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Music of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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The music of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013), developed by PlatinumGames and published by Konami, was composed primarily by Jamie Christopherson. Composed over a period of six months starting in November 2011, Christopherson worked with several other artists such as Logan Mader to create 13 heavy metal tracks for the game, some of which were assigned to specific characters and are adaptive to the gameplay.. The soundtrack received praise for its composition and usage in the game. It has since been popular in meme culture, being attributed to Metal Gear Rising's resurgence in popularity in 2022, and it has been subject to analysis for the themes portrayed by the lyrics in several of its tracks.

Background and composition

The soundtrack of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was primarily composed by Jamie Christopherson over a six-month period. Christopherson had previously done work for several Japanese clients and composed music for games such as Lost Planet 2 (2010). Christopherson was first contacted by PlatinumGames when they hired Soundelux DMG for the game's sound effects and voiceover work.[1] As they were hiring Soundelux, Platinum requested that Christopherson compose the game's soundtrack in November 2011, around midway through the game's development.[2][1] This was Christopherson's first time composing an entire album's worth of music, and he described the amount of work and collaboration needed to create it to GameZone as "something completely different than I've experienced before in producing a soundtrack" and as "the most collaborative effort of any project that I've worked on".[1]

Due to the scale of the project, Christopherson enlisted the help of other artists to sing and write the game's vocal tracks, such as ex-guitarist for Machine Head Logan Mader, electronic DJ Ferry Corsten, Voodoo Highway singer Graeme Cornies, Jason Charles Miller, and remixers Maniac Agenda.[1][3] Additionally, Christopherson was given some guidelines by Hideo Kojima on writing lyrics for the game's bosses, though most of the guidance was given to Christopherson by Platinum.[1] Unlike previous games in the Metal Gear series, which were stealth-based and primarily used more cinematic music,[4] Metal Gear Rising was being developed as a hack and slash, and thus the soundtrack was required to be more energetic.[1] Platinum requested a soundtrack consisting of heavy metal, like the soundtracks of previous projects such as Bayonetta (2009) and Anarchy Reigns (2012), though due to Christopherson's lack of experience in creating metal music, he required the assistance of other artists he had hired to mix their ideas together.[2] The team also integrated different "types" of metal for the boss fights, citing "Rammstein metal" as the basis for the track "Red Sun", and using primarily synthesizers for tracks such as "The Stains of Time".[5] A total of 13 tracks were composed for the game, and by the end of development, around 700 gigabytes worth of files were transferred back-and-forth between Christopherson and Naoto Tanaka, Platinum’s music director.[2] During the game's midnight launch in Los Angeles, Konami invited the first 150 people in line to a private concert where Christopherson and his team performed the soundtrack live.[1]

Implementation in-game

"The Only Thing I Know For Real"
An excerpt from "The Only Thing I Know For Real", used in the game's boss fight against Jetstream Sam and demonstrating the soundtracks heavy metal composition. Critics praised the tracks lyrics for fitting with Sam's theme of struggling with identity loss.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The soundtrack was implemented in-game to be adaptive to gameplay, with lyrics being responsive to what was happening in-game. Platinum arranged and mixed Christopherson's work with the Wwise engine to "kick in at the height of the boss battles", and make them fit with the motivations of each character. An example of this is the track "The Only Thing I Know For Real", the boss theme for Jetstream Sam, being arranged to "represent his inner thoughts being overtaken by concentration" in the words of NME.[5] Another example of this is in the game's opening, where the track "Rules of Nature" plays as Raiden faces off against a Metal Gear Ray, and the lyrics are arranged to become audible when Raiden parries Ray.[6]

Album

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – Vocal Tracks
Soundtrack album to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance by
Jamie Christopherson
ReleasedFebruary 19, 2013
GenreElectronic rock, heavy metal
Length1:11:16
LabelKonami Digital Entertainment, Sumthing Else
ProducerJamie Christopherson

The soundtrack was included as a part of the Limited Edition of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which released on February 19, 2013.[7] It also received a separate physical and digital release at the same time.[1]

