What Is Techno Again?

It’s a special edition of Sounds of Nostalgia, following up on the previous Silent Hill feature.

Akira Yamaoka ranks as my favorite video game composer. His music has helped Silent Hill become a memorable and highly successful survivor horror series. From its twisted understanding of fear and hell to its uncanny ability to weave obscure references from past games into entirely new storylines (“There was a HOLE here; it’s gone now,” the Hope House, etc.), it’s no wonder fans come in swarms for more of the psychological horror and demented bloodshed. Of course, there’s one thing in particular that I look forward to most with each new soundtrack: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn’s and Joe Romersa’s vocals, which provide invaluable insight into Silent Hill and the stories at hand.

5. Hole in the Sky (Silent Hill: Origins)

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn lends her powerful vocals to the strong theme of “Hole in the Sky,” which resonates the panic of falling into the dark grip of Silent Hill. The lyrics, “Shadows that look like blood/Dead as far as the mind goes” and “Just when I think I’m okay/Shadows surround me,” tell of the infamous and dramatic transition into the evil Otherworld of the town’s locations. You really never get used to those sirens.

“Fear that comes from my head/Lives in the mirror” accurately pins the experience on the sufferer’s own mind and sins, and the repetition of “Let me out” describes the heart-pounding need to escape the town that just won’t let you go until you’ve been punished—or you’re dead.

4. Alex Theme (Silent Hill: Homecoming)

Alex Shepherd is the newest protagonist with a secret to grace the Silent Hill series, and McGlynn’s vocals brilliantly portray his character. “The answer, is drowning, this pain will last forever” captures the essence of Shepherd, trapped in a nightmare he cannot escape with memories of an event he struggles to remember. Additional references to water, such as in, “Your promise is broken/I drank your sacred water” not only further presses the matter, but also builds upon the general story involving the Silent Hill cult, the Order.

McGlynn mentions “soldier” twice and “order” multiple times, tying Alex into the lyrics that do well to describe the complicated relationships he has with his brother and father as well as his purpose in revealing the founding families’ pact: “Your power is over/I’ve come to change the order.” The music blends a haunted melody with the fragmentation of quick lines and a fierce power, giving the entire song a feeling of confusion and strangeness (“Inside my head is humming/Sometimes I hear them coming”) that gracefully encapsulates both Alex’s mission and his dark connection to Joshua.

3. The Sacred Line (Silent Hill: Homecoming)

“The Sacred Line” functions similarly to “Alex Theme,” only on a grander scale. After you learn the secrets of Homecoming, the credits roll and this song puts the finishing touches on the story. Strong music and lyrics complement the themes of the game and Alex Shepherd’s struggles (especially with his brother and father: “In time, we’ll be forgiven”)—all while suggesting an unfinished, inconclusive air that fits the story well. And most of all, the lyrics resonate “the sacred line” of life and death that’s central to the game: “This line that can’t be broken/This line that never will be crossed again.”

The chilling lines, “We have fear to swallow” and “Opposite of what you hear/Dying is the least of fears,” drive home the oath with which the series operates: In the midst of Silent Hill’s torture, you’ll either be dead … or wish you were.

2. Hometown (Silent Hill 3)

As a revision of the classic theme from the first Silent Hill installment, in “Hometown” vocalist Joe Romersa ties together what was started in Harry Mason’s experience with its continuation in Silent Hill 3. One of the best moments of the third game occurs when Heather returns home to her adoptive father, sitting on the chair. It’s hard not to conjure that image when hearing the words, “Now it’s too late/Too late for me/This town will eventually take me”; it’s easy to begin to wonder what was going through Harry’s head in the hours before Heather came home.

Romersa smoothly transfers the focus from Heather to the original protagonist, recalling the fear and ending of SH1—”‘She’s gone!’ and fear has overcome” and “He spoke of tortured souls/So outrageous the toll”—on top of the disturbing song intro. Romersa brings forth a sense of dread from the original game with images like, “Four and twenty dead birds/They bleed upon the nest,” “Dark creatures singing a terrible song,” and “While angels sing, in endless dark/The dead seek out sin.” The transition and imagery calls out to Silent Hill’s roots, forcing us to remember how it all started.

1. Cradle of Forest (Silent Hill 4: The Room)

Considering Silent Hill 4 features a story involving adult and child versions of the same serial killer and the cult orphanage he grew up in, Joe Romersa’s vocals on the eerily beautiful “Cradle of Forest” couldn’t fit the mood better. Romersa hauntingly infuses dark imagery with children playing: “Deep in the forest night/Children dance the waltz” and “Dance like butterflies/Shadows appear/Right before my eyes/Sounds echo the absurd/Hard to explain something that I heard” do well to reflect the horror of the series as well as the story at hand. “Their eyes/What are they looking for?” “Red moon colors the trees,” and “Their song/Starting to make some sense/Only if you’re listening” only empower the song more.

The chorus is what pushes “Cradle of Forest” to the top of the list, however. Not only does it strike up memories of the dark forest in the game, where Walter Sullivan chases you like a madman, but the words speak of the serial killer’s true nature: “Hear the forest talking/Insects and birds/Does the scent of soil and beast/Breathe the life into the animal you hide?” Not to mention the following lines, “When you think you’re really alone/Feel the eyes of someone looking in on you” mirrors the heavy feeling that permeates the entire game—you’re locked in your own apartment, and the only person who seems to know you’re truly there and alive is the serial killer who plans to take your life.

See which song almost made the cut and why it didn’t after the jump.

“Room of Angel” easily falls as one of my favorite SH vocal songs, but I granted the fierce “Hole in the Sky” a spot in the top five instead in order to encompass a wider range of games—especially because my number one pick comes from the same title as “Room of Angel.” I could not choose between the two highlighted Homecoming songs, however.

5. Room of Angel (Silent Hill 4: The Room)

“Room of Angel” ranks as one of the most beautifully haunting Silent Hill songs, mainly credited to its lovely melody in conjunction with McGlynn’s vocal interpretation of the cold lyrics.

Her words—which tell of serial killer Walter Sullivan’s homicidal nature and the unnatural relationship he has with his “mother,” room 302—are almost emotionless in execution, which perfectly fits the deadly lack of empathy a serial killer possesses. The words, “Here’s a lullaby to close your eyes/It was always you that I despised” are almost sweet and caring, yet falsely so. The way McGlynn mixes tender passion with her more violent, seemingly disgusted stresses on words like “despised” and “goodbye” makes for a powerful song. Lines like, “I don’t feel enough for you to cry,” “Your tears, they mean nothing to me,” and “Where is the light/Wonder if it’s weeping somewhere” reflect a killer continuously failing in the act of expressing compassion—something he does not understand and thus misinterprets in a ruthless, obsessed manner. Even more so, the game’s character Eileen Galvin—whom an adult Walter remembers fondly from his childhood and still feels affection for at the same time he tries to murder her—is known as the intended “Mother Reborn” victim and fits the theme well.

The Silent Hill series boasts a wealth of great vocal tracks: Silent Hill 3 offers other songs like the popular “You’re Not Here”  as well as “Letter – From the Lost Days,” and “I Want Love”; Silent Hill 4: The Room includes the alluring “Tender Sugar” plus “Your Rain,” and “Waiting for You”; Silent Hill: Origins features “Blow Back,” “O.R.T.” and the strong “Shot Down in Flames”; Silent Hill: Homecoming’s soundtrack also has “Elle Theme” and the climactic “One More Soul to the Call.”

What’s your favorite Silent Hill vocal song?