The official soundtrack of The Walking Dead is finally hitting stores this month, just in time for all your zombie-themed Halloween parties. The soundtrack will feature the work of Emmy-award winning composer Bear McCreary, who has also scored Battlestar Galactica, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Outlander, among others. For this soundtrack, McCreary selected his personal favorites from across the seven seasons, as well as several fan favorites.

We got to take an exclusive look at one of those tracks, “Glenn’s Wheels,” which first debuted when Glenn arrives to save Rick in the second episode. This track is one of the earliest pieces that McCreary wrote for the show, and he said it presented the first opportunity for him to “establish a musical language for scoring action” on The Walking Dead. It’s an energetic piece that starts light and airy but suddenly dips in and out of a thundering, frenetic bass line.

The track is encapsulates Glenn’s youth and resourcefulness in the earlier seasons, with the treble notes flying quick over the bass lines that signal the press of a zombie horde; at the end, the lighter notes escape the bass entirely, and the song ends on a swagger. It’s a fitting song for a vital character who, really, is the entire reason we still have Rick Grimes and a show at all.

“I strove to support Glenn’s urgent runs through the walker-infested streets of Atlanta with as light a musical touch as I could,”McCreary told us via email. “Drawing influence from bluegrass and folk, the music is evocative of the series’ Southern setting. But that familiar instrumentation is also distorted, creepy and, I hope, fun in a twisted way.”

It’s sad to think that a character who helped establish the overall musical tone of the show will no longer be with us going into season eight; listening to “Glenn’s Wheels” is a reminder of how much Glenn grew as a character, from being simply the light-footed “walker bait” to becoming a leader of the group. While the song first debuted as an introduction for Glenn, it now, by all accounts, feels like a fitting tribute.

Lakeshore Records and Sparks & Shadows will release the soundtrack on October 20 and you can pre-order it now. lLet us know how the track made you feel in the comments!

Featured Image: Gene Page, AMC

MORE THE WALKING DEAD STORIES!

• Watch a teaser for season eight of The Walking Dead.
• See a deleted scene from the season seven finale.
• Gaze upon a Negan mini bust.