Cult Of The Lamb composer Narayana Johnson AKA River Boy has died

4 April, 2025

Cult Of The Lamb. Credit: Massive Monster.

Massive Monster has confirmed Cult Of The Lamb composer River Boy (real name Narayana Johnson) has died.

The news was shared via a statement posted across their social media channels, though a cause of death has not been announced.

As audio director of Massive Monster, River Boy created the iconic score for Cult Of The Lamb and also voiced every Follower within the game. He also released music as part of the duo Willow Beats.

“It’s with heavy and broken hearts we have to announce that Narayana Johnson, AKA River Boy, has passed away,” said the statement posted on Bluesky. “It’s impossible to describe how much of a void he is leaving at Massive Monster, and how much his absence will be felt. He was more than our Audio Director; he was a creative powerhouse, he was a friend, and he was our silly little guy.”

“From the first note of music to the voice of every single Follower, Narayana is woven into the soul of Cult Of The Lamb,” it continued. “The game and the studio wouldn’t be what it is, and won’t be the same, without him. Narayana would want you to take a moment to look at nature, to touch your feet to the earth. He would want you to listen to his music and remember how much it meant to him to share it with you all.”

The studio went on to ask for time to deal with the loss and encouraged fans to spend the day listening to his music. “It touched so many people”.

“River Boy was a beautiful soul. His passion and enthusiasm for music was infectious,” one fan wrote. “An excellent and unique composer, gone far too soon,” said another.

Paying tribute on Reddit, one fan wrote: “Cult Of The Lamb‘s whole audio direction, from the weird follower voices, to the music that blends religious chants and tribal beats, is so unique. It’s a huge part of the game’s charm and success. River Boy was still very young and Cult of the Lamb only launched 3 years ago. It was his first game soundtrack and seemed to be his first big breakthrough in music. To lose his life so shortly after is an enormous tragedy.”

Last year, members of Trivium, Polyphia, Polyphia, While She Sleeps and Killswitch Engage teamed up for the ‘Hymns Of The Unholy’ EP, which gave River Boy’s original Cult Of The Lamb score a heavy metal reworking. 

“It’s been an absolute pleasure hearing my music re-imagined by some of the most talented metal musicians on the globe. What an amazing privilege,” River Boy wrote on Instagram at the time.

Speaking to NME, Polyphia guitarist Scott LePage called the Cult Of The Lamb soundtrack “brilliant” while former Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones praised its uniqueness.

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