I decided to pick up the Sunset Riders soundtrack, despite not having much of a background with the game because the samples I heard instantly reminded me of those days playing 80s/90s Konami arcade classics. Konami really had a distinct sound with their arcade game releases and that is evident in this soundtrack. Check out the video above to hear it!
We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with SNK Corporation. Over the past year, we have been working closely with the SNK team in Japan to develop an exclusive release for what is perhaps their most iconic franchise: METAL SLUG.
The vinyl release features the complete music from the first entry in the series (Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001), composed by Takushi Hiyamuta in 1996. Working in collaboration with the SNK Sound Team, the audio was sourced from a NEOGEO development kit in Japan and then mastered at our in-house studio in London. The release is packaged in a gatefold sleeve with accompanying double-sided lithographic insert, featuring rare artwork from the Japanese archives and a special translucent OBI strip with fluorescent Pantone print. A download code for the digital album in both lossy and lossless formats will also be included.
This release is available in the following editions:
180g Tri-Colour Stripe with White Splatter (Limited Edition) – £20.99
The Adventures of Bayou Billy 7 inch vinyl soundtrack arrived today and I decided to get it reviewed and ripped while I had the chance to tonight. Check out both my review and a listen to the album with the below videos:
Donkey Kong Country was the first official video game soundtrack I picked up when it was available to purchase on the Nintendo Power Super Power Club Supplies Catalog. The SNES has a tremendous amount of games with fantastic soundtracks, but there was something about the variety that DKC featured that I had to have as copy of. With the use of my Super Power Supplies Stamps and a few dollars more from my mom; I was able to place an order for the soundtrack. I played that original cassette tape like crazy and I’m pretty sure that somewhere in some storage bins is that very same tape.
So, it shouldn’t come to much surprise that when Moonshake Records announced it was going to be doing a release of the DKC Soundtrack on 12 inch vinyl that I would be picking it up. It arrived a few weeks ago along with Moonshake’s other release of Metroid, but sadly it was damaged in shipping and was pretty much unplayable. My replacement copy arrived last FrIday and plays without issues thanks to no damage from the post office this time around. Both sides are available to listen to below and is a direct rip from my equipment. The record at this time is sold out, but there may be a chance it will get repressed. If that is the case, we will provide a link when it happens.
Brave Wave is tackling NEO-GEO soundtracks next and it looks like the first one will be Art of Fighting. I just re-visited the game because I honestly couldn’t remember a single tune from the soundtrack because its buried over a ton of loud sound effects. Even after completing the game again, I’m still not completely sold on if I want the soundtrack to this in collection. I’ll have to give it a better listen soon.
Brave Wave Announces ART OF FIGHTING The Definitive Soundtrack for CD and Vinyl!
SNK AND BRAVE WAVE ANNOUNCE EXCITING NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR CREATING CLASSIC NEOGEO SOUNDTRACK RESTORATIONS, STARTING WITH ART OF FIGHTING SERIES 25TH ANNIVERSARY CD AND VINYL RELEASES
SNK and Brave Wave Productions are proud to announce that they have entered into a partnership for releasing classic NEOGEO soundtracks on CD and vinyl. This multi-year endeavor begins with Generation Series 005: ART OF FIGHTING, Generation Series 00X: ART OF FIGHTING 2and Generation Series 00X: THE PATH OF THE WARRIOR: ART OF FIGHTING 3. First released in 1992, the ART OF FIGHTING series celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year in 2017. SNK and Brave Wave are eager to introduce the classic fighting game franchise to a new generation of gamers.
As part of Brave Wave’s critically acclaimed Generation Series lineup of classic video game soundtracks, the ART OF FIGHTING soundtracks will feature each games’ original music restored to the highest possible quality, in collaboration and consultation with SNK and the original composers of NEO Sound Orchestra. The CD and vinyl will feature artwork from the SNK archives by the legendary illustrator Shinkiro, in addition to thorough liner notes with insight on the production of ART OF FIGHTING.
ART OF FIGHTING The Definitive Soundtrackwill release for CD and vinyl in October 2017, followed by ART OF FIGHTING 2 The Definitive Soundtrackand THE PATH OF THE WARRIOR: ART OF FIGHTING 3The Definitive Soundtrack in the first half of 2018.
SNK and Brave Wave hope to expand this collaboration to other major NEOGEO franchises beyond ART OF FIGHTING starting in 2018. NEOGEO fans can expect many of their favorite classic soundtracks to make their way to CD and vinyl in new and unprecedented quality, under the same award-winning team at Brave Wave who previously worked on the Billboard-charted Street Fighter II The Definitive Soundtrack and the two-volume Ninja Gaiden The Definitive Soundtrack.
Mondo released the soundtrack on 12 inch vinyl for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Arcade classic Contra just a few weeks ago with an exclusive San Diego Comic Con variant and a player one blue & player two red color split available on their online store over at www.mondotees.com. Not having the opportunity to attend SDCC or wanting to drop big bucks for the cool looking variant, I decided to pick up the regular edition. For whatever reason, this release took some time to get to me; but it arrived none the less and I’m quite impressed with the overall package. The record jacket contains some fantastic artwork from Eric Powell that completely captures the essence of Contra, something Mondo occasionally misses with their home-grown artwork for their VGM soundtrack releases. The same can be said for the record cover artwork itself as its equally top notch. The color split of the actual record is decent, but doesn’t quite stack up to the SDDC version that Mondo was offering.
Let’s start backwards and talk about Side B of the record which features the arcade version of the soundtrack. If you’re like me, chances are you experienced Contra first on the NES and in the arcade second. In most cases the common response to your first arcade experience with the game is “Man, the NES version plays better.” Along with “Man, this music just doesn’t have the same feel as the NES version.” For me, these statements follow through with this record as well. I do appreciate the fact that the music from the arcade version is included and the audio recording is engineered wonderfully; but it’s just not my thing with its somewhat plodded instrumentations.
Side A of the record itself contains all the excellent music you remember from the game and features tracks straight from the superior Famicom version of the game with all the extra tracks that the Japanese release had on it. James Plotkin, the audio engineer on the project did an excellent job of mastering the music to vinyl and captured the crispness of Konami’s punchy drums and melodic synths that everyone starts humming as soon as you mention the name “Contra” to them. Its great hearing the intricacies of the music separate from the game itself.
Playing this record not only takes me back to playing this classic side scrolling shooter, but reminds me of all the times I took my little boom box and strategically placed it next to my TV so I could record music from my NES. Music from Contra was featured predominantly on those old video game mix tapes I made as a kid and now it’s nice to have an official copy of the soundtrack without hearing the occasional sound of my little brother banging toys around or my mom suddenly calling from upstairs to let me know that lunch was ready.
If the Contra music has touched any one of your 30 lives, I highly suggest you pick this up.
