Wow, after three and a half years, we finally get to hear a new Silent Hill soundtrack!

I received it last Friday, and have been listening to it a lot the last week. It took a few listen-throughs to get in to, but now I love it. I'm always amazed at how Yamaoka keeps re-inventing the Silent Hill sound in each new release. Each of the soundtracks have their own distinct sound and the style keeps evolving constantly, while at the same time, the core atmosphere and feeling is instantly recognizable. It sounds like a contradiction, but its true. SH0 is no exception: the unique SH sound is there, but it sounds fresh and has new surprises to offer.

If I am to describe the SH0 OST, I have to say that what hit me the most was that its pretty mellow and laid-back when compared to the other soundtracks in the series. I feel the word "brooding" is fitting. With the exception of the vocal pieces, nothing really jumps at you, the flow of the album is very balanced (in other words, on the other side of the spectrum from the SH1 OST, with it's treacherous twists and turns). At first, it was a little disappointing, since there are not many tracks that instantly stick out and effortlessly grab your attention like on the earlier OSTs (I'm thinking of stuff like for example "True" from SH2, "Breeze - in monochrome night" from SH3, "Melancholy Requiem" from SH4, etc.). The quality and tempo is much more even-leveled in SH0, but that doesn't mean that its bad, it just feels a little different to listen to. And there are after all tracks that start to stand out after a while. My favourites so far are probably "Wrong Is Right", "Insecticide", "Battle Drums", and "Snowblind". There's only one VGM composer that creates stuff like this, and we all know who it is.

What was that...? Say something negative about the soundtrack? Grrr...! Well, let's see... Apart from the fact that the mellow-ness of the soundtrack results in the music lacking some of the punch present in the earlier soundtracks (I'm thinking mostly of the "in-your-face" bouncy loudness of SH3, but also the others), there is only one thing I can think of. I know I'm committing heresy by saying this, but here goes... Anyone else getting tired of the vocal themes in recent SH soundtracks? Don't get me wrong, I still think they're very good, but I can't help finding the formula growing a bit stale. For the last three SH soundtracks, we've had vocal themes with (mostly) the same singer, the same type of lyrics (some of which aren't that good, to be honest), done in mostly the same style. When the vocals were introduced in SH3, I loved the way they played their part in developing the sound, but when I listen to SH0, I really feel that this is the part of the audio tapestry that hasn't progressed or evolved very much. To put it bluntly: it feels like they're getting old. And am I the only one who has noticed that once the vocal themes (good as they are) moved in on the scene, the awesome, melodic, and by now legendary instrumental guitar pieces in the earlier games moved out? The soundtracks to SH1 and SH2 had awesome instrumental guitar-work, but how many compositions like "Theme of Laura" or "Tears Of... " have there been from SH3 and onwards? Basically only SH3's "End of Small Sanctuary". The guitar has been delegated to the secondary role of backing up McGlynn's vocals, with the result being that the guitar-work has become more passive and in the background (for example, SH4's "Tender Sugar" was a great song, but it's guitar is eclipsed by the vocals and can't compare with "Theme of Laura", not even near). I really miss hard-hitters like Laura and "Silent Hill" on the SH soundtracks these days, and seeing what a great guitarist Yamaoka is, there's really no reason why this should be. As much as I like McGlynn and her vocal contributions to the series' music, I'm gonna tell it straight: for SH5 OST, ditch her and play the guitar like in the good old days.

However, I know a lot of people like the vocals in the recent SH soundtracks, if you're one of them, you're in for more of the same. I personally can't stand "Shot Down In Flames" and "Blow Back" (only tracks I skip on the CD), but, even with all my criticism above considered, I do love "O.R.T." and "Hole In The Sky".

To summarize: it isn't as overpowering or instantly captivating as the earlier ones, but I'm still with Zane and the_miker on this one. Its another A-class work of art from Yamaoka, and if you like his earlier stuff, you need have no doubts in checking this one out. Am eagerly looking forward to the SH5 OST!

Awesome write-up, dude. You should write a review for it.

