Press · Coverage
Destructoid: the full-circle story behind Poe & Sam Lake’s “This Road”
Senior editor Eric Van Allen sat down (over email) with both Sam Lake and Poe to trace how a new song came to loop through Alan Wake 2.
Destructoid’s feature is the deep-dive on how “This Road (AW)” came together — and it reads as a genuine full-circle moment. Van Allen traces the lineage back to House of Leaves, the novel by Poe’s brother Mark Z. Danielewski, whose companion album Haunted first drew Sam Lake to Poe’s music and, in turn, put her track “Haunted” in the original Alan Wake.
The interview lays out the timeline: a 2020 exchange during work on Alan Wake Remastered, a long pause, then a reunion in May 2023 to build the song for real. It also unpacks how Poe’s earlier piece “September 30th 1955” — and its refrain about a road that loops forever — became the seed for “This Road,” written from Alice’s point of view as she watches Alan struggle inside the Dark Place.
Poe describes the collaboration as feeling, at times, “literally telepathic.” — via Destructoid
It’s the most complete account of the collaboration yet — well worth reading in full at the source.
Read the full interview
Alan Wake 2 forges a full-circle moment with Poe on ‘This Road’
Eric Van Allen · Destructoid · Jan 12, 2024
Read on Destructoid ↗Related: Poe × Alan Wake 2 — the “This Road (AW)” announcement. The official version of “This Road” is a vinyl-exclusive release — order the 3rd pressing.