Entry 1501 - Soul Reaver

Style: video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: loss of self, rebuilding from nothing, vampirism  

Thoughts: Legacy of Kain. What a legacy indeed. Not only was the world doomed by his decision, he feared that which surpassed him. Without a second thought he cursed his first born and threw him into an abyss of eternal torment. Razael's flesh peeled off of him as he suffered an eternity of burning agony. Not living, not dying... forever in limbo. Then came the voice...

"Serve me and you shall have your vengeance." These were the only words needed. Without knowing what would become of him the former vampire rose from the dead a second time... but not as a vampire. No. He was something more, his hunger deeper than that of blood. He required the very essence of life itself... he required souls. 

Soul Reaver is a game that follows Razael as he tries to regain and rebuild his former self. His brothers have all evolved into fiends beyond recognition, just as he has. The premise is utterly unique, and the only logical conclusion would be for the music to follow suit.

The music in Soul Reaver is unlike any other soundtrack... no unlike any other music that I have heard elsewhere. There is obviously melody and structure to the music but there is also this distant feeling to it. Like we are hearing an echo of what the music once was and what is coming through the speakers is but a flicker of a memory of the original version.  

For lack of a better comparison this soundtrack is largely ambient, but again not in a traditional sense. The music has much more structure than typical ambient music yet it still retains the slow and brooding pace that you can only find in ambient and dark ambient music. 

There are also elements of field recordings in the tracks. Distant cries of what was once a human. Growls of what is left of the vampire race. Water flowing through the aqueducts. Small details that are easily lost while playing the game, but while listening to the music on its own they stand out and add an additional layer to the ambience. 

Soul Reaver is at it's heart a puzzle game. Trying to figure out how to traverse the spiritual realm and the physical one without getting lost is the core premise of the game. It's in this exploration and puzzle driven world that we are tasked to find the bretherin of Razael and ultimately Kain himself.  

The legacy of this game is undeniable. One of the finest Playstation and Dreamcast games to come out.  The music matches this legacy perfectly. Unique, eerie, macabre.