"VG Music" v. "Real Music"?!

After I wrote "DEVILS NEVER CRY (because they) NEVER SURRENDER!", I got to thinking, What are some other musicians/bands that have also contributed to video game music? Some other bands that come to mind are Crush40, Megadeth, Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame), and Julien-K. I'm sure there are others that I'm not considering, but their names elude me at the moment. 

Crush40: They actually started off as under the name Sons of Angels, but eventually changed their name after the first Sonic Adventure. Most of their music was composed for the Sonic games, but some of their earlier work was devoted to NASCAR Arcade. 

This song, "Live & Learn," is from Sonic Adventure 2:

This next song, "Into The Wind," comes from their only full-length album, Crush40:

Megadeth: As any metalhead worth his lengthy locks knows, Megadeth's been in the metal game since the 80's, often focusing on contemporary socio-political issues (with some personal life-faith stories sprinkled in between). 

This song, "Sudden Death," was first featured in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as the one of the last songs, which was intentional (when you hear the song, you'll understand). This song was later featured in Megadeth's 13th album, Th1rt3en.

As for a song that reflects Megadeth outside of the gaming industry, it's hard to pick just one! Aside from obvious picks such as "Symphony of Destruction," "Hangar 18," "Holy Wars," "A Tout Le Monde," "Trust," "In My Darkest Hour," "Peace Sells," and so much more, I decided to put in an unconventional song, "502," a song about the fast life on the road.

   

Trent Reznor: When he's not working on material for Nine Inch Nails or How To Destroy Angels, Reznor works on composing music score for films (The Social Network) or video games (Quake, COD: Black Ops II). 

Since I'm not too familiar Reznor's work with film and gaming, I'll use a recent score, the Black Ops II main theme:

As for music outside of gaming, like Megadeth, it's difficult to pick just one. Just about every song from PHM or TDS is pretty good as some exceptional picks from With Teeth, Year Zero, The Slip, and even Ghosts I-IV, I'll pick a personal favorite from 1999's The Fragile, "Into the Void:"

Julien-K: Julien-K's one of those bands that you have to be "in the know" to know their music, you know? Similar, to Combichrist, Noisia, and Da Octopuss, Julien-K has good dance beats, fuzzy noises, and catchy hooks, which promises for a good time on the dance floor.

One of their earliest contributions, "This Machine," has been featured in Sonic Heroes, serving as the theme for Team Dark. Julien-K also has contributed to the music score of Michael Bay's iterations of the Transformers franchise.

As for a song outside of gaming and the filmscape, the featured song is "Futura (DTA Mix)," some other songs to listen to are "Death to Analog," "Kick the Bass," "Systeme de Sexe," "We're Here With You," "Spring Palms Reset," and "Nights of Future Past," among others. 

So, with all that's said and done, I just made another list of sorts (and I didn't realize it, until now). Maybe I should work on making more lists in general. Well, that's all for now! Until next time, my fellow readers! 

DEVILS NEVER CRY (because they) NEVER SURRENDER!

I had the pleasure of spending time with a dear friend almost a week ago. We were driving back home after visiting friends and seeing old familiar faces when he played a familiar song through his phone (which was hooked up to his radio). Only I couldn't place the name of the song. So I gave up asked my friend, "Who is this again?" He looks at me and says, "You don't remember? This is Combichrist - this song is the main theme from the latest Devil May Cry!" 

Of course! How could I forget! That's why the song was familiar - this song plays during the introductory cinematic scene of the game, highlighting Dante's exorbitant lifestyle of women, fast times, and all-around recklessness. It's been quite some time since I've played DMC: Devil May Cry since I had already accomplished all that I could do (such as maxing out the Life/Devil Trigger bars, earning all combos, finding all secrets, ect. - I pretty much got my money's worth playing the game). Since I've done all that I could do gaming-wise, perhaps the only reason why I'd revisit the game would be for its music. 

Much of the in-game music was composed by both Combichrist and Noisia, two electronica  groups (in the broadest sense: they're actually Aggrotech and Neurofunk/Grime, respectively). The music composed for the game is fantastic and flawless - their styles compliment the re-imaging of the Devil May Cry franchise perfectly. As I mentioned a whiles back in my Da Octopuss post, this is the type of music that belongs in gothic, underground dance clubs of sorts. I've been loving this style of music, and quite frankly, I want more of this type of music in my life. Julien-K is somewhat similar, as well as Da Octopuss, so I've got that going for me.

Anyhow, here is the theme song of DMC:Devil May Cry, called "Never Surrender," the one my good  friend was blasting in his car radio:

And here is one of Noisia's offerings from the game:

Maybe after I'm done with this year's CD collecting quest, I'll devise a new list that'll focus more on this type of music.