Ken Hisuag

Silent Hill 3 remains consistent with its preceding entries, blending their respective emphasizing characteristics into a solid middle-ground between them. The ambience of the first game is more prevalent than in the second, but often spliced with rhythm-centric melodies; to my perceptions, this makes it the most balanced album overall, even as it retains the peculiarities that have thus far characterized Yamaoka's style. On the other hand, individual tracks are standing out less than usual, since they all seem generally composed in similar mood and progression. Technically this should be my ideal for a horror game soundtrack, emphasizing atmosphere through music rather than mere atmospheric soundscapes; yet I can't help but feel the contrasts of Silent Hill 2 made for better presentation. Regardless, I continue to be impressed with this series in defiance of my preconceptions.

I might consider this an addendum to last week's Fracture Feature, since it's another vocal track, but on the other hand it somewhat functions on its own. Back when Alan Wake II was being nominated for The Game Awards 2023's "Best Score" category, I chose not to investigate the OST due to having too many other things to prioritize at the time, in addition to my general reservations concerning horror game soundtracks. However, I was inadvertently exposed to "Herald of Darkness" through its performance at the awards ceremony, and had to acknowledge the merit therein. Likely due to my recent investigations into the Silent Hill franchise, I ended up with the song in my recommended recently, and subsequently did a bit of exploration into its various forms. I still haven't looked further into the soundtrack itself, but IMO this song is noteworthy enough on its own to justify an early feature in this manner. I presume there's a dynamic quality to the piece that triggers its separate phases according to gameplay progression, based upon various ways the parts are complied in different publications of the full performance. To illustrate: The music video comes to about eight-and-a-half minutes, but the official audio is thirteen-and-a-half, while the "Complete Edit" is a full half-an-hour! Due to the lyrics being heavily contextualized to the game's story, I have less reservations for it as an English song; on the other hand, someone interesting in the story ought to be warned of heavy spoilers. I'm undecided as to the best order in which to listen to the different iterations; some parts of the shorter versions make more sense with awareness of the longer one, but the middle one is probably the best version on its own. I've made effort to include credit to composers in my features since early 2024, but I'm not sure of the proper attribution for this piece. Alan Wake II's soundtrack was composed by Petri Alanko, but the song is performed by the band "Poets of the Fall," who may have written the song themselves upon request. Likely someone else knows the truth of it, but this is the best I can do.

Little Matchstick - Kitchen Music Accurate translation or not, the performance stands upon its own merits. I don't usually go in for this sort of "adaptation," but this is a bit more tastefully creative than the usual. It's also [kinda] thematic; a silly party trick type gimmick for the proceeding carnival! UnknownEX1 - A Popular Location I was blessed to find this at all. This is a refreshingly dynamic arrangement for a piano solo, especially given the obscurity of such tracks. As y'all will see shortly, I have reason to appreciate anything I find for certain pieces, and this goes beyond what I'd usually expect. Missing Tracks: {U2 Akiyama - An Unpopular Location} {U2 Akiyama - Today's Front-Page Headline} I note the tracks I can't make good on for the sake of future reference, but also to highlight their availability for the uniquely ambitious fandom musician. That being said, I couldn't reasonably expect to find anything for "Unpopular Location," given it's nearly indistinguishable from its ironically titled counterpart. Esme - Futatsuiwa from Gensokyo I almost despaired on this one, as the source is understandably overshadowed by its preeminent "Sado" variant. Finding obscure remixes from obscure artists is exactly why I committed to this gimmick, so there's a certain satisfaction in such discoveries as this.

Silent Hill 2, as with a surprising number of other franchise's second installments, is considered the definitive entry of the series (hence the recent remake). Akira Yamaoka continues in his role as the series' composer, but this time around his arrangements seem to favor more melodic progression over the previous entry's heavy ambience. To be sure, the style is still the same overall; but where over half of the original Silent Hill's OST could arguably be categorized as soundscapes, its sequel contains a surprising quantity of synth jazz (some Youtube comments have indicated "trip hop," but I lack sufficient experience to commit to that identification). In unexpected consequence, the continuing interconnected style of the album comes across more choppy than before, with too much contrast between tracks for the flow to be preserved; y'all will doubtless notice the sudden cutoff of certain tracks. Nevertheless, the arrangements live up to their collective reputation; for once, I can understand the genuine enjoyment of a true horror game soundtrack out of context (although I found the rock tracks somewhat confusing; in what circumstance does such a game have use for such a juxtaposition of genre?).

