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Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtracks :: Review by Z-Freak
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Album Title: | Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtracks |
| Record Label: | Konami Music Entertainment | |
| Catalog No.: | KMCA-120 | |
| Release Date: | October 3, 2001 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Barely two years after the release of the original Silent Hill, was Konami hard at work with its sequel. The composer, Akira Yamaoka, had concocted a new soundtrack which would be considered his best effort from his fans worldwide. What makes the Silent Hill 2 soundscapes stand above the rest? Let's find out.
Body
The first track one hears is "Theme of Laura", which begins with an acoustic guitar playing a melody in a similar fashion to the first Silent Hill opening theme. Barely 20 seconds into the piece, an electric guitar joins in, but plays a smooth rock ballad instead of head bangin' rock. This great opener shows Yamaoka's affinity to rock elements in a majority of his works, past and present. After "Theme of Laura", we are plunged into a collection of sad, depressing themes. "White Noiz" is the usual bizarre ambient piece only Yamaoka can pull, flowing steadily as it progresses; it sets the tone for the majority of the soundtrack, a depressing and somber one. "Forest", while being initially beautiful, contains the feeling of loneliness and does its accompanying FMV sequence wonders.
While most of the themes here are from FMV sequences, the several in-game tracks present are equally as gripping and disturbing. The first one to come to mind is "Ashes and Ghost", which sounds like a boss theme. The rapid and constant drumbeats gets the blood pumping as eerie sound effects come into play, which sounds like gargling and dashing altogether. At 1:40, it quiets down and gives way to a sound effect which sounds like a malfunctioning machine ripping through something, as you hear cries of torment and pain from creatures, which makes it one of the most disturbing themes.
"The Darkness that lurks in our minds" is another freaky theme. It's hard to tell what I'm hearing, but the best way to describe it is hearing someone going through a factory, scratching his nails on the wall as he slams metallic doors, and finally starting some form of machinery, which sounds like it's malfunctioning. To get the feel of desperation, "Noone Love You" is the one that represents the emotion best. The flowing synth and slow, depressing melody is enough to get you down even when you're cheery, even for a short while.
"Betrayal" is the theme which plays before the final showdown; metallic clangs and an eerie choir gives the scene it's playing at so much impact. What follows is the final boss theme "Black Fairy". It starts off in the same fashion as "Betrayal", but the choir is replaced by a distorted female chant, which makes it one of the most bizarre if not frightening battle themes for a Survival Horror. The Ending Theme is a reprise of "Laura's Theme", but instead of going out with guitars, Yamaoka chose to use a melancholic violin and piano. It certainly works well with the climactic finale.
Summary
While I've only discussed a small part of the soundtrack, I think my thoughts cover what's to be expected to this soundtrack well enough. If you are a fan of scary, ambient, and depressing music, this CD is for you. Given Silent Hill's decent success, the CD is still being printed and should be relatively easy to find.
