Minecraft – Volume Beta

In 2011, Rosenfeld released Minecraft – Volume Alpha.^[8] For this next release, Rosenfeld was again given complete creative control on the soundtrack that would be implemented as part of Minecraft's November 2013 Music Update.^[9]

The mostly ambient album has a generally darker tone than its precursor. Rosenfeld described the track "Alpha" as a medley and "a celebration of past music from Volume Alpha." The first song he had composed with the clear intent for the game's "creative mode" to have a distinct soundtrack was "Blind Spots". The track "Taswell" was created as a tribute to Rosenfeld's friend, the late Ryan "Taswell" Davis, co-founder of American gaming website Giant Bomb.^[10] Rosenfeld stated he "didn’t want to remember them for their death, but the happiness they showed every day of their life."^[7] Rosenfeld admits that the record is "extremely varied", being "much more percussive, melodic, and progressive" than Volume Alpha.^[11] Several songs on the album are remakes of themes from the prior soundtrack album Volume Alpha; "Moog City 2", "Mutation", and "Beginning 2" are remakes of the songs "Moog City", "Minecraft", and "Beginning", respectively. The average song on Volume Beta is far longer than its predecessor^[4] – at the time of the album's release, it was Rosenfeld's longest ever work.^[12]

Volume Beta also contains the music of nine collectable discs within Minecraft.^[13] A stark sonic departure from the rest of the soundtrack, these discs often rely on synthesisers and percussion instruments.^[14]

In August 2020, record label Ghostly released the first physical versions of the album, in CD and LP formats.^[15] The album's artwork features an extremely dark 3D model of a block of grass from Minecraft, surrounded on the edges by a larger black and orange cube. On some vinyl pressings, lenticular printing is used to give depth to the blocks in the image and highlight the inner grass block.^[16]

Online publication Digital Trends praised the album for moving "beyond pieces that are simply 'peaceful' or 'sad' and creates tracks like 'Taswell' and 'Kyoto' that feel like distinct performances".^[17] Richard McDonald of music blog Original Sound Version called the album "an amazing achievement".^[18] The Los Angeles Times wrote that the album "showcases C418’s ability to make grander, more sonically diverse ambience".^[19]