December 2020 Feature Release - The Sphere Edition
It's now December which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.
This month's feature release for The Sphere comes in the form of a highly celebrated soundtrack for one of the biggest video games in history. TI make no secret about the fact that 2016's "DOOM" release offers an additional layer of interest for me given that its creator Mick Gordon is also a fellow Aussie so I look forward to giving this one a few spins to see if it brings me the same sort of appeal that's seen the game making such a huge mark on the lives of so many.
https://metal.academy/releases/1682
Actually a release in The Sphere clan I have already reviewed. Not my usual bag this but it still holds merit as great background music (and driving music as it turns out also). Can see how it fits the game perfectly based on what I hear throughout the 31 tracks here. It doesn't get me nostalgic like I expected it would but at the same time I actually was surprised I could listen to the whole thing at all.
3.5/5
OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! I usually find video game soundtracks to sound jerky & incomplete with the composer jumping around stylistically across short pieces that never have the time to fully develop (I'm looking at you "Silent Hill" series). Most aren't nearly as appealing for people that aren't into video games (which I'm definitely not). This release, on the other hand, is utterly incredible in every way & stands up as a musical masterpiece in its own right. It pretty much takes my three favourite genres of music (i.e. metal, industrial techno & dark ambient) & combines them like they've never been separated but somehow manages to eclipse all of the individual components in the most emphatic way. From a purely metal point of view, I'd suggest that Fear Factory, Meshuggah & Strapping Young Lad would be the closest living relatives but it has truly shocked me to find that I like this significantly better than anything those artists have done. The darkness on offer is simply sublime, the post-apocalyptic atmosphere is amongst the most defined I've ever experienced & the energy & consistency is unheard of across a two hour release. This is quite frankly one of my all-time favourite releases right here & the fact that it comes from a fellow Aussie makes it even more appealing. The lack of vocals is the only reason I can think of for Mick Gordon not being the president of the world right now. What a find!
5/5
I didn't realize that MA even had the DOOM soundtrack on here, so I finally pulled my old review over. I have some interesting takes on this one, since it's no doubt one of the best videogame OST's in the modern era, or ever for that matter, but it's kind of a slog on its own. The extremely high rating has to do with how I choose to rate OST's, which is thinking of them while you're actually in the game and playing, but I keep going back and forth on whether that's the "correct" way to go about it. I gave the Hades soundtrack from this year a 4.5/5 as well because the music for that game is phenomenal and holds up on its own extremely well, much like DOOM, but the 4.5 is still because of that rush you get when you hear the guitar kick in as you walk into a room or into a boss fight. Maybe I'll make a thread to talk about how others go about rating videogame music, because I'm always so torn. If I had to rate this album completely on its own without the DOOM demon massacring experience, it would probably be a 3.5 or even a 3.
It's a shame that the DOOM Eternal soundtrack had production issues with Gordon versus Bethesda, so he didn't even master most of the tracks for the OST release. I think people overstate how "bad" it is, but you can definitely tell. Eternal's OST is also extremely bloated compared to DOOM 2016's, clocking in at 4 and a half hours instead of 2 hours. I already thought that 2 hours was a bit too much DOOM, so Eternal was really too much in that regard.
Review: