LET THERE BE CARNAGE
IT’S ALIVE!
Welcome to the blog section dedicated to what I call the “CARNAGE ORGAN.” This project has been in the works for some time now, so I’m beyond ecstatic to finally pull back the curtain on what I hope will become a series of nerdy and exciting posts about this instrument/sound design tool I’ve been developing over the past few years.
And just to give you an idea, it can turn something like this:
…into this:
Or it can turn this audio recording of a Bass Flute playing a simple staccato pattern…
…into this multilayered, alien soundscape:
A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND
In 2020, I worked on the score for VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, the second installment of Marvel’s Venom series. Collaborating with Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, we explored thematic material for the characters and created unique sounds for the film’s main villain, CARNAGE, portrayed by Woody Harrelson.
As the name CARNAGE suggests, destruction was the name of the game. One of our key conceptual ideas was to “destroy” musical audio in a creative way—preserving its musicality while introducing noise, artifacts and (organized) chaos. It’s easy to shred audio into pure noise by turning all the knobs to 11, but that approach sacrifices the recognizable and usable elements we wanted for the sound design.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
During my research, I discovered an experimental synth group called Emptyset (they’re AMAZING, check them out!). Their sound is often labeled “minimal techno,” but is so much more than that. The first time I heard their stuff, I was blown away—like, “WTF IS THIS, WHY IS IT SO AWESOME, AND HOW THE HELL DID THEY DO THIS?!”
Back in the early 2000s, Emptyset used a fascinating technique: running simple sine waves and white noise through an array of guitar pedals, filters and amps. This process introduced distortion, modulation, and artifacts that added depth and edge to their sound. Their minimalist approach—starting with simple material like sub-pedals or eighth-note pulses—combined with layers of noise and feedback, is pure magic.
SO WHAT‘S A “CARNAGE ORGAN”?
In VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, the final showdown takes place in a massive gothic cathedral. That inspired the idea of creating a monstrous, twisted version of a pipe organ. But instead of pipes playing standard pitches, each one would have its own unique effects chain. Pressing a key (or multiple keys at the same time) wouldn’t just play the note—it would trigger an array of effects, transforming the sound source and adding the different colors set by the effects you can hear in the example at the top.
Now I’m aware that there are plugins on the market that do something similar, BUT the most important ingredient is always missing in those: FEEDBACK (more on this later.)
Here’s a simplified schematic of the idea behind this:
The SOUND SOURCE can be literally anything, like audio recordings, synth instruments or even sound effects.
FIRST ATTEMPTS
Building this “in-the-box” in Logic Pro X was… a journey. I didn’t have the outboard gear or expertise to integrate physical hardware, so everything had to be digital.
Early attempts? Chaotic. Messy. Pure noise. Instead of using a dedicated feedback channel, I tried to get around this by using the feedback function of a delay plugin… which sounded just awful. Fortunately, Logic allows you to create feedback loops—something most other DAWs prohibit… you know who you are…LOL
But hey, progress often looks ugly at first. With little literature or guidance available, I mostly relied on trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
While poking around on YouTube I found some gems from Keepforest’s sound design tutorials and a fantastic presentation by composer Mick Gordon. Mick’s approach to the Doom (2016) soundtrack—using outboard gear and obscure guitar pedals—gave me ideas I could adapt for this. And as a metalhead at heart, I loved how he incorporated ultra-low-tuned guitars, and if you listen closely to the VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE score, you’ll catch some shreddy Easter eggs of my own 😉
HOW I USE IT
Experimenting with various sound sources, I found that less is more. Simple inputs like sine waves and white noise work really well, echoing Emptyset’s approach. But I also tested it on drums, cello, vocals, and piano and each source had their own quality. Transient heavy audio is very different to process than sustaining audio. Subtle textures can be turned into their own thing, or completely take over the sound, depending on how the effects are dialed in.
The magic lies in the subtle interactions—when an effect kicks in at just the right threshold or when a feedback loop creates a bubbling, evolving texture. The feedback doesn’t just fill the space between notes; it reacts dynamically, disappearing when a new note plays. This is REALLY cool!
All right, let’s check out some before-and-after examples:
Example 1.
This is an F# pedal with a slight bend up and down before a gap. The source is a simple noise sub patch in Phase Plant.
And here is the same source affected by an array that brings out some subtle textures which turns the whole thing into an atmospheric soundscape. Listen for how the feedback glues the sections together:
Example 2.
Here the source is a slowed down and processed recording of an old phone pulse signal:
and here is the processed version of that. The feedback in this version was tuned so it would produce a consistent tonal center around the root note. This creates a spooky vibe with some wavy movement on top of the pulse:
Example 3.
Here the source is a 7/8-ish rhythm on a chiptune’d bass sine:
And here are a couple of processed variations where the array had slightly different settings for some of the effects:
WHERE IT’S AT NOW
Since its first incarnation, the CARNAGE ORGAN has gone through numerous modifications and optimizations. Thanks to Buck, I’ve even started incorporating outboard gear—a whole new frontier I’ll explore in a future post.
I now use this on almost every project. It’s become a Swiss Army knife for organic sound design and it can even be a source of creative inspiration when starting a new cue. Working on it has definitely deepened my appreciation for sound in general, and the tools we often take for granted.
Thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned for more nerdy deep dives into the CARNAGE ORGAN!
If you have comments or questions, I am on Instagram as @Trumppet.
Rock On!
🤘😎
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