Gamers are a diverse group - as such their musical preferences tend to fall across the board. Speaking only for myself, I'm heavily invested in the rock and metal genres and many of their associated subgenres. I also love game music, which I think is a pretty universal thing amongst most gamers. I'm usually on the hunt for game music done in heavy metal style because I love the energy and intensity of it.
About a year ago when looking for metal game music, I discovered the Game On album by Vangough. I had never heard of the band, but listening to their other albums revealed a sound that was quite a bit like Dream Theater. "Dream Theater-like band playing game music? This HAS to be good." And it was. It was so good that I'm still listening to the album regularly a year later.
Check out this track listing if you need some convincing:
- Wily’s Castle
- Marine Fortress
- Simon’s Revenge
- Your Darkest Hour
- The Turtle King’s Lair
- Green Hill Terror
- Corneria
- The Killer Instinct
- Torvus Bog
- Coral Capers
Wily's Castle is plucked straight from the opening of Mega Man 2, which has always been an epic way to begin any experience. This is followed by a stunning rendition of the background music from Marine Fortress in Wave Race 64. Anyone who has played the game before will instantly recognize the song, even if you don't know it by name.
Things continue well with a custom arrangement of a variety of tracks from the Castlevania series, which you'll notice has inspired the text of the front cover of the album. From what I've read, the lead artist in Vangough is a huge Castlevania fan, so he put special care and love into this arrangement. It absolutely shows and the lengthy track isn't dull for even a second.
Fans of Punch-Out!! will recognize Your Darkest Hour, which is followed by another arrangement this time of castle music from the Mario series. Green Hill Terror, is a Sonic the Hedgehog musical arrangement, which includes a section from Casino Zone, which is especially awesome.
Corneria is pretty self-explanatory - it's the background music from the Corneria stage in Star Fox. The Killer Instinct should also be a pretty recognizable track by the name alone. Torvus Bog is a bit more modern than the rest of the selections. It comes from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes originally released on the GameCube. It's a great choice and the moodiness of the original track translates well in the Vangough rendition.
The album concludes on an interesting note, the Coral Capers theme from Donkey Kong Country. The piano-inspired tones of the original track are perfectly translated here, giving a serene, yet foreboding sound. The track slowly develops with more instruments coming in until it's in full swing. It's a great, soft conclusion to the nearly hour long album.
Though I was looking for metal game music, Game On is more a prog rock take on game music that honors the original tracks while incorporating its own unique spin. The entire album is masterfully done and the arrangements are impressively composed - it's one that I'd easily recommend to anyone who appreciates great game music.
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