Riot Games on bringing back Pentakill and the future of K/DA

Speaking with NME, the team at Riot Games Music has shared more on how the return of League Of Legends heavy metal band Pentakill came about, as well as what fans can expect next from Riot.

As Pentakill’s latest album, Lost Chapter, released earlier in the month, NME spoke to the head of Riot Games Music, Toa Dunn and Beckett Snedeker-Short, who works as producer and associate creative lead at Riot Games – Riot Music Group.

Talking about the return of Pentakill, which blossomed from League Of Legends skins to an all-out metal band through a “passion project” in 2014, Dunn explained what brought the heavy metal band back this year:

“The band members had been talking about it for a while and they started exploring what this album could be about. The pandemic also provided an interesting opportunity for the team to focus on making music, though it brought its own challenges when it came to the collaborative aspect.”

Dunn added that for Pentakill, which launched its comeback alongside a virtual concert and lore-rich set of videos, the team wanted to make Pentakill’s return unique to that band:

“It’s not about the next project always being “bigger”, but more on how we can make it special or unique. We want to bring something new and fresh to the table, but also stay authentic to the music. Pulling fans into this brutal world and experience felt like an appropriate and fun way to bring back the third album.”

Short adds that for Pentakill, “a big focus was on narrative and worldbuilding elements in the marketing leading up to the album, as we prized immersion and investment in the themes and throughlines within the songs”. He also felt that it was “vital” to work with others within Riot Games to get this experience right and “enhance [Lost Chapter] without distracting from it”.

While Dunn can’t reveal too much on what’s next for Riot Games Music, he is “excited with what the future holds”. If Short had his say, though, it would be a “dark indie-folk or post-hardcore alt-rock” project.

Finally, it seems like K/DA and True Damage fans will not have seen the last of them. When asked if a return was planned for either band, Dunn stated, “I would expect to see them again in the future”.

In other news, Riot Games is working on a new set of punishments for players who leave matches in League Of Legends, including a two-week timeout from queuing up again.