PRESS START
Desperate for a wee at a friend’s house, shamelessly engrossed in my gameplay of GoldenEye 007, I finally pressed pause and shimmied my way through the detritus of our snack packet and teddy-covered floor, leaping over my best friend jumping for the controller for their turn, to finally use the bathroom to take the quickest wee of my life so I could dance my way back to the game before my friend had chance to un-pause the game.
Racing back to the room with the speed of a whippet, my friend and I were captivated by the