Metroid Piano Review
Buy Metroid Piano
On paper, an album of Metroid piano covers sounds like an ambitious, maybe even misguided, effort. The Metroid series is renowned for its music and ambience, but most of the ambience comes from various sound effects and layers. When you pare those various timbres down to a single instrument, what are you left with? The answer, of course, is Metroid Piano.
My first experience with Metroid music was playing Metroid Prime on the Gamecube. I’ll never forget stepping onto Tallon IV as the “Tallon Overworld Main Theme” started playing. In that moment, I was shipwrecked on an alien planet, alone and in awe of my surroundings. To this day, the Metroid Prime soundtrack is one of my favorite video game soundtracks, and after playing a few more Metroid games, I realized what makes Metroid music so memorable and affecting—isolation and awe.
DS Music took great care with his piano arrangements in keeping the spirit of the original tracks alive while making the necessary adjustments to provide a rich, full sound. From the opening chords of “Prologue” from Super Metroid, it’s clear this album perfectly captures the sense of isolation that players feel while exploring the various worlds and biomes in the Metroid games. By the second track, listeners will be awed by “Main Theme” from Metroid Prime when DS Music performs dazzling arpeggios. In short, the arrangements on Metroid Piano are some of the best I’ve heard in VGM, and DS Music’s rendition of “Main Theme” from Metroid Prime is my absolute favorite on the album.
Despite the overwhelming quality of Metroid Piano, I did find a few faults with the album. From what I understand, DS Music used a keyboard with a specific plug-in to record, and a few times I found the plug-in a bit lacking. I could only imagine what these arrangements would sound like on a grand piano, but I suppose I can’t fault DS Music for not affording a $10,000 instrument. Aside from that, the “Brinstar - Red Soil” cover felt a bit underdeveloped, but that could be my personal bias speaking as its probably my favorite Metroid track of all time. All in all, these are minor quibbles that are unlikely to ruin anyone’s experience.
Metroid Piano succeeds in honoring Metroid music by preserving what made the original tracks so memorable while adding a voice of its own. This album is sure to please both Metroid fans and VGM fans thanks to DS Music and his skillful arrangements.
RATING: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
(Most VGM Fans Should Enjoy)