Destroyer of Worlds

Ludwig Göransson’s Oppenheimer soundtrack is, I believe, the greatest film music achievement of the past decade. The whole thing is immensely listenable — and woven deep into the bones of the film and the Oppenheimer story itself.

If you watch it again (as I have, multiple times), the music takes precedence even over the dialogue. I have no way of knowing, of course — but I imagine Christopher Nolan recognized early on that he had something truly special in Ludwig’s score, because the film leans heavily into it. And strangely, that seems to accelerate the pace. Göransson’s score makes a three-hour film feel like ninety minutes.

Destroyer of Worlds is essentially a riff on two of the film’s central themes: Can You Hear the Music? and American Prometheus. The former isn’t impossible on guitar — but it’s difficult enough to put it well beyond the scope of Intellimusica.

With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey on the horizon, and Göransson scoring that too, I’ve been revisiting the Oppenheimer soundtrack to tide me over. Destroyer of Worlds was a joy to bring to life on the acoustic guitar.

You might also like to play…

Oppenheimer: American Prometheus | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

Oppenheimer: closing theme | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

How to play Destroyer of Worlds | fingerstyle guitar

The guitar tab for this piece is beautifully written across 2 pages. I recommend this arrangement for intermediate guitar players and up. Enjoy! The guitar tab is available below:

[guitar tab] **Oppenheimer: Destroyer of Worlds | fingerstyle guitar

This song is played one whole step down. Your tuning will look like this, from low to high: D G C F A D