and Eleven can be found on the internet.


title: Chris Cornell

text: Cornell co-wrote (with Brian Howes) David Cook's first post-"American Idol" album single, "Light On", released in 2008. And in 2009, he contributed vocals on the song, "Mister Dirt", from the album, "Good.Night.Melody", by Joshua David Lewis.


title: Chris Cornell

text: In 2009, Cornell co-wrote a song with a fan named Rory de la Rosa, whose six-year-old daughter had died from cancer in 2008, and he was diagnosed with the same illness shortly afterwards. He reached out to Cornell to tell him how much his music impacted his life and also the bond it helped create for him and his daughter, and he sent Cornell a poem called ""I Promise It's Not Goodbye"". Cornell was so moved that he turned the poem into a song with the same title. De la Rosa gave Cornell permission to post the song online. It was available for free download on Cornell's official website in April 2009. Cornell asked, however, that his fans would consider making a donation in memory of Rory's daughter and to help ease the financial burden of his disease. In 2013, Cornell made the song available for streaming on his official website in honor of the kids who died in the Sandy Hook tragedy. Links were provided for donations in memory of the victims.