Sam Dillard

Hi everyone, just wanted to address a couple things.

In regards to all the Five Laps At Freddy's news going around lately, which I know that many of you have stopped by here for: the old post about it that was on here is indeed not accurate- the game is still in the works in some form so take any news or rumors one way or the other with a grain of salt; the only official news should be from the devs themselves. All I know is that I had a great time working with the team and put my heart and soul into making a fun and memorable "Five Nights meets Mario Kart" style soundtrack- so hopefully this helps clear up all the messages I've been receiving about it lately. And like all of you, we all wish them the best of luck with the project!

Also in other news, it had occurred to me that I never put the tracks I produced for the Harmony Of A Hunter album on here, which was some of the first Metroid related arrangements I ever did publicly. So for the sake of completion and easy access, I'm attaching them here so everyone who enjoys my Metroid works can have the full collection!

Lastly, a number of you have inquired as to if I am still currently available for game/video music commissions: while I do have a couple projects going and the day job that eats up a lot of my time, I am indeed up for any commissions you may have. Whether full game/film soundtracks or single tracks/themes/etc, feel free to get in touch if you're interested!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Whew.... Can't believe the year is already over! There's been a lot to reflect upon.

I know many have struggled in 2025, and to be honest, it was indeed a very bad year for me. It started off rough with the loss of my cat shortly after my birthday, and then proceeded to keep getting worse each month.

Entering 2026, I find myself at a crossroads, wondering if the past 20-ish years of my life has been worth it since I am now no better off than when I started on this journey to try and figure out how to make a living with my art & music.

Every time I thought a door had finally opened for me, it always seems to slam shut the moment I try to walk through. This year in particular, I have lost several career-making opportunities and it has hit me pretty hard. I am committed to finishing my Mana Cinematica album but after that, my future is uncertain. The steady client work I've supported myself with for years has vanished completely, and with the current state of the economy and world in general, it seems unlikely that I will be able to bounce back.

So unless things change miraculously over the next couple months, it is looking more and more like my attempt at a life as an artist and musician will be coming to an end, and I will probably be dual-classing at Amazon & McDonald's instead, with no time for any more passion projects.

Last year has taught me that sometimes spending your whole life chasing a dream is like trying to chase a mirage in the desert; every step you take, it will always be just out of reach. And I can no longer survive in this desert so I will have to find another path in life.

The notion of giving up is an extremely difficult reality to face, and part of me still clings to some sliver of hope that maybe 2025 was just a bad nightmare, and that this new year will somehow bring new and unforeseen opportunities. I really hope that is the case. It seemed appropriate to include this boss battle music I composed for a game called Titanfall nearly 15 years ago, yet another lost opportunity, to signify that maybe the final boss of bad years has been defeated.

I may not have a ton of subscribers, or followers on social media, or humans in general who even know I exist, but as a forever awkward loner I am still blown away by the fans I have made and the encouragement I've received over the years. I've always preferred quality over quantity anyway, and I'm proud of the quality fanbase I have had the honor of attaining which has motivated me to keep chasing these silly dreams of being some sort of musician.

Whatever the future may hold though, I have been and always shall be very grateful to my patrons and everyone who has supported my work, and I wish everyone an awesome new year!

The time has finally come- Dreadful Symphony is out!

It's been a long and challenging road to make this album, in fact I started the entire project over again from scratch earlier this year since I wasn't happy with how it was going at first. Like many, I wasn't super crazy about the OST for Metroid Dread when it released, as most of the music is more like ambient background noise, but there are a few nice tracks in there.

So I took it upon myself to do what I could, and after a lot of struggling and literal last-minute changes and tweaks to some of the tracks, I ended up with an album I was happy with at last.

I think by adding some more memorable melody into the mix, it let some of those Dread songs shine, and now I can finally move on from Metroid- ending on a high note.

The album can be freely downloaded on BandCamp here:

https://samostudios.bandcamp.com/album/metroid-dreadful-symphony

And in the follow-up post I will supply my Patrons with private download links for those who don't want to use BandCamp.

I've had many sleepless nights this week getting this album finalized and polished, and it seems like every piece of software I used crashed at least five times in the process, so I'm taking it easy this weekend for the first time in a while hehe. Besides, I have to regather my energy since I still have some big things coming in the pipeline soon which I look forward to revealing :)

It can be difficult to try and work on fun and creative projects when you are mentally and emotionally struggling, in fact there have been many times when I sat down to work on a song, opened up that blank canvas, and... had no idea what to do. I often spend half the time deleting everything I just spent hours creating and start to wonder whether it is all worth it.

And that is why I am extra thankful to my supporters and because honestly the moral support and motivation really keeps me going as times have been tough these past couple years.

I spend a great deal of time alone, and it's probably no secret that I don't really have much of a social life hehe, so every ounce of positive energy- every message, comment, and email, from patrons and fans, really makes a difference and adds fuel to my mental flame and helps me keep my perspective when I think about what I'm doing with my life.

So I very much appreciate y'all and hope you enjoy the album!