During the mission "Initiation 4" (also known as "We Sing"), Alan goes through a surreal set while his psyche Mr. Door and other characters sing "Herald of Darkness", a musical summarizing Alan's story up to that point. Notably, the music for this sequence was provided by Poets of the Fall as the fictional band "The Old Gods of Asgard". According to director Sam Lake, the idea was inspired by both the first Alan Wake's concert standoff and the Ashtray Maze level from Control, both of which were set to Poets of the Fall's music. Lake knew that both Michael Porretta and David Harewood (the actors behind Alan Wake and Mr. Door, respectively) could sing, and Poets of the Fall helped with the choreography.

During development, however, developers questioned the need of the musical sequence due to both the strangeness of the sequence in a horror game and the difficulties that came with pulling it off. Despite this, Lake insisted that the sequence be kept. The sequence proved to be highly popular, so much so that "Herald of Darkness" was performed live at The Game Awards 2023 by Poets of the Fall, with Ikka Villi, Matthew Porretta, David Harewood, and Sam Lake all reprising their roles from the game during the performance.