VANGOUGH — Game On! (review)

Album · 2010 · Progressive Metal

3/5 · 2011-03-19
AtomicCrimsonRush

A tribute to video games over the last two decades.

Vangough's "Game On!" is a real curio as it is music solely based on a variety of video games. The Killer Instinct theme brought back memories and I did recognise the underwater level sequence to SNES Donkey Kong Country. These are instant highlights but the rest is background music and nothing more than that. Of course this can be a good thing for studying or reading and I have no problem with that. It's just that I was expecting a prog metal album, and it didn't deliver. I was quite disappointed with this album as I won this item and was hoping for an excellent treasure, not more instrumental background stuff.

In essence the album has some great tracks on it it beginning with the rocking 'Wily's Castle' with a scorching wah wah lead guitar break; music from Mega Man 2 that I never played on any console. It is OK to be fair at first listen but does not grow on me like a lot of music will after a time. After a while the music does slot in to that background music category that plagues prog instrumentals. 'Marine Fortress' has a cool melody with metal touches taken from one of my fave electronic games Wave Race 64.

One of the highlights is 'Simon's Revenge', the first epic with 5 songs combined into one; we have thunder and bells in the intro, followed by a plethora of musical styles. It features the melodies 'Simons Theme, Beginning, The Cave, Into The Castle and Bloody Tears'. I like the crunching metal riff in the first section in particular. The time sig changes fo rhte next section with keyboards competing with distortion. I love the lead guitar break with the harp in the mid section; wonderful music here. At times there are some creepy nuances, cathedral vamopire music and low drones with sustained choral keyboards.

'Your Darkest Hour' is taken from Punch Out! a 1980s retro theme. Quite a bit of fun really and does capture that retro 80s vibe. It is quite heavy with some inspirational guitar riffing and extended lead breaks.

'The Turtle King' is from the game Super Mario Bros, a cult game that all gamers are familiar with. A very heavy distorted guitar begins this with thrashing drums. Due to the thrashier quality this is one song that actually can be classed as definitive metal. The off kilter time sig is great too. Another highlight of the album.

'Green Hill Terror' is a medley of Sonic The Hedgehog, everyone's favourite blue speedy hedgehog. The track rocks along at a stedy tempo, with twin guitar leads and a chugging metal riff. It seems that the album picks up pace the furhter we get into it. The tracks become more metal and less keyboard driven. The lead on this is played at a fret melting speed and certainly worth a listen.

'Corneria' is another Mega Man inspired track. It has a retro flavour and is quite a boppy number with massive amounts of lead and keyboard trade offs.

'Killer Instinct' is from that game, a direct homage to the classic with tonal and rhythmic variations according to Vangough. I owened the free CD that came with the game and this is similar though with a heavier feel. The drums are incredible on this, majestic flourishes and cymbal splashes with double kick pounding rhythms.

'Torvus Bog' is from Metroid, a medley of various themes from the game. It features some of Vangough's heaviest material according to the liner notes of the album. I can believe that too listening to its heavy doomy structure. It begins with soaring lead and then a very low distorted riff gallops along with keyboard interjections.

Finally we get to Donkey Kong Country and the water level 'Coral Capers' - ah, the memories come flooding back. I spent too long on this level when I was addicted to beating that pesky game. It is a melancholy track but a good one to end the album.

I do not like to play the devil's advocate to new music out there, but this was rather an absurd idea; to write music inspired by video games. The video game music should remain with the games though I can understand how this will appeal to a niche fan base. Although I did have an affinity for video games in my youth, I am not likely to want to return to the music from those games. Perhaps the music is more designed for the youth video game target audience. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for winning this album thanks to the generosity of the Vangough members, perhaps I should hear another album apart from this to make up my mind. 3 stars for me, as it certainly has some great riffs and some cool retro memories contained therein. .