Donkey Kong Country 2 - Welcome to Croc Island

Composer: David Wise

Simply put, the greatest world map theme, ever.

David Wise's soundtrack to the original SNES Donkey Kong Country trilogy ranks amongst the funnest, most dynamic, and most original video game music ever. EVER. This is fantastic stuff. While the tunes from, say, Megaman X, are straightforward 16-bit MIDI-metal, this is more orchestral, more epic, more engrossing, more emotional. And this is just the world map theme! Sets the stage perfectly. If you recall playing through the original DKC, you'd remember how disappointing it was at the end, that it left you with the feeling that you hadn't truly been challenged. Well, rest assured, the creators almost went too far in correcting this - Donkey Kong Country 2 is HARD, and before you even start stage one, this theme lets you know it in no uncertain terms. Shit just got real.

I don't think it's possible to listen to this theme, or much of any of David Wise's DKC music, without picturing hoards of pirates waving the Jolly Rogers. The sparse percussion is truly the drums of war; very militaristic, like what you might hear coming from the drumhead of an approaching army of marching soldiers. And the riff just sings the songs of the high sea. I can best describe it as being both light and fun yet moody and serious. A jolly melody over some gloomy incidental music.

And so I sit here, writing this entry, listening to Welcome to Croc Island on repeat, through my headphones, coming to the realization that this really is the best of the best. If the desired effect of video game music is to put the player into the moment, to suck you in so completely, and for you to have fun doing it, then it absolutely does not get any better than this. So far the only track I've blogged on that comes close is Super Mario RPG's "Forrest Maze."

I think there's something to be said for a track that so effectively combines the mood and seriousness of the game with the underlying fun factor that should form the basis of all video games. They are, after all, games, and Welcome to Croc Island is the most effective example I have yet to come across that bridges those two factors. This song is fun but serious, upbeat but grim, moody yet light, and a perfect musical representation of the best DKC game. It says: You know you are here for fun, but since you're here, you'd better take it seriously. Absolutely brilliant. David Wise, kudos you to sir, a true innovator and a real composer of MUSIC, not just trite progressions and bland riffs made up from preprogrammed computer instrumentation. A tour de force from a virtuoso composer.

Doom - E1M1 - At Doom's Gate

Composer: Bobby Prince

I fear opening a can of worms by starting to include tracks from computer games. The question becomes, where does it stop? It seems almost unfair to compare 8-bit and 16-bit tunes with computer compositions, considering how much deeper the instrumentation and quality can be. So I figure I'd try to beat around the bush a bit by including this classic Stage 1 theme from the original Doom. It should be noted, however, that while I do enjoy this tune, it is not the best from the original series, yet it is probably the most immediately identifiable backing track from Doom. I personally prefer the E2M1 song "I Sawed the Demons" or the E3M8 track "Facing the Spider." No matter, "At Doom's Gate" is still a quality piece of early MIDI video game thrash.

Most of the tunes in the soundtrack to Doom are blatantly stolen from the late 80's-early 90's thrash scene, of which I am personally a huge fan. For example, the main riff in "I Sawed the Demons" is the basically the verse riff from Master of Puppets after a kickass drum roll introduction; E3M3's "Deep Into the Code" is obviously Slayer's "Behind the Crooked Cross" (which one could argue is also a blatant bite of Master of Puppets); E3M1's "Untitled" is undeniably taken from Pantera's "Mouth for War", or Doom II's "Entryway" is clearing the opening riff from Megadeth's excellent "Hangar 18" (which in and of itself was the basis of Metallica's epic "The Call of Ktulu"). While immediate first impressions of "At Doom's Gate" may remind you of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" intro riff, it is really closer to the chorus of "No Remorse" from their debut album Kill 'Em All, specifically the harmony riff.

The riff carries the whole song, transitioning between what I believe is a I-IV-Vm progression starting in E. The riff itself is absurdly simplistic; on the guitar you are just tremelo picking the low E, hammering on the octave and progressing down 3 whole steps while on the last measure moving up a half-step before repeating. The song has a great beat; I particularly like the double bass drum kicks throughout and the cymbal crashes during the final progression. In fact, the drums seem to be the most "realistic" instrument in the entire song.

As with the rest of Bobby Prince's Doom soundtrack, At Doom's Gate is really just one simple riff milked for all it's worth, but the underlying harmonization and kickass drum beats keeps you rocking and rolling and, more importantly, blasting and killing.