People of Earth! I have returned after years and years to muse musically.
I hope this sets a new record for time lapsed before returning to an ongoing series of posts. When we last left this five-part feature (on part three), we waxed nostalgic on the subject of Shadowgate and its myriad beeps and boops. Surely I dare not attempt to top the work of Guy Who Composed Shadowgate‘s Music, right?
But there are two slots left, and I have to give the second to last one up to our boy Sotaro Tojima, who provided one of the best shooter soundtracks of all time that you don’t listen to enough in Konami’s Axelay, for your Super Nintendo Entertainment System. For starters, note how he lulls the listener into a false sense of security in the opening track “Axelay,” just before closing with an intense beat that foreshadows all of the Mode 7 scaling madness that’s to come.
By the time “Unkai,” the first full track of the game, comes on, you should be amply prepared for the most harrowing of high-flying adventures, avoiding small floating islands and drifting boulders while the music blares an almost arrogant trumpet of optimism out of the speakers.
I have to say that, despite its brevity, the standout track for me on this collection is “Bio-Tech,” a song not unlike something a mystical band of aliens would play in a strange bar at the edge of our galaxy. You may find your own gems within the 19 tracks available below, but I would be truly shocked if they ended up giving off a more cosmic radiation than this one! Now, please download the soundtrack for your enjoyment, and play the game too if you get a chance.
Download it here (MegaUpload – 40.16 MB)
Track Listing:
1. Axelay (1:41)
2. Setup (0:50)
3. Unkai (4:03)
4. Spiders (1:26)
5. Bravo (0:20)
6. Colony (4:15)
7. Cosmic Dance (3:04)
8. Mother (3:57)
9. What’s That (1:48)
10. Silence (3:26)
11. Bio-Tech (1:33)
12. Burning (3:22)
13. Fire Shoot (1:36)
14. Cosmos (3:09)
15. Danger (4:12)
16. Finale Alert (1:48)
17. Toughness (1:20)
18. The Moment of Rest (1:40)
19. Return to Mother (2:13)
subhumanzoids 