As the son of a software engineer, I was raised with intimate awareness of how bad pretty much every reasonable option of operating system was; as with many things in life, it can sometimes seem like a "pick your poison" scenario. I personally continue to use Windows 11 despite despising so many aspects thereof, simply because I'm too intimated to change over to something else with different but ultimately comparable problems. If you want a perfect operating system, you ultimately have to build it yourself, and if you have the time and skills for that, you probably don't even need to. On the bright side, this is a relatively mundane problem to have, so nobody should be losing sleep over it.

I've got too many tabs open, so I'm doing a Fracture Feature (it makes sense from my end, don't worry about it). Bit of a theme this time around, centering on vocal tracks. I usually struggle with these, but I still try to appreciate the musical and/or technical accomplishments. How do I usually do these again?

ATELIER ATMOS / at the mercy of sounds - Agartha Wind This isn't a new discovery for me, but I haven't featured the artist before, so it's just as well this came up in the searches. ATMOS has done some great folk adjacent arrangements, but remain a more obscure circle. The style is probably as fitting as could be asked for this piece! INMG Sound - Izanagi Object I presumed there wouldn't be too many high energy arrangements going through this album, but then I found this piece, and found it especially ideal for the contrast. As eurobeat goes this isn't trying anything too experimental, but it has some good variety in its instrumentation, which does well to reinforce its progression (as it should be). efs - Return to the Old Town Contrary to the previous piece, I fully expected a variety of vocal performances for this one, and was subsequently surprised to find the selection limited (granted I wasn't looking at any artists I'm already familiar with, so my presumptions may yet be accurate). I almost passed this one over simply because I had difficulty believing the circle's title was really "efs," but a bit of research clarified the authenticity of the citation. Still think it's a strange name, but the arrangement holds up regardless.

I cannot; the link is missing.

My allotted time for a series feature has arrived, and this month I want to more properly experience the potential range of horror game music by delving into one of the most iconic horror franchises of the medium: Silent Hill. For this first week, I listened through Akira Yamaoka's OST of the first game, and found it largely adherent to my preconceptions. Soundscapes and ambiences take up the majority of tracks, though admittedly there are tonal fluctuations in some which resemble melodies at times, and in all cases the instillment of atmosphere was admirable. Interestingly, the album seems constructed to be interconnected, one track transitioning into the next with very few breaks throughout. This had an unusual effect on my perception of the individual pieces, and in some cases I considered it advisable to consider two separate tracks as a single "performance." I've included two of these pairs in the feature; the first is "Never Again" into "Fear of the Dark," and the second is "I'll Kill You" into "My Justice For You." Pieces of more standard composition were also present, especially at the conclusion of the album with the various ending themes. These appealed more to my preferences, and are fascinating instance of emerging VGM styles of the time, but are not technically representative of the soundtrack overall, so I limited myself to one ("She"). "Claw Finger" and "Fear of the Dark" are also melodic tracks, but have a clear atmospheric intention, showcasing the employment of melody for such purposes; that being said, I think "Never Again" was the track I was most impressed with, successfully instilling a degree of foreboding in me that no other track could accomplish. Ultimately I have to respect the variety in Yamaoka's "compositions" of all sorts, and I'm curious to hear the ways in which they developed over time.

This has been stuck in my head for several days. On the one hand, I'm firmly against uninvited "roasting" (a joke isn't funny unless it's shared between everyone involved); on the other, it's hard not to appreciate a clever comment, and even harder when they're utilized in an equally creative endeavor such as this.

TOGAKISAN - Unopened Gensokyo Open to more accurate translations of the title. The soundfonts are a bit rough on this one, but the arrangement makes up for it with originality. It seems to me that attempts at "classical" style remixes often end up like this, for better or worse. This circle has done other experimental arrangements of this sort, so I get the impression that's their gimmick. Makita Step - I tried arranging "Green Sanatorium" from Izanagi Materials in 4 parts with MC-101 Probably not the intended title, but it is the given label. I've considered performances from this artist several times in the past, but usually found something else I wanted to prioritize. Well, this time I'm committing. Zunish arrangements are sometimes too close to the original, but in this case the prioritization of melody over original's style ironically makes it stand out. kayou - Attracted (RETAKE) "Zenkou Temple" is really about the percussion, and surprisingly few of the arrangements I found respected that. I would never have expected a vocaloid to be what met my expectations, but here we are! Unfortunately projects of this sort are almost impossible to find translated lyrics for, so I'm out for that.

