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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant, untraditional composition by Akira Yamaoka,
By James Thomas Jeans (Glenwood Acres, TX USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Silent Hill (Audio CD)
The "music" of Silent Hill is an often maligned aspect of a game that in 1999 proved something terrifying could come from the PS1 gaming console which not only fed on a person's fear of the dark, but fear for the flesh. While Resident Evil did a good job of delivering unto us oozing zombie goodness, Silent Hill was an altogether different kind of game.
I don't think any one aspect of the project really drives this point home with more gusto than the game's soundtrack, which was written and performed by Akira Yamaoka (who currently acts as Executive Producer of the franchise.) Yamaoka has a knack for creating terror through sound, which plays a huge part in making Silent Hill so terrifying. Don't believe me? Try turning the volume down sometime. It really isn't very effective that way. The music itself is a strange beast on its own. Not music per se, the mixture of ambient sound with grinding metal and chanting voices is something not to be missed by those with an eclectic taste. There's a kind of energy to what Yamaoka has produced, and despite the fact that it isn't exactly something most people would listen to every day, I personally can't help but admit that I truly enjoy the odd sounds on display out in this compilation. The first track on the disc -- the Silent Hill main theme -- is among one of the most eerie video game themes ever composed. Compared to the more streamlined "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill 2, it's quite different and out-there. The CD moves from track to track pretty much seamlessly, making for a bit of an emotional roller coaster. There's no pause for breath between each scene, and that's something I appreciate. I did deduct the CD one star, and that's because some of the tracks are a bit short (particularly "Die" and "Not Tomorrow".) It would have been nice to have the length extended a bit, but that's only a slight niggle on my part. Another reason I deducted a star has to do with the lack of key tracks on the CD. I've got an Expanded OST made by a fan which runs two discs long. There's some really good stuff that was left off the official disc. As a result, it does get a bit boring from time to time. For those of you like A. Griffiths "Adrian" who wants something a bit more melodic, I suggest the Silent Hill 3 and 4 soundtracks. There's a lot more in the way of actual music on both of those discs, and while the games did feature a lot of the metallic grinding that is found in the original Silent Hill, it was opted to leave a massive chunk of it off of the soundtrack CDs (unfortunately). The soundtrack for Silent Hill is truly unique in that it isn't music, per se, but if you've got a morbid ear or just a curious mind, I suggest giving it a listen. (A warning, though: if you have a sensitive ear, you might want to avoid tracks like "My Heaven", which does go a bit wild.)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Silent Hill (Audio CD)
This album is cross genre. A mixture of narrative poetry, modern orchestrations, and avant garde techno. I personally adore it.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sensational game soundtrack, marred only by volume issues,
By
This review is from: Silent Hill (Audio CD)
It's not often that a console video game merits a soundtrack release; after all, many games behave like films, using pre-recorded popular music tracks and releasing a licensed handful on CD. Not so with the Silent Hill series, where the games are as much about the score as the gameplay itself. You couldn't plug in new or classic Top 40 hits, and realize the same gameplay experience. Akira Yamaoka has created something marvelous with these Silent Hill scores; here, we review the CD for Silent Hill's premier release (PSOne, 1999).
The sounds reach into the varied themes you'll find during the game: frenetic flights, lumbering foes, paralyzing fear. Much of the same goes for his subsequent releases, but the Silent Hill CD is the most severe, lightest in its use of pop influence. The only pure game scores that come close (in readily-available CDs, that is) are those from the Biohazard/Resident Evil series. The only downside (big enough to strip a star from this review) is the problem of volume. Some tracks start out barely audible, regardless of your personal volume control, and gradually rise to ear-splitting levels (All and Moonchild, for example). Others are hi-volume from the get-go (Until Death). Most tracks have lighter sounds that will be missed at anything below a mid-range volume setting. For the first couple of listens, make note of those tunes where you need to crank the volume up to 11, down to 1, or jam the mute button suddenly, and you'll be OK. Fortunately, this is the only Silent Hill soundtrack with this problem. Five stars for proficiency, minus one star for performance. Not available currently thru Amazon proper, you'll find copies in the Marketplace and on auction sites.
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