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Metal Slug 6 Complete Box Soundtrack :: Review by George
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Album Title: | Metal Slug 6 Complete Box Soundtrack |
| Record Label: | Scitron Digital Contents | |
| Catalog No.: | SCDC-00548 | |
| Release Date: | September 6, 2006 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
If the soundtracks of Radiant Silvergun and any Cave shooter had a child together, the Metal Slug 6 soundtrack would be that child... A strange and hyperactive child that doesn't fit anywhere with everyone else, but can still make friends easily. This is what happens when Manabu Namiki scores a Metal Slug game, or at the very least, this was my impression upon listening to it for the first time. Metal Slug 6 was fortunately a very good comeback for the franchise, being developed by the classic SNK members. Strangely, the soundtrack was mostly composed by Basiscape's Manabu Namiki with a few tracks by Mitsuhiro Kaneda. The score features familiar tunes along with fresh new ones, along with a strange and inconsistent mix of musical styles. Of course, this is not a negative, but the Metal Slug 6 soundtrack is truly a big departure from what one would expect — even more than Metal Slug 4. To put it briefly, the score is a mix of electronica and orchestral music, along with many unique elements here and there. The over the top nature that has characterized the series is gone, but the soundtrack as a whole is still very extravagant, energetic, and, most importantly, very fun to listen.
Body
The soundtrack blasts off with "Last Resort", one of the best electronica themes that I have ever heard. Featuring catchy melodies, fantastic electronic beats and sounds, the track refuses to leave your head. It's used for the character select screen, and it does a terrible job in that context, since the players are not capable of starting the game because they can't stop listening to the background music. Simply put, an awesome way to start the album...
For me, the biggest surprise of this soundtrack was the arrangement of the "Main Theme from Metal Slug". Not since the first game it has made an individual appearance, but it has been frequently reprised in many compositions from the series. Manabu Namiki does a great job in arranging this classic theme, while adding a lot of personality and uniqueness to it. Starting familiarly enough, it turns out of nowhere into a fantastic exotic theme, full of tribal percussion, African chanting, and it's mixed all the way with beautiful and heroic orchestral motifs. It truly is an outstanding and unique arrangement to one of the best video game themes ever. The next track "Cliff and Cave" follows the same style, but it focuses more on the new motifs presented on the previous track. Both themes feature catchy melodies, addictive tribal percussion, and some atmospheric and textural woodwind work. It certainly inspires a great sense of adventure.
The arrangements of classic Metal Slug themes don't stop here though. The classic boss battle anthem "Steel Beast" receives a respectful arrangement, maintaining most of the original elements of the original, like the frantic electronic beats, complex irregular rhythms, and overall aggressive motifs. Still, Namiki doesn't stop there, and he adds some of his personal flavor with some improvised and cool keyboard solos. Even more respectful is the arrangement of "Inner Station" called "Inner Goldfield". Keeping the same jazzy groove and catchy synthetic guitars from the original, Namiki makes the track stand out even more by adding his signature airy synths and catchy as hell melodies and solos. Perhaps, more faithful than ever is the arrangement of "The Military System". It's essentially identical to the original, but with improved sound and army yells on top of it all, making it sound more epic and giving to it a march feel. Of course, we can't forget the now-legendary victory jingle "Carry Out" which receives a full orchestral update, but falls slightly short due to the synth used.
Manabu Namiki delivers also with his fresh new compositions then don't fail to impress. "Asian Impact" and "Aim High, Chase Fast" are probably the best examples. The former is an exciting electronica composition, full of funky Asian motifs and trippy percussion; this bubbly fusion is actually highly reminiscent of his work on Mushihimesama Futari, but still befits the Metal Slug universe. The latter is Manabu Namiki doing what he does best. Creating catchy, complex, and rhythmic electronic music full of detailed sound layers. "Aim High, Chase Fast" is a good example for this statement as it captures the imagination and interest of the listener with a heroic orchestral intro reprising Metal Slug's main theme, and then blasts off with a catchy electronic percussion, airy guitar synths and extravagant trumpets, all merging to create and addictive and very melodic theme.
Relative newcomer Mitsuhiro Kaneda's contributions stand out less than Namiki's, but are highly enjoyable nevertheless. The second boss theme "Biotoxic" is an electronic/orchestral hybrid track, featuring slow groovy breakbeats and epic string motifs. "Unavoidable Duel" is a fast-paced alternative to "Biotoxic" featuring the same style, but with more a frantic and upbeat rhythm, along with some incredible and complex string sections. Even more surprisingly, Kaneda composes a track incredibly similar to Hitoshi Sakimoto's style, and he fares rather well in my opinion. Featuring complex and harmonic string progressions, "Bridge 256" truly captivates the listener with its bright and adventurous orchestral motifs. This one really grows on you with each repeated listen. In spite of the orchestral and electronica fusion of this soundtrack, Kaneda delivers more on the orchestral aspect.
The arrangement of "Final Attack", on the other hand, is something else completely. Starting with the sampled intro of the original and fooling anyone that it would be identical, it completely surprises the listener by shifting into an atmospheric, slow-paced, electronica track full with alien synthy sounds. Later it shifts into a more fast-paced tempo, upping the ante with frantic electronic beats and finally reprising a motif from the original composition using a energetic synths. It's complex, extravagant, and very fun to listen all at the same time. Lastly, Namiki's delivery for the final battle, "Discharge" is yet another complex and extravagant mix of various electronica layers, eerie piano notes, and urgent string motifs. More impressively, the composition goes ballistic with crazy, frantic and uncontrolled techno sounds, that increase in intensity until the loop point reaches. Truly an incredible listen, that personally, I would have titled "Scary Psychedelic Mushroom Monster Battle".