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – Vocal Tracks (disc 1)
No.TitleLength
1."Rules of Nature" (Platinum Mix)2:30
2."The Only Thing I Know For Real" (Maniac Agenda Mix)2:26
3."Dark Skies" (Platinum Mix)2:21
4."I'm My Own Master Now" (Platinum Mix)2:10
5."A Stranger I Remain" (Maniac Agenda Mix)2:25
6."Return to Ashes" (Platinum Mix)2:15
7."The Stains of Time" (Maniac Agenda Mix)2:10
8."Red Sun" (Maniac Agenda Mix)2:13
9."A Soul Can't Be Cut" (Platinum Mix)2:19
10."Collective Consciousness" (Maniac Agenda Mix)2:38
11."It Has To Be This Way" (Platinum Mix)2:55
12."The War Still Rages Within"5:00
13."The Hot Wind Blowing feat. Ferry Corsten" (Platinum Mix)2:18
14."A Soul Can't Be Cut" (Platinum Mix)2:19
15."Dark Skies" (Platinum Mix – Low Key Version)2:17
16."Return to Ashes" (Platinum Mix – Low Key Version)2:14
17."A Soul Can't Be Cut" (Platinum Mix – Low Key Version)2:10
18."Rules of Nature" (Platinum Mix – Instrumental)2:30
19."The Only Thing I Know For Real" (Maniac Agenda Mix – Instrumental)2:26
20."Dark Skies" (Platinum Mix – Instrumental)2:17
21."I'm My Own Master Now" (platinum mix – instrumental)2:10
22."A Stranger I Remain" (Maniac Agenda Mix – Instrumental)2:25
23."Return to Ashes" (Platinum Mix – Instrumental)2:15
24."The Stains of Time" (Maniac Agenda Mix – Instrumental)2:10
25."Red Sun" (Maniac Agenda Mix – Instrumental)2:13
26."A Soul Can't Be Cut" (platinum mix – Instrumental)2:19
27."Collective Consciousness" (Maniac Agenda Mix – Instrumental)2:38
28."It Has To Be This Way" (Platinum Mix – Instrumental)2:55
29."The Hot Wind Blowing Feat. Ferry Corsten" (Platinum Mix – Instrumental)2:18

Reception and legacy

The soundtrack of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance received generally positive reception from critics.[4][8] It has been praised for its ability to adapt to in-game actions by Scott McCrae of VG247, with the track "Rules of Nature" being considered a "perfect introduction" to the game.[6] A staff review for AllMusic described the soundtrack as a "driving and hectic blend of electronica and hard rock" that helped "get players in the right headspace to play as katana-wielding cyborgs".[4]

The connections between the soundtrack and specific characters, philosophies, and in-game events have also been praised.[6] McCrae praised "The Only Thing I Know For Real" and "It Has To Be This Way" for their encapsulations of Jetstream Sam's struggle with loss of identity and Senator Armstrong's forced conflict with Raiden despite their similar philosophies respectively. They furthermore described that "each song perfectly encapsulates the character it represents".[6] The views on "The Only Thing I Know For Real" were concurred by Heather Alexandra, a former writer for Kotaku,[9] in their book titled Rules of Nature, describing the track's representation of Sam as "they don’t even know the reason they are holding their weapon".[10]: 19  Alexandra additionally praised more tracks in the game, describing two specific ones, "Collective Consciousness" and "The Hot Wind Blowing", to have similar themes to American soldiers and westward expansion throughout history. Noting both songs to use the word "blindly" to demonstrate their themes, "Collective Consciousness" was believed to focus more on the populace, with "The Hot Wind Blowing" focusing on the relationship between them and the soldiers, with the latter using what was described as a "buffalo image" to invoke similarities between the hunting and near extinction of buffalo and the historical image of "American carelessness".[10]: 32–33 

The soundtrack has seen extensive use in Internet memes, with earlier memes revolving around "Rules of Nature" before dying out.[6] In 2022, memes surrounding the game and its soundtrack were attributed to Metal Gear Rising's resurgence in popularity, with the game having a 1000% increase in players on Steam in May of that year.[3] Additional memes surrounding the soundtrack were created, such as those mixing "Collective Consciousness" with Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You.[5] The game's style of adaptive music has been noted to be used in games such as Devil May Cry 5 (2019) and Hi-Fi Rush (2023).[6] The soundtrack has been considered one of the best in video game history by Clash and Rolling Stone, with the former describing it as "(tremendously) ludicrous" and the latter describing it as adding an "additional level of propulsive energy to the game’s frenetic hack-and-slash action".[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Workman, Robert (2013-03-12). "Interview: Rocking out with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance composer Jamie Christopherson". GameZone. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  2. ^ a b c Rea, Jasmine Maleficent (2013-02-23). "The peculiar origin of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance's heavy-metal sound (interview)". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  3. ^ a b "How Memes And An Immortal Soundtrack Have Revived Metal Gear Rising". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  4. ^ a b c Jamie Christopherson - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance [Original Video Game Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 2023-12-07
  5. ^ a b c Nelson, Will (2022-06-16). "'Metal Gear Rising' composer talks meme resurgence and lyrical boss fights". NME. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  6. ^ a b c d e f McCrae, Scott (2023-02-21). "Forget remakes and remasters – there's never been a better time to revisit Metal Gear Rising Revengeance". VG247. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  7. ^ "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Limited Edition announced". Shacknews. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  8. ^ "Review: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PC) - Hardcore Gamer". 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  9. ^ "Goodbye Heather Alexandra, Stealth Ninja And Big Boss Critic". Kotaku. 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  10. ^ a b Alexandra, Heather (2016). RULES OF NATURE. Lulu.com. p. 19. ISBN 9781365140983.
  11. ^ Diver, Mike (2013-09-16). "7 Of The Best: Video Game Soundtracks". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  12. ^ Deane, Donald (2013-10-04). "Nine Legitimately Awesome Video Game Soundtracks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
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