This part stood out to me, mainly cause I couldn't agree more.  This CD would be perfect if you took out Shot Down In Flames and Blow Back and in their place put in something like Theme of Laura, Love Psalm, or Overdose Delusion.  Yamaoka is indeed a very talented guitarist and his riffs hit me hard and they pierce deep.  As corny as that may sound, and I don't know about anybody else, but my heart almost melts when I listen to Promise from SH2.  Apparently SH5 is supposed to be similar to SH2 in a lot of ways.  Let's hope that means staff roll music as well.

-Mike

Personally, my favourites are "Overdose Delusion" from SH2 and "Tears of... " from SH1, but everything by Yamaoka from back then is pure gold.

Meh, I believe it when I see it. That's exactly what they said about SH4, and in some interviews about SH0. From the vibes I've been getting from SH5 so far, it seems pretty far off from SH2, but we'll see about that when it's finished. I just hope the soundtrack is awesome as usual - I've pretty much given up on the game series.

I'm a little surprised at the few responses so far. I know Yamaoka's popularity has diminished a bit in recent years (mostly due to the fact that the SH series has gone downhill lately, and most VGM fans are gamers first and foremost), but I still thought more people would be on this. Or maybe its just because gamemp3s hasn't posted a torrent of it yet, eh? Anyone else got any thoughts on it?

Also, addition to my first post: "Drowning" and "Not Tomorrow 4" from the new CD are awesome as well.

Heh. Well in my own case I know what to expect when I hear when I have to reenter Silent Hill. Also the soundtrack to SH4 is still common enough to find so I don't feel the pressure to grab a copy of Zero as much as I did with 1, 2, or 3. So I'm in no rush to order it now as when it was first annouced.

But if Yamaoka was to annouce a non-Silent Hill related project I would definitely take notice. We really need another iFUTURELIST or Shin Contra-ish album.

Nowadays I have a hard time keeping up with all these releases... by the time I pick this up the buzz will have worn off a long time ago.

Well, if you do pick it up, feel free to dig up the thread and post your opinions of it. Needless to say, it comes with my highest recommendation.

I had actually written a response but didn't post it because I realised I was saying pretty much exactly what I probably said about SH4 OST and I would just be repeating myself to the point where you'd be bored reading it.

Good music, too stuck in a groove, more concerned about making an album than scoring a game and so on.

...And just like I said back then concerning the SH4 OST, this hardly reflects badly upon the music, does it? Besides, its different from the SH4 OST, a lot of the stuff on the SH0 OST is actually in the game (IIRC), isn't it? How many tracks from the SH4 OST were actually in that game? Like 6 out of 22?

Wait, what? Really? I don't remember the part of the game that I played very well, but I'm surprised so few songs were actually used. What about that US-only LE version of the OST with bonus tracks?

http://www.chudahs-corner.com/soundtrac … g=none_075

Either way, great CDs.

It's been awhile since my Silent Hill/Yamaoka phase, so I haven't got around to buying this yet. But I know I will.

And I know it'll be good, because...

DanielK, you'll be happy to know that good ol' Fungo of SilentHillMedia has just done a 2-disc Complete Soundtrack for this baby. So if there was anything grimy-good that was missing from the official OST, I'm sure it's in there.

When I played SH4, I was surprised to find that most of the music I had listened to on the OST CD wasn't even in the game. Its been years since I last played that game, and my memories of it are getting fuzzy, but to my recollection, these tracks from the CD were used in the game:

04. Melancholy Requiem
07. The Suicidal Clock Chime
08. Silent Circus
11. Cradle of Forest
12. Resting Comfortably
16. The Last Mariachi
21. Room of Angel

That's 7. I'm not sure about Fortunate Sleep (03) and Drops of Shame (06), they might have been in there somewhere, I don't remember.

At any rate, more than half of what's on the soundtrack CD wasn't used in the game. On the other hand, there was some music that was in the game that didn't make it to the CD, but, with a few exceptions, most of it wasn't that good. The fact that most of the music composed to be the Silent Hill 4 soundtrack didn't even make it into the game is just another sign of what a half-baked, rushed mess SH4 was. I'm glad we got the soundtrack, though: sometimes, when I'm in a special mood I even feel it's Yamaoka's best effort to date, since it perfectly mixes SH2's emotional, sombre feel with SH3's more beat-laden aggressiveness.

