Shattered Memories soundtrack

I've mentioned before that I'm really looking forward to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. One of the things I anticipate most about a new Silent Hill release is listening to the soundtrack, and particularly the songs. The musical duo of Akira Yamaoka and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn have consistently produced some really awesome songs to go along with the series, a lot of which are never actually used in the games.

Some intrepid soul has uploaded what appears to be the full soundtrack to the game, so here's a mini-review of each of the four songs featured:

Hell Frozen Rain



I'm assuming this is the "main" theme of the game, as the rockier, fast paced pieces like One More Soul to The Call from Homecoming and You're Not Here from Silent Hill 3 usually are (Room of Angel is a major exception). Hell Frozen Rain doesn't quite reach the same heights as those two, but it's a great song nonetheless. The sound is recognizably Yamaoka, but with a more pop-music tone and less of a rock feel. "Lighter" is the only word I can use to describe it. One segment starting at around 3:50 in particular sounds like something from a catchy pop ballad from the 90's, which I guess goes to show how versatile Yamaoka is.

 The guitar solo right before that is a remix of a solo from Theme of Laura, interestingly enough, probably my favourite non-vocal Yamaoka piece. I'm guessing it's in there to reinforce the game's theme of memories and familiar things being twisted and changes.

Acceptance



I swear to God I've heard this somewhere before, but I can't quite think where. The opening segment in particular feels like something I listened to years ago and have forgotten.

This is another case of keeping in familiar elements while trying something new- the synth piano tones in the background are classic Silent Hill, but the tinkly notes definitely aren't. It's like seeing something familiar under a layer of ice.... which, I guess, is entirely appropriate. Well done, Mr. Yamaoka.

The slower Silent Hill songs have always been a bit hit and miss for me, and that goes for this one. Like I said, it's very evocative with a definite "wintery" feel, and I can imagine it being used very effectively in the game, but I don't think I'll have it on my iPod to listen to regularly.

Interestingly, the lyrics to this and Hell Frozen Rain seem in a lot of ways to be about Cheryl even though they also have obvious applications to Harry's situation. It's not a bad song- in fact it's quite beautiful- just not very enjoyable to listen to.

When You're Gone



Like the previous two songs, this is classic Yamaoka, in this case his harder rock songs like You're Not Here, with some unfamiliar sounds mixed in. There's a bit of a country feel to it, with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's vocal delivery differing quite a bit from what we usually here from her.

I'm always impressed with how Yamaoka manages to make a soundtrack that fits together to give a unified impression, and even though When You're Gone is very different to Hell Frozen Rain and Acceptance, it still seems to fit in with them perfectly.

The song is a bit shallower and more forgettable than what we're used to in Silent Hill, but it's very fun to listen to. And while inserting the name of the game/movie/series into the lyrics usually comes across as cheesy, here it's done well and seems to fit the lyrics well.

Always on My Mind



One of the most interesting tracks here, this is a cover of an Elvis Presly song that's apparently been done by a lot of country singers in the past.  Listening to the original, this is definitely very different and it's really interesting to hear such an unfamiliar sound being put through the Silent Hill filter. Since the lyrics of the other songs reflect the game so strongly, I'm interested to see if this was chosen because it has some sort of thematic relevance to the game.

I said that Hell Frozen Rain is probably the game's theme song, but after listening to this song I have to change my evaluation. There's a real feeling of power and emotion here and while it's not my favourite song in the soundtrack, I think it would serve as the main theme better than any of the other three.Similarly to Hell Frozen Rain using part of Theme of Laura, there's a recurring background track here that I'm fairly certain is liften directly from one of the songs from Origins.

I think Yamaoka went a little overboard with the snythesized sounds here- I would love to have a remix of this with guitars and more natural sounding instruments.


Overall, this isn't the best soundtracks Yamaoka has ever done, but as a Silent Hill music fan I'm fully satisifed with it. None of the songs blew me away as at least one from each game usually does, but at the same time there are none I don't care for at all, which wasn't the case with all of Yamaoka's other soundtracks.

It's interesting to hear such a different sound coming from Yamaoka, and while he doesn't always pull it off- like I said, the synthesized sounds are a bit overdone- I can appreciate the attempt to do something new.

I must add the caveat that Yamaoka's music is tied strongly to the game it's produced for. Even songs that aren't used in the game really only come into their own once you've played it, so I'll have to revaluate my opinion once I've beaten Shattered Memories.