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Western Video Game Music: A Primer

Grant Kirkhope worked on Viva Pinata? I guess I'll listen to the OST since I'll probably never play the game anyway.

Really great OST that one if you like the idea of a whimsical orchestrated soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbXXTsdSGVk

Coming to think of it I never doubted western composers compared to Japan's since I grew up with tons of Rareware games and what a list of composers they had under their belt.

And these days you've got so many quality indie game soundtracks sneaking out to the point that even top quality stuff can fly under the radar.
 
Jesper Kyd is a musical genius. Have to admit I'm a little disappointed to see him relegated to mere honorable mentions, but what can ya do.

Some of my favorite tracks of his:

Hitman 2 - Exploration

Freedom Fighters - March of the Empire

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - The Apple Chamber

Also pretty much every one of his main menu themes is amazing (Codename 47, Contracts, Blood Money, etc.). Pretty sure Codename 47's menu theme was the very first videogame song I ripped onto a CD back in the day lol
 
David Bergeaud is super good. Have really come to love his work in the Ratchet and Clank series quite a bit, the music just isn't the same without him behind it. He needs more love
 
I would like to mention Concerned Ape, he also did the whole music for Stardew Valley and it's quality stuff.

I'm on monbile right now so it' an annoyence to link to some of the tracks.
 

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I approve of this thread.

I'm also gonna mention Kirill Wladimirowitsch Pokrowski who worked for years with Larian on the Divinity games and produced some stellar work. RIP
 
Awesome thread, will have to listen through some of these when I find the time, subbed.

I'd like to add some of the wonderful work of Stéphane Picq of Cryo Interactive fame.

Dune - Arrakis
Dune - Spice Opera - Chani's Eyes
Lost Eden - Magnificents

As for Alexander Brandon, I think Bejeweled 3's OST with Peter Hajba is an overlooked gem, an incredibly catchy, melodic soundtrack. The entire OST is great.

Bejeweled 3 - Classic Mode Part 4
Bejeweled 3 - Quest Theme
Bejeweled 3 - Take Your Time
Bejeweled 3 - Final Turn
 

petran79

Banned
Xcorcist

Using the Waldorf PPG Waveterm-A sound systems that made Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk most famous, the darkwave outfit Xorcist joined the reign of fellow industrialists like Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly, and Nitzer Ebb with its inception in 1985. Composed of Bat, Xorcist became a forerunner in the electro-goth circuit throughout the '80s and '90s, releasing six albums and a handful of singles between 1991 and 1999. What made Xorcist so popular was the incredible mixing of various industrial and goth rock threads; the music couldn't be wholly defined. Bat also delved into a side project called Xenon and went on to have some of his material sampled in several films and multimedia productions, most notably working production on MTV's Aeon Flux and the CD-ROM games !The Iron Helix, !Space Bunnies Must Die, and !Bad Mojo. Xorcist, who was signed to Metropolis as of early 2000, released Insects & Angels Difference & Indifference later that fall. Xorcist's album roster also includes Phantoms (1995), Soul Refelection (1997), and Nomad (1999). (MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide.)

Xorcist started as a one-man act, founded by Bat who began experimenting in music in 1985. In 1990, he formed Xorcist in an attempt to set new musical standards in the electronic music scene, crossing over industrial music with sonic soundscapes. He was eventually joined by Evoltwin.8, who also provided cover art for several releases.

As of recently, all music released by Xorcist as well as Stone's other projects (Xenon and Diode Fetish) are available for download on the official website. Bat continues to DJ under the name DJ Bat, and hosts his own radio show on his website: CyberDen. Bat has also done work on the MTV production Aeon Flux, as well as the soundtracks for the games The Iron Helix, Bad Mojo, and Space Bunnies Must Die. (Wikipedia.)




Bad Mojo OST


Equipment used for Iron Helix. AtariST computers....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScJUzgfN1cE
 

Teknoman

Member
I, too, find the debate between Japan and the West tiresome, as if there is no good Western videogame music.

I know it's been mentioned, but Solar Fields's work on Mirror's Edge is good stuff.