Nope, none of the new tracks on the LE CD were in the game. Basically, at least 2/3 of the SH4 music is totally unrelated to the game and just, as Jay pointed out, Yamaoka doing more of a "SH-themed" album.

Nice, is it up for download yet?

Not in itself but I feel that both SH1 and SH2's soundtracks had much more to offer because he was actually scoring the game, not just writing pieces of music he likes. In my opinion his work lost an edge in SH3 as a result of that and it hasn't got any better since. Too many plodding trip-hop style pieces. Yeah, the beats have less emphasis in SH0 but it's just a slight variation on what he did for 3 and 4. They have little to no impact in-game and make for a less interesting OST.

Whereas 2 had so many different things going on. 1 had inspired choices of vocal tracks and easily the most disturbing pieces of score. Actually, that's really what it is - I listen to 1 and 2 and feel he was really inspired by the games to create. 3, 4 and 0, I don't hear the inspiration - just Yamaoka doing what he does. Doing it well of course but I don't feel the inspiration.

The OST for Silent Hill 3 is the best IMO, I love that album.  What's funny about the Silent Hill games is I never even noticed the music when I first played the games, sans a track here and there, I guess I was too focused on staying alive and the puzzles.  But then I heard people talking about how awesome the music was and went back and really paid attention to it and was blown away; just made them that much better.

Jay, I definitely agree with you that the games and the soundtracks have drifted apart (just one aspect of the general downturn in quality the series has suffered), but I can't second your opinion on SH3's score. Just about every piece on the SH3 OST CD was in the game, and they all fit their scenes perfectly (besides being awesome in themselves). I consider it a perfect soundtrack to a not so perfect game. I think Yamaoka was still "scoring the game" in SH3, it wasn't like in SH4 (where most pieces weren't even in the game), or SH0 (where they didn't fit because the soundtrack and the game were basically made on different continents).

I too would like to see a return to the days of SH1 and SH2 (I think I've made that pretty clear in my posts in the other thread), but it doesn't look like that'll happen. But if we still get soundtracks, and they're as good as they've been, I'm very happy with that. I hardly even play video games anymore, so I basically see the recent SH soundtracks as great stand-alone music albums, period.

And that, I would certainly agree on. They are all great albums.

It sure is.
http://shm.silenthillfever.com/extra-sh0-cs.htm

YES!
Promise AND Love Psalm.
Can't get enough of those. And I agree, even though I actually like the vocal tracks, which normally I don't, I'd still prefer to see them go in favor of more stuff like SH2.

As for SH0, got the OST in the mail yesterday, and I've only listenend to it once so far, but it was pretty good. Just the fix of Yamaoka I needed.
I expect it'll grow on me like SH4 did, since it sounds pretty similar, but it's not going to steal SH2's crown. Or even SH3's.

I think the SH0 soundtrack is the first SH work that has an instrumental track that I actively dislike. Wrong is Right is, well, wrong. Sounds like a poor attempt at hip hop with a horrid baseline. Thankfully it's short.

I'm loving Monster Daddy, even though I do feel the beats weaken it. What goes around and before the beats is great.

SquareTex: Thank you very much for the link! Great stuff as usual from Fungo. There are so many pieces that aren't present on the OST (as usual...). I'm particularly grumpy over the fact that "Illusion In Me (Reprise)" and "White Lies" didn't make it to the CD.

Wha-a-a-at? "Wrong Is Right" is one of the best ones on there!

BTW, for those interested in sampling the SH Zero OST, it's now been put up on gamemp3s.

I listened to it once but it seemed neither frightening nor melodic enough to capture my interest. I'll give it more listens down the road and see if it hooks me.

I've always liked the Silent Hill music. My favorite theme is Not Tomorrow, probably because I found the infamous scene with Lisa so moving. Anyway, how are the Not Tomorrow's (I think there are a few of them) in SHO?

cheers,

-avatar!