While I typically seek out VGM that works outside of its intended usage, soundtracks must of necessity be for the purpose of accompanying a larger production, and the measure of a objectively "good" soundtrack is technically contingent on how well it performs this accompanying function. One of my earliest experiences of this principle in practice was the game Thomas Was Alone. This is a case of the little things supplementing each other for the full impact; the aesthetic is very basic, being entirely depicted with colored blocks, and the entire story is conveyed via dramatic narration and out-of-context quotations. Yet despite the relatively simple design, the game manages to portray itself as to be taken seriously, and I believe the music plays a major part in this. David Housden maintains a consistent sound across the soundtrack, but also clearly conveys the shifting moods of the game through it, resulting in a dynamic unity that acts as the games primary means of emotional impact. For all the game's merits, I don't think I'd remember much about it so long after if it weren't for the music reinforcing all its other elements.

You know how ZUN always adds comments to his musical compositions? The Music Collection "stories" are told through those comments, a series of snippets that coalesce into a fuller (but still short) account. Since the Touhou Wiki documents these aspects of the releases, it's possible to read through them on that site, and as said in the video, they hardly take any time with how short they tend to be. Here is the link to Trojan Green Asteroid's comments as an example (I already had the page open for today's Musical Discoveries post): https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Trojan_Green_Asteroid/Story Forgive me if I presume too much replying to this, or if my response seems unintentionally pedantic. My understanding of myths and folktales is that they always originate from some real experience; the details will more often then not become corrupted over time, but there is still truth behind them, however obscured (consider the legends of dragons, supposedly mythical creatures resembling unusually large reptiles, and compare them to the relatively modern acknowledgement of dinosaurs, creatures similarly resembling unusually large reptiles). Furthermore, I believe in God; not in a relativistic sense, where God is my God and not necessarily yours, but in an objective sense, as truly God Almighty, Creator of all that is. Given this presupposition, it is impossible for me to conceive of His being completely forgotten. I also believe that creativity and imagination are reflections of God's character, an intrinsic part of every human being by way of the Imago Dei. Thus, regardless of inconclusive observations that might indicate the plausibility of a dystopian future devoid of such things, I understand (believe, if you prefer) them to be impossible to truly eradicate. I agree with the video essayist that Hifuu Club is entirely a way for ZUN to express his philosophical considerations, and I enjoy the stories for this purpose. Obviously I'm not going to agree with some of his reasoning, since he has a different worldview than I do. This also means I will consider some of his proposals lacking viability; this doesn't mean I don't appreciate them for consideration.

CnoD - Sporadic Three Minutes "Trojan Asteroid Jungle" is an especially jazzy arrangement from ZUN, so obviously I went for a energetic rock arrangement! In all seriousness though, when the original piece accomplishes its style so well, often the remixes going in completely different directions are preferable for a more creative take on the motifs. Ittsu– - Space Shrine "TORIFUNE" I was stuck by the contrast of tone this arrangement had to most of what I was finding for the previous piece. It seemed somehow fitting. Tengu Corp - Yabai Barrier While quite distant from the genres I usually favor, this similarly contrasted wonderfully with the previous two features. There's also a thematic consistency to the story behind these tracks, but that isn't technically as relevant.

Yo, influx of activity! I look forward to listening to the new posts once I'm done with mine. I've been doing this for five years now, and in that time I've regularly discovered affinity for musical styles I'd previously thought I couldn't enjoy. This understanding has in turn motivated me to reevaluate some soundtracks I'd previously written off for one reason or another, to properly establish to myself what my prejudices are and what justifies them. That being said, my prejudice against Red Dead Redemption II had nothing to do with the music therein, but entirely to do with resentment against its reception. 2018 was a big year for VGM, with the especially relevant releases of Celeste and Octopath Traveler, both of which remain amongst my favorite soundtracks of all time. I didn't get into VGM until a couple years later, and at the time was shocked to learn that both had lost "Best Soundtrack" at the Game Awards to RDR2. I remember trying to look up this apparently prestigious soundtrack, finding a selection of English vocal tracks, and lamenting to myself the poor tastes of modern audiences. This was, of course, incredibly pretentious of me, and I've been aware of that for awhile now. I decided it was about time to make a proper evaluation of this soundtrack, and it seemed fitting to do so now. First off, a clarification that I wish I'd known earlier: RDR2's OST is split between three albums, each with a unique key-word identifier. A search for "red dead redemption 2 soundtrack" will bring up the album The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2 (Original Soundtrack); this is the first of the three albums, and features the work of Daniel Lanois. These are the aforementioned vocal tracks I originally encountered; I can at least admit now they are quite accomplished musically, but as I've frequently eluded my standards for English songs are quite strict. I question the composition style for some of these, as many sound to me more like country pop songs than Old West ballads, but that may be nitpicking on my part. I encountered the third album before I found the second; I presume this "EP" relates to content added to the game post-release, but it also segregates the compositions of David Ferguson and Matt Sweeney from the rest. The main body of the soundtrack is found in The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2 (Original Score), where the work of Woody Jackson is compiled. Finding this album required far more digging for me than makes any sense, and I'm still not sure if the problem was the strict naming convention or just a failure of the algorithms. Regardless, finally finding this part of the OST settled for me the question of its reputation. These tracks are clearly more complex in their arrangement than I'm capable of perceiving, and I can only guess at their dynamic quality. Here the stylistic nature of the project is established and reinforced, tying in the outlying tracks with carefully curated instrumentation. While the collection isn't about to supplant the likes of Octopath in my preferences, I can finally acknowledge its merit as amongst the more superior productions of VGM.

