Thursday, October 6, 2016

Retrospective: Horror Game Songs

This is basically my "just for fun" post, seeing as this blog is kind of dead lately.

In the spirit of the upcoming Halloween, I thought I'll write about a few of my favourite horror-esque doujin game songs (and one commercial game song) for the occasion. Please note that some of the songs below are released commercially, so technically speaking they aren't doujin music. All the links provided below come from youtube. All rights belong to their respective owners.

Shikata Akiko - Akakakushi
From Shikata Akiko's "Inori no Kanata" single, "Akakakushi" is the opening theme of Akaya Akashiya Ayakashi no, a (non-horror) visual novel created by HaccaWorks*. The song evokes a town steeped in traditions, where the supernatural is just lurking around the corner -- and they are looking to lure away their chosen prey to their world.

Mitose Noriko - Crimson Sign
The ending theme of Team GrisGris' horror game Corpse Party BloodCovered. The full version of the song is included in Mitose Noriko's solo album, Centifolia ~Noriko Mitose Art Works Best~. A vaguely claustrophobic song, where the singer describes the horror she has seen and realises she is doomed to wander forever in the dark.

MELL - Sayonara wo Oshiete ~comment te dire adieu~
Unrelated to the doujin music scene, this song was produced by I've Sound and performed by one of their vocalists, MELL. This is the theme song for Craftwork's Sayonara wo Oshiete ~comment te dire adieu~, a game infamous for its eroguro content, mind screw and mentally disturbed protagonist. The song starts off relatively calm, but it's an unsettling kind of calm where the singer sings about imagery related to jumping off a building. And then things start to deteriorate...

Shikata Akiko - Kiniro no Chousou ~ Uruwashi no Bansan~
For something with a Gothic twist, this song is it. The Umineko series has many great songs, and this one is my favourite. From Shikata Akiko's Umineko no Naku Koro ni mini album, this song is a vocal rendition of "Kiniro no Chousou", one of many BGMs composed by Luck Ganriki for the Umineko series. Sung from the perspective of the Golden Witch, this song is like a banquet of the macabre.

The last one on the list isn't a horror-esque song, but its origin is from a doujin horror game.

Polo Rockers - In Paradiso feat. Shimotsuki Haruka
Back in 2012, doujin music circle Polo Rockers released Imitation, an album featuring rearrangement of the music from Ib, a free horror game created by kouri. Shimotsuki Haruka performs two vocal tracks for the album, and "In Paradiso" is one of them. "In Paradiso" is a vocal rearrangement of "傀儡道化", one of the original BGMs from the game. The song is sung from the perspective of Mary, a character whom the protagonist encounters in a labyrinthine gallery filled with creepy artwork and jump scare. Saying any more will probably spoil the game, so I'll stop here.

The English translation of Ib the game can be found here.

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