Entry 1090 - The Medium

Style: Video game music, ambient, rock, dark ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: A continuation of the Silent Hill games incredible music

Thoughts: The Silent Hill games are among some of the best soundtracks... no some of the best music in my collection. The fact that this level of quality is attributed to video game music gives a lot of credence to the fact that the genre is indeed one to be reckoned with. 

All of this is of course due to the excellent compositions of Akira Yamaoka, who until recently had left the Silent Hill series behind. In it's place we have games like The Medium. While not the same level of deep constant terror that Silent Hill provides, the game has it's own merits... and the music. Oh the music is a direct continuation of the standards set in Silent Hill.

The most defining feature of the Silent Hill series' music is the constant "hazy" feeling that the music contains. It always feels like there is something hiding in the music, something that is obscured from our senses... only waiting to ambush us in the future. That same quality is retained in The  Medium. 

I know I've compared this soundtrack a lot to the past works of Yamaoka, and that is with good reason. Both he and Reikowski have created a soundtrack that not only pays tribute to the past... it very well could be part of that same legacy. 

The guitars have that same semi distorted tone with just a hint of reverb mixed in. The keyboards are thick as pea soup and require a lot of concentration to hear all the layers of. The atmosphere is foreboding and in many cases completely oppressive. Hell we even have Mary McGlynn on vocals. Every element of the previous series is here, and The Medium expands and evolves it into new directions as well. 

This album and albums like it are why I still listen to video game music. There is no other genre that has managed to create this type of atmosphere, not even dark ambient. It is unique to Yamaoka's writing style, and he chooses to compose for games. Another masterful work in his impeccable discography.