The Shard Puzzle

Kate Puzzle

Also, Might and Magic VI:

Frozen Highlands

Freehaven

Temple of the Ancients

And Might and Magic VII:

Temple of the Sun, Moon, Baa

Deyja, Bracada Desert

I think both of these were done mostly by Paul Romero, but I'm not 100% sure on VI since the credits list multiple composers.

I think it's because the majority of mainstream AAA titles have generic bgm most of the, so that's what people take as an example of the whole.
 

JDdelphin

Member
Any love for Clint Bajakian?

The Outlaws soundtrack is just about the best Western score you could want.

(Also did music for WoW and Uncharted and stuff but daaaaamn that Outlaws ost. Sooooooo goooood.)
 

Wanderer5

Member
I'll give a shout to Nathan McCree. Best know as the composer from Tomb Raider I-III and other Core Design games, I took notice of him through Blam! Machine Head, which is a cool and unique breakbeat/dark trance soundtrack

Have you heard the previews for the upcoming The Tomb Raider Suite that McCree is doing? He put two songs up which are pretty good. Can't wait for the full album

He apparently even working on upcoming tomb raider movie!

I think most of the composers that has worked on Tomb Raider has done well, through I not really sure about the composers for the reboot series sadly. One of which I noted recently is Pixel Audio (made up of three composers) who has been working on games from Square Enix Montreal, along with other video games companies and such. Lara Croft GO's ambient music is so wonderful, and I enjoyed stuff from Deus Ex GO too.

Lara Croft GO:

The Bridge of Many Sides

The Temple of the Wise

The Doorstep of Spirits
 

GooeyHeat

Member
Spencer Nilsen
Oh man, this Spider-Man song is awesome. I love the US Sonic CD soundtrack but I never bothered to look up much of his other stuff.
Speaking of US Sonic CD, the version of Sonic Boom used in the game's ending/credits is one of my favorite vocal tracks in video game history.

Anyway, John Baker composed the music for the Genesis ToeJam & Earl games, and I think he's helping with the new one as well? The soundtrack to Panic on Funkotron in particular is really cool. Some standout tracks:
Main Theme
Ode To Sharla
Lewanda's Love
Aquajam
Rocket Rap
 

Wanderer5

Member
Want to give a shout out to Maclaine Diemer, Stan LePard, and Lena Chappelle for Guild Wars 2, who have done most of the music for post release content and the Heart of Thorns expansion, after Jeremy Soule did the music for the base game. I think all three have done a wonderful job following up on Soule's on the game, and I wish the best for where ever Lena Chappelle goes next (she recently left).

Maclaine Diemer:
Heart of Thorn Main Theme
Twisted Marionette Battle, Part 2
Rata Novus
Sabetha The Saboteur
Matthias Gabrel

Lena Chappelle:
Labyrinthine Cliffs
The Golden Cave
Tarir, The Forgotten City
Attack on Tarir
Mordremoth

Stan LePard:
Wintersday
HoT Combat 6
HoT Combat 10
View From the Canopy
 

mrlion

Member
Although not mentioned and I know the game has fallen into a huge pool of scrutiny, the soundtrack is just superb:

No Man's Sky (65daysofstatic):
Supermoon
Debutante

Those two are my absolute favorite tracks from the soundtrack. I also implore you to check out the rest of their work they are just an amazing band overall. Hopefully their careers won't be tainted by the game's massive backlash...
 
I'm glad to see people continue to suggest more tracks. It'll hard to fit all of them in, but once I have time to listen I'll certainly be adding a bunch to the OP!
 
David Bergeaud is super good. Have really come to love his work in the Ratchet and Clank series quite a bit, the music just isn't the same without him behind it. He needs more love

He does! Really wish his music could have been rearranged for the reimagining. Would have been an awesome opportunity to spotlight him, because I too think he's an extremely talented composer who is underappreciated.

Aranos - Flying Lab
Qwark's Hideout, Thran Asteroid
Planet Smolg
Maktar Arena Boss
Megacorp Testing Facility, Dobbo
Inside the Testing Facility
 

Hassun

Neo Member
First of all, Great thread!

I can listen to the entire The Last Ninja 2 OST any day and not be bored of it. It's really one of my all-time favourites.


Here are a few entries I'd like to add to what we already have:

Simon Viklund

He's mostly known for doing the Payday games but he has also worked on Bionic Commando Rearmed.



