Kukeiha Club - Perfect Selection Dracula Battle (1994)^{Release ID: 34808}

I’m a big fan of Japanese Metal band Anthem, so figuring out this was a Castlevania cover album composed and played by members of that band sounded like a great time to me. I’ve never played Castlevania, but I was familiar with at least one track here thanks to Smash Bros. Either way, Metal renditions of Video Game music is something I always enjoy.

And to put it simply, the album delivers. Everything you expect from Anthem is here – energetic Heavy Metal with melodic riffing and over the top solos. Likewise, it still has that video game feel, with very prominent and catchy keys emulating that early video game sound. Most of the album is energetic and pummeling, but there are slower, more atmospheric songs in the mix as well.

The biggest thing that gets me here is just how timeless it sounds. Especially with the uniquely Japanese style of keys, this sounds like what a lot of later Power/Symphonic Metal bands would go for. Yet, it retains that strictly classic flavor of both Metal and bit music. The production is great too, and truly sounds like it could have come out today. I’ve yet to hear the previous albums by Kukeiha Club, but I have not heard any albums recorded earlier than this that have this type of sound, making this an unsung progenitor of… well, whatever you’d call this video-gamey metal stuff.