Music
The Voice Of Horror Issue 2: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
Today brings the second issue of The Voice Of Horror, where I talk about the importance of music and sound in a specific horror title. In this issue I’m taking a look at a game that is very near and dear to my heart: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest.
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest was the first real horror game I ever played, a game some of you might question whether or not this game is actually horror or not. Personally, I find this to be a fantastic game and I still consider it one of my Top 5 games that I can enjoy playing over and over (take that AVGN!).
Full of werewolves, mummies, goblins, vampires, skeletons, bats, spiders, and so on and so forth, Simon’s Quest was not so much a side-scroller with a definitive start and end point as it was an adventure/RPG that, at least in my book, qualifies as one of the first survival horror games ever released. I mean, think about it: You have to get an item to access a new area to fight a boss to access a new area, etc… all while being grounded in the horror universe.
This change in style from the first Castlevania also meant that the music had to reflect the new feel. While bearing many similarities, Simon’s Quest needed to step the music up a notch to create an epic score to match an epic game. To say that it delivered is, in my opinion, an understatement. The music is grand, epic, sweeping, thrilling and, most of all, conveys the feeling of a gothic 18th century, Eastern Europe horror adventure.
Composed by Kenichi Matsubara, the music of the game is built around gothic classic theory with influences of European folk, all blending together to create an atmospheric soundtrack that fully complimented the game, not only in visuals, but also in creating a sense of dread and immediacy to the game. Plus, it was catchy as hell!
Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the NES console, the audio outside of the music was not exactly the most stunning or astounding by today’s standards. However, because of the countless hours I put into that game, I can still belt out many of the tunes from this game on the spot, as they are that memorable.
It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.
“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.
“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…
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