Gustaf Grefberg

Gustaf Grefberg has a long history in video games but has also worked on games like Payday, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Syndicate (2012), The Darkness and Enclave.



Chuck Doud

You may have not heard of Chuck Doud but he has worked on A LOT of video games, albeit usually as Music Director. He has composed one or two soundtracks though, my favourite being Syphon Filter.


 

Battlechili

Banned
I unfortunately cannot say that I find most of this music to be very good. For most of these Western tracks, I've found that indie games are usually the best source of strong music. I especially can't agree with the idea that Skyrim has good music.

However, I will add that I believe you should check out Woofle's work on Freedom Planet, which has a pretty phenomenal soundtrack. Probably my favorite Western game soundtrack.
Relic Maze 2
Prince Dail Boss Fight
Thermal Base 1
Pangu Lagoon (English)
 
I unfortunately cannot say that I find most of this music to be very good. For most of these Western tracks, I've found that indie games are usually the best source of strong music. I especially can't agree with the idea that Skyrim has good music.
Considering how much indie music has been posted in this thread, I'm not sure what you're going on about.

And to the older, I'm not sure why. You might not like the style, but it's definitely good music.

The only problem with Skyrim's OST is that at something like 4CDs long, there's entirely too much filler in it. But the good stuff is really good.
 

Phediuk

Member
I unfortunately cannot say that I find most of this music to be very good. For most of these Western tracks, I've found that indie games are usually the best source of strong music. I especially can't agree with the idea that Skyrim has good music.

However, I will add that I believe you should check out Woofle's work on Freedom Planet, which has a pretty phenomenal soundtrack. Probably my favorite Western game soundtrack.
Relic Maze 2
Prince Dail Boss Fight
Thermal Base 1
Pangu Lagoon (English)

Skyrim's music isn't good? wtf?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmp5fr4wUEA

Like, you don't think that sounds good? Why not?
 

Battlechili

Banned
Considering how much indie music has been posted in this thread, I'm not sure what you're going on about.
I don't mean to say that indie games in general have good music, moreso that I've found that most of my favorite western soundtracks are from indie games.

I suppose its fair though to say that not liking something is not the same as it not being good though, so forgive me for my previous statements.

Though, speaking of indie game soundtracks, Nightmargin also makes some pretty great music:
On Little Cat Feet
Phosphor [fast]
Skyrim's music isn't good? wtf?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmp5fr4wUEA

Like, you don't think that sounds good? Why not?
The first half of the track is pleasant but then it gets slower, quieter, and much more calm once the harpsichord stops playing, which is somewhat boring to me. But as I said, I take back me saying its bad to just say that its not something I personally find enjoyable.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Surprised Tim Follin got glossed over in the OP, he's probably my #1 western music composer (with Jake Kaufman being #2). He left the industry far too soon, but what he gave us was stunning.

I also remember liking Bjorn Lynne's stuff back in the day (mostly his original tracks), but can't recall what tracks in specific (Wikipedia tells me he worked on Worms, Lemmings, Alien Breed, among others). He's worth listing in here too but I'm at work and can't get to YT to share samples.

Also never knew Jeremy Soule did the Total Annihilation music. Probably the only RTS game I put any time into (friends in college where huge fans).

I do think one of the big problems with western game composers' mindshare is that a lot of great soundtracks languish on shitty licensed games (Pictionary, Silver Surfer, and The Smurfs Nightmare should NOT have the soundtracks they do!), old computer formats not popular outside of Europe (even the OP was light on C64/Amiga music), or the indie scene. Most people seem to jump the gun and instantly associate western games with "AAA" games and their generic classical music compositions or licensed pop music soundtracks.
 
Oh good, this got rump bumpted.

Forest Theme outta Westerado: Double Barreled by Sam van Lonkhuyzen

Dual leads are always an in with me, but the composition never trips up on a very well-worn path of "moseying cowboy standard" allowing this to really shine.

Main Theme outta Road Rash 1 (MD/Genny) by Rob Hubbard and Michael Bartlow

Redwood Forest

Pacific Coast

Palm Desert

HARD HARD hitting instrumentalizing in these. Brutal drums, looooooooong whammy bar shenanigans, teeth shuddering bass, every tone is so good.
 
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