Akira Yamaoka -Silent Hill Soundtracks

opeth_353

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What are your opinions on the soundtracks he has produced for these games?

For me he is a huge inspiration and he has been a large influence on one of my favourite bands, The Axis Of Perdition. His soundtrack for Silent Hill 3, to my ears, has parrallels to Ulver's 'Sivdd Neger' which is no small feat!

http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/108 Here's a link to download the soundtrack for Silent Hill 3 if you are interested - for Fans of Ulver's ambient work i would strongly advise you check it out. Unfortunately you have to download each track individually.

If you are already familiar with and fond of his work, which work is your favourite and how did you first hear his work? etc.. etc..
 
Brilliant composer, i'm a huge SH fan and his soundtracks are incredible...''sugar tender'', ''theme of laura'' and ''you're not here'' are my favourite songs and fine examples of thrilling dark alternative rock music
 
I love the Silent Hill series and the music and the overall sound design (he does all of the sounds in the game as well) in them is amazing. I think he has a huge part in creating the bone chilling atmosphere in the game (just try playing it with the sound turned down a bit). I own all the soundtracks on CD. I prefer the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack myself, but all of them are nice in their own way (though 4, much like the game itself, was the least impressive to me).

Can't wait for the next Silent Hill game.
 
Yeh when i found out he did all of the sound stuff for Silent Hill it just increased my respect for him! And sadly i've only got the soundtracks as mp3 downloads from the site i gave the link for >< .. Only thoroughly listened to the 1st and 3rd soundtrack seeing as they're the only games i played in any depth.
And i totally agree - I remember i got the original game not long after it came out and i was still pretty young. It never properly scared me, but it was a creepy experience - helped by such effective use of dramatic sound effects.
 
You should definitely play SH2 properly then. It is still the best one of the series in terms of overall atmosphere and storyline. SH4 was unfortunately a bit of a let-down though (it's worth playing if you're a fan, but lacking in many ways).
 
I'm sad enough to have read up about the storylines of the other games when trying to see how far The Axis Of Perdition were inspired by the games, and i managed to figure out the SH4 was also the weakest game. Silent Hill 1 will most likely remain my favourite seeing as i remember when i first went into the other world school i was just sucked into the game entirely.
 
Silent Hill 2 is one hell of a psychological mindfuck, but I love how SH3 references SH1.

Silent Hill 5 is in the works, but I heard it was only for PS3.....which means I'm shit out of luck (like most of you more than likely).
 
I prefer the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack myself, but all of them are nice in their own way (though 4, much like the game itself, was the least impressive to me).

Can't wait for the next Silent Hill game.

:worship: Yes, I agree with you. SH2, as a game, and ESPECIALLY experience, means so much to me. Not only the best soundtrack in the series, but imo one of the finest game soundtracks I have heard (or soundtrack in general.) I honestly have to say that it was a masterpiece...from beginning to end. And yep, SH4, while featuring more highly impressive music, sort of disappointed me as a SH game. It just didn't quite do it for me. As for SH5? Oh yeah, back to SH2 basics I hear - a psychological terror, which I feel suits SH best.


Silent Hill 2 is one of my favourite video games...ever. If someone is not into video games at all they should check it out, for the highly fucked up, interesting story and music.

Haha, for those who haven't witnessed the psychedelic horror that is SH2, then please, indulge yourself with these links. I assure you, they rock!

This one here is an official trailer featuring 2 of the most popular tracks from the game;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xnUoywnr0o&mode=related&search=
and another trailer...best I've seen - for people who want to know what it's all about;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0epFoJb0jM&mode=related&search=

And THIS one is a BRILLIANT fan-made remix as well as a newly, impressive video specifically made for the song...wow, I alwaus thought some of the songs from SH reminded me of Opeth but this dude confirms it even more - A MUST SEE!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvIe8hSHAvg&mode=related&search=




Ah, this is a fantastic thread! I could go on forever about the genius of Silent Hill as a series and the heart of it all; Akira Yamaoka. They are all so amazingly artistic.
 
Yeah, the first three soundtracks are extraordinary, with the Silent Hill 2 being my favorite. This is one of the few, if not the only modern video game music that serves a greater purpose than just being there in the background.
 
Can you buy these soundtracks at a music store?

The soundtrack to 28 Days Later movie is reallu nice and man do I love the Svidd Neger soundtrack by Ulver.

Thank you guy so much for this thread, these soundtracl sound great and I can wait to buy them now.

Anything else worth checking out if I love Ulvers Svidd Negers type of stuff?
 
Game-wise, SH2 was a *lot* better than SH3, so I think that may have impacted my reception of the soundtracks. To be fair, though, both soundtracks are quite excellent (Hometown at the end of SH3 is a bit goofy, though...)

No it wasn't a *lot* better, SH3 was filled with much more adrenaline and tension, a more intriguing storyline, better graphics, monster design and a more charismatic main character. I like SH2 a lot though...
 
Resident Evil 4 was amazing and one of my favourite games ever.. But the original Resident Evil games played like shit - i still loved the original game seeing as it's one of the first games i completed, but lord i turned the air blue with the shitty controls.
The atmosphere in SH > RE tenfold. The whole concept of SH > RE tenfold. The music of Silent Hill is awesome - i can't even remember the Resident Evil music!

And just so you know, the Oblivion soundtrack is available on the site in my signature. It's bloody lovely!
 
Resident Evil 4 was amazing and one of my favourite games ever.. But the original Resident Evil games played like shit - i still loved the original game seeing as it's one of the first games i completed, but lord i turned the air blue with the shitty controls.
The atmosphere in SH > RE tenfold. The whole concept of SH > RE tenfold. The music of Silent Hill is awesome - i can't even remember the Resident Evil music!

And just so you know, the Oblivion soundtrack is available on the site in my signature. It's bloody lovely!
I have played all the games, once you get used to the controls, it is very easy to use. I especially love the RE2, Code Veronica, and RE0, which all have great soundtracks... And I think RE has a much better concept and atmosphere imo, I have only played Silent Hill a few times but I was bored with it and thought it wasn't very scary...
 
I've played more Resident Evil than i have Silent Hill. I got used to the controls, yet i still cursed them for being so crap. I guess this is just another 'imo iyo' thing.