Akira Yamaoka: Silent Hill Soundtrack Vinyl 2LP

I’m not a huge gamer (I called it quits when they abruptly stopped making games for the Sega Dreamcast, which i’m still pissed off about), but the original Silent Hill on Playstation is the only game to scare the shit out of me to this day. Listening to the soundtrack is just as suspenseful as playing the game; the record shifts from melancholy synthesizer compositions into fierce industrial beats with no warning. Also contains a good mix of tense strings, clanging pipes and urban ambience. Burial even lifted some ghostly female vocals from the Silent Hill 3 soundtrack for his 2007 urban dread classic Untrue. I would probably file this with horror soundtracks instead of video game soundtracks; this is a world away from Panzer Dragoon and Contra. Somewhere between This Mortal Coil, Twin Peaks and early Nine Inch Nails. 41 tracks spread across two vinyl LPs, housed in gatefold sleeve with brand new artwork, obi strip and poly-lined inner sleeves.

• double vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve
• poly-lined inner sleeves
• obi strip
• music label: Mondo 2017

reviewed by mayor of hounslow 05/2017