Soundtrack Saturday: Brütal Legend

In this weekly feature, I recommend game soundtracks. I share a few of my favorite tracks, talk about why everyone should listen to the soundtrack, and a little bit about the composer. This week's choice is Brütal Legend by Double Fine Productions.

THE STATS

Name: Brütal Legend
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: Double Fine Productions
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Genres: Action-adventure, real-time strategy
Composer(s): Peter McConnell

A Note: This entry is primarily about the original soundtrack composed by Peter McConnell (20 tracks) for Brütal Legend, with a bit at the end about the licensed music used in the game.

MY FAVORITE TRACKS

(The titles link to YouTube videos... and I highly recommend some good headphones to best enjoy all of the subtle elements of the music!)


The Chosen Roadie
(Length: 2:45) By far my favorite track by McConnell. This is EPIC. It builds, then thumps out a majestic beat as only a metal song can, and the guitar line is only amplified by an orchestral backdrop! (Are you picking up what I'm putting down?!)


11 O'clock Is a Direction
(Length: 2:28) Do you HEAR the speed of those drums and guitar? Notice they are in perfect sync the whole time! Imagine playing this song in Guitar Hero. You can, can't you? That's why it's so great.


Betrayed
(Length: 1:26)
That wailing, baleful guitar in the beginning, trying to move upward... echoed by orchestral strings that don't complete the phrase... responded to with... everything, in a descending modulation. Accurate musical portrayal of being betrayed!


Gather This Great Army
(Length: 1:06) This would have been higher on my list except it's so short. So much potential... It leaves you wanting more. SHOW ME... THE ARMY... OF GREATNESS! (<-- Imagine Jack Black saying that. It's glorious, is it not?)


Lamprey Attack
(Length: 2:31) I played the game and don't remember this, but the guitar and drums are epic in this one, too. It's head and shoulders above many of the other tracks I didn't list. Not exactly a song I can picture wanting to play on Expert difficulty in Guitar Hero, but a worthy contender nonetheless.

You can listen to the (almost) full soundtrack on YouTube: 

Brütal Legend OST

(It's missing A Creature Shall Rise, But I gotchu, friend.)

WHY I RECOMMEND IT

First of all, have you watched a trailer for the game? Have you heard anything about it at all? I know it isn't super-brand-spankin'-new, but it included characters voiced by Jack Black, Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford, Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford and even the fantastic Tim Curry. Black voices the main character, Eddie Riggs, who is "the best roadie for the worst heavy metal band." The game pays homage to the culture of bands, roadies, fans and their history alongside heavy metal bands over time. It's part tongue-in-cheek, part auditory party, part strategy game, and part action game. It's not for everyone, but if you aren't taking it too seriously I think it's thoroughly enjoyable.

With that said, the combination of original soundtrack with licensed heavy metal music went a long way to making the game as good as it is. The original tracks can hold their own in a fantastic way, marrying the tones and styles of heavy metal with a broad orchestral back-up. Then there's a lot of incentive for players to unlock those licensed songs in the game so they can enjoy them while they play, and what music-loving gamer is going to resist a siren call like that? (Looking, again, at those Guitar Hero folks. You know what I'm talking about. It's okay -- I'm one of you.)

THE COMPOSER: PETER MCCONNELL

Here we have another great video game composer, folks. He worked for a long while at LucasArts, producing music for titles like Monkey Island, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars, as well as Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Psychonauts, and Costume Quest. He and LucasArts composer Michael Land co-invented LucasArts' patented interactive music system, iMUSE (which works to keep on-game action and music in-sync and transitions from one theme to another seamlessly). The long and short is that the dude has some great cred. He checks out, and his other works are well worth looking into!

I tweeted Jack Black while working on this to see if he had a favorite track by McConnell. As of the time of writing this, I haven't had a response yet. I'll update this space if he ever replies! (Low expectations, though. Less disappointing that way!)

THE LICENSED MUSIC

There are ALSO 107 heavy metal songs the player can unlock in the game which were selected by the game's creative director, Tim Schafer, and music director Emily Ridgway. They not only chose well-known songs (well, the ones they could afford the licensing fees for), but they reached out to Jack Black, Lita Ford, and a used CD store owner who was able to refer them to lesser known metal bands to flesh out the subgenres for the in-game factions. Pretty impressive, and that's something I think every music-lover and musician can appreciate!

If the original soundtrack by McConnell doesn't float your boat, you can tune in to a playlist of the licensed music in the game over on Spotify. Not all of the songs are available there, but you can get the full track list here on the Brütal Legend wiki.