USC’s marching band, the Carolina Band, had music released by EA Sports for the Official College Football ‘27 Soundtrack.
Special To The State
After months of anticipation, songs recorded by USC’s Carolina Band have finally been released by EA Sports as part of their Official College Football ‘27 Soundtrack for an upcoming video game.
The 350+ marching band won a competition hosted by the popular metal band Metallica earlier this year, finding out after Metallica’s bassist, Robert Trujillo, announced the winners on their Instagram.
To win the contest, the Carolina Band performed a Metallica-themed halftime show during the Oct. 18, 2025, home football game against Oklahoma. The University of Illinois’ marching band, the Marching Illini, won 3rd place, and Virginia Tech University’s marching band, the Marching Virginians, won 2nd place.
As grand-prize winners of the 3rd Annual Metallica Marching Band Competition – Collegiate Edition in the Division 1 category, the Carolina band received $50,000, bragging rights and the opportunity to record a Metallica song and the opening theme song for the upcoming EA SPORTS College Football ‘27 video game.
In March, an EA Sports recording team came to Columbia to record the band’s two songs. Now, days before the official worldwide release of the game on July 9, EA Sports released USC’s songs on music streaming platforms, such as Spotify.
Here’s the music that the Carolina Band put all their effort into:
Carolina Band’s College Football ‘27 songs
There are two albums released by EA Sports for the upcoming video game: Halftime and Fight Songs, Vol. 3. The Carolina Band’s songs were at the top of both albums.
The Metallica song that the Carolina Band opted to play was “Sad But True,” a classic song from the metal band that was first released in 1991. The EA Sports’ version is cutting, impactful and definitely loud.
Under the Fight Songs, Vol. 3 album, they performed their version of “Campus Clash,” EA Sports’ signature theme song for the College Football video game series. It’s supposed to get you fired up as you take on your opponent in virtual form.
Other notable songs that are featured in the Halftime album are “Take On Me,” “24k Magic,” “Levitating” and “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”
College football teams that appear on the game, such as North Dakota State University and Sacramento State, have their fight songs on the Fight Songs, Vol. 3 album.
Here’s a video posted by Metallica showcasing the work and excitement that went into recording the music:
The video game is set to be released worldwide on July 9, and will be available on PlayStation 5, Epic Games, Xbox Series X|S, PC and the EA App. Pre-orders are already available.
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