They're pretty good. "Not Tomorrow 3" is an atmospheric piano/industrial noise piece reminiscent of some tracks from SH3. "Not Tomorrow 4" is in the same style but harsher and rawer, definitely reminds me of SH1. NT4 is one of my absolute favourite tracks on the new album. None of them are anything like SH1's "Not Tomorrow 1" (the Lisa track), though.

Just in case anyone is wondering, the MP3 pouch that was shipped with the OST can handle a heavy wash/dry cycle. I spilled French vanilla coffee on it at work (d'oh!) and decided to run it through the wash with my clothes tonight. It came out smelling like a cool breeze blowin' across a meadow on a spring day. Perfect for Silent Hill.

Heh, me thinks you should take up poetry!
OK, I want to know, how are the Not Tomorrow tracks? Not Tomorrow is one of my favorite video game pieces, and I noticed that SH0 had two Not Tomorrows, which got my all excited, until I realized I'm broke. Anyway, let me know

cheers,

-avatar!

avatar!, look above, at post #23 in this thread (or were you specifically asking Zane's opinion?).

Thanks for the comments. So they're not like Lisa's Not Tomorrow... that's too bad. I was rather hoping they would be. Ah well

cheers,

-avatar!

...and suddenly the thread rises again!

Since SH0 did make it over to the PS2, I finally got my hands on it and began playing last week. And even in its rough form, I'm still getting a kick out of it. And of course, Akira has hit on all cylinders once again...which is the reason for me finally posting.

As I was enjoying what the game was throwing at me audio-wise, I burned Fungo's complete rip onto CD and began listening to it in my car. And it's still there. It might be there for quite a while too. (...although Soma Bringer might have something to say about that when it comes in. )

So I knew it was time to do the right and honorable thing, and I bought the official OST from Cocoebiz. While I wait for it to come in, I grabbed an MP3 set off the web, and took it for a spin.

Right at this moment, I think the work Akira Yamaoka has done for SH0 may just be the best he's done yet for the series...and if not, maybe a hair behind SH2. Don't get me wrong...I do enjoy what was done for 3 and 4; in fact, I was listening to the SH4 OST recently, and had forgotten just how great it was! But I'm not entirely sure that those two have quite pulled me in aurally the same way 0 has. And, much as with SH4, there are some non-game exclusives on the OST that are just as enjoyable as the game-related material.

However, while the album does come highly recommended, it's still only part of the story.

Fungo assembled the complete rip shortly before the official OST came out, and so in a departure from the normal scheme of things, there are many tracks in there that DID make the official release, such as Mary's songs (albeit under different names). But in the case of location audio, many of the tracks that were released officially are only a SAMPLE of what they are in the game, and thus appear in fully glory in the rip. For example, did you love "Insecticide" and "Real Solution"? Their rip counterparts, "Rediscovery" and "Casting an Illusion", offer even MORE of that goodness...in fact, in the case of the former, it's revealed that there was a long ambient intro! And the latter...oh man, if only I could express how much I LOVE that...!

And then, there are the pieces that didn't make the OST cut. As DanielK said, it's a shame that "Illusion in Me (Reprise)" and "White Lies" didn't make the cut. There's also  the scary-good ambient department, VERY WELL represented. Oh yeah...and "Embalmed in Memory" takes the soft little guitar lick from the bridge of "Shot Down in Flames" (aka "You're Afflicted"), and uses it as the backbone of a moody masterpiece!

So in the end, I say this...

If you have loved what Akira Yamaoka has done for Silent Hill in the past, and especially if you've been playing THIS game and really loving what you hear, the go buy the OST. Seriously, go buy it! BUT...once you have done that, you REALLY owe it to yourself to head on over to Silent Hill Media and get the complete rip as well. Your journey into this FANTASTIC sound world of Silent Hill 0rigins is incomplete without both.

Hey, you're not getting paid to advertise SH0, are you? I agree however, its a great soundtrack that so far hasn't gotten the buzz it deserves in the VGM community.

Represent!

Hmmm...maybe it did seem like a sales pitch after all.

But yeah, give the SH0 audio due credit, for it deserves it.