Angelicca / necoworks - Wish You Were Here The artist really nailed the mood of an ending theme for this remix. It starts out subdued and reflective, then builds up into something celebratory but resolute. IMO this is one of the more impressive finds I've had through this endeavor. PURE-POLLUTION - Desire Dream Not to be confused with "Desire Drive;" the two do share a primary motif, but they are officially separate tracks. I thought it'd be difficult to find a distinct remix of this piece that wasn't at least partially tied to its more prominent predecessor, but I actually found quite a few. I might have preferred something more experimental to further differentiate it, but ultimately this is a high-quality arrangement with a fitting tone for the source material. Route-R - Satellite TORIFUNE Not the sound I would have anticipated from a "Satellite TORIFUNE" arrangement, but it's surprisingly fitting as the intended theme of a space station. Mayhap the melody being more clear in this remix can make it more evident while listening to the original?

From what I've heard, localization can be quite the ordeal. Translation is the most common consideration, but at times there can be disagreements between different company branches leading to substantial changes being made to the product itself. In the cases of Sonic CD, the marketing department of SEGA of America seemed to think the original soundtrack, present in all other international releases of the title, would not be suitable for the audiences of the USA. Based on this position, orders were given to have a new soundtrack composed for this specific release. The task was laid upon Spencer Nilsen and David Young to rescore almost every aspect of the game, including the opening animation. Exception was made of necessity to the past-variant levels, due to the unique coding of their themes. I would describe the US soundtrack as "comparatively modern." By this I mean of course to compare Nilsen and Young's work to that of Hataya and Ogata which it was meant to replace; and here lies the imminent dilemma of the situation. The US soundtrack is not bad; in fact there are several creative ideas utilized, especially toward the end of the game. But no matter how interesting some aspect of it are, it will always be in competition with the original "JP/EU" OST, which is noteworthy for its experimental sound. While the US soundtrack may be easier to approach for someone unfamiliar with the style of music utilized in the original OST, it's simultaneously less memorable overall to someone more attuned to such sounds. This isn't helped by the forced contrast in style between the new tracks and the preserved "P Mix" themes, nor by the discontinuity between variants in the US version that worked so well in the original production. All this may seem a bit negative, but I want to emphasize that these considerations unavoidably arise out of the comparison between the two soundtracks. Taken on its own, the US soundtrack is more than just serviceable, featuring many interesting themes and arrangements. If this hadn't been the "alternative" option, I suspect it would have been much better received. The replacement vocal theme for the opening and credits even seemed to fare better than its JP/EU counterparts (while it still doesn't match my standards for English lyrics, I can at least say the words are more coherent than those of the song's predecessors). Disclaimer: I wasn't happy with most of the uploads I was finding, which I attribute to this version of the soundtrack never receiving proper digital distribution. I came across a fan's "remaster" of the soundtrack, which purports to have altered nothing but some of the instrument balancing, and as it does seem to remain unchanged aside from the better quality, I've decided to go with these uploads instead. Disclaimer 2: Where's the spoiler tab function? This isn't the first time it's disappeared without warning . . . Welp, guess I'm stuck with the quote box for now.

WKG Tupper Records - The Place of Numerous Voices I usually struggle with "True Administrator," because I perceive its parts as lacking sufficient transition between each other. I have similar issues with "Nuclear Fusion," but have found several remixes that remedy it for me, so I often look out for "True Administrator" arrangements with alternative structure. At the same time, I want something that preserves or even accentuates the pieces elegantly powerful tone. This particular remix isn't quite what I have in mind, but was the best ratio of dynamic quality and presentation that I came across in my searches for this feature; I would have preferred stronger incorporation of the main melody, but the tone is there. Xenoglossy - Youkai Festival Shrine Road The original's strongest quality is its ominous tone, and at first I was worried this arrangement wouldn't retain that. To be sure the intent is a completely different direction, but I appreciate the nods to the source being seamlessly fitted into the progression. Otherwise this is just a really good remix with great instrumentation and creative arrangement! Shironekobeat - Futatsuiwa from Sado May not be the best idea to go with two folk-adjacent remixes in such proximity, but I couldn't pass this one up. "Futatsuiwa from Sado" works so well with folk components, especially when complimented by addition instrumentation. This is a comparatively light arrangement to what I've heard in the past, but it still delivers on the original's direct presentation, giving the perception of intensity without needed to go overboard with the performance.

Sonic CD is far from a recent discovery for me, but I've held off doing a thorough listen through to the soundtrack for some time; its structure is notoriously complex, and I wanted to give it time to fully appreciate its qualities. Considering how influential it's been, both to its franchise and to me, it's about time I attempt a feature for it. Composers Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata were assigned to construct a soundtrack according and subject to the game's design, which hinged (hinges?) on a time travel mechanic. Each stage has four variants: the present, which serves as the default version; the past, or "P Mix," which is uniquely arranged on older hardware; the bad future, or "B Mix," often a darker/distorted form of the piece; and finally, the good future, or "G Mix," ostensibly a lighter counterpart to the "B Mix" version. Rather than arrange these compositions in an ascending order (as might be presumed as the most efficient strategy), Hataya and Ogata seemed to treat each version as a unique project, resulting in surprising variance between each "mix." Each is significant in its own way, especially when the formula is temporarily altered to contrast the consistency (as with "Metallic Madness"), but I find the most noteworthy aspect is in the contrast between each "mix." "Quartz Quadrant" is an especially poignant example, with each version featuring distinct instrumentation and incorporating the primary motif in a unique yet recognizable way. A proper assessment of this soundtrack would necessitate a presentation of at least one stage's complete lineup, but this would make for a rather boringly straightforward feature. I've tried to select tracks that showcase the general style each "mix" generally follows. Additionally, I should mention the presence of the series's first vocal songs in the intro and credits; I'm not particularly partial to them myself, but the instrumental versions demonstrate strength of composition that's worth respecting. Many of the franchise's standards for music were set with this release, and its influence can still be discerned in modern Sonic titles (if perhaps more in the 2D entries then the more heavily propagated 3D productions). All this would be enough to establish the Sonic CD OST's iconic reputation. Yet there is more to the matter than this, due to an complex situation involving international marketing and differing opinions between executives. The resulting production is worthy of unique consideration . . .

Unexpectedly lacked internet for most of the day, but I've just made it! myotei - The Hall of Dreams' Great Mausoleum An interesting situation that I've only encountered a few times in the past: At first listen, this seems a stylized arrangement that is tailored to the motifs, and the resulting remix is fairly impressive. Then it turns out that the musician does all their remixes in the same style, and it just happens to work well in this instance. Strange, but I'm glad to have stumbled across the best scenario. Ooedo Express Mail - Wolf Daughter Title translation may be a bit sketchy, but that's somewhat fitting for the circle, which itself has undergone several name variations. The remix itself makes some creative adjustments to the time signature, though it may have been to make the arrangement easier given the potential difficulty in the original. Whatever the reason, they make suitable use of it, and the pacing in no way feels forced. JLam - A Small Desire's Starry Sky Amateur recordings such as this tend to harm the overall presentation, but it does not necessarily reflect upon the skill of the musician. In this case, a short but authentic piano performance shines through the inconveniences, and I'm reminded of how simple good music can be.

I usually try to make the first musical discovery of the year especially memorable, but I don't have anything specific in mind this time (and I doubt I could match the final piece from the immediately previous post), so instead I'll offer something topically humorous. The title of this composition makes it especially fitting for this time, doesn't it? Popfan - The Realization of Having Forgotten to Set Your Alarm FTR, the age of this should be taken into account; Popfan has improved significantly in audio balancing since this piece, and it shouldn't be taken as the standard thereof.

First feature of the year tends to be from a game I consider personally significant, being less motivated by the music. Of course, the most impactful experiences exhibit quality in all their properties, including the music. This time around I want to draw attention to what I consider to be the best multiplayer game in existence: Ultimate Chicken Horse! The genius of this title is in its mixed emphasis on creativity and interactivity, further elevated by the freedom of built-in customization. Accompanying this masterpiece of a game is Vibe Avenue's dynamically arranged jazz compositions; each track features curated instrumentation in favor of various themes, blending their unique motifs with the soundtrack's main theme. The OST edits do an excellent job at blending the separate sections of each piece into cohesive singles, but if familiar with their in-game usage one can additionally appreciate the dynamic quality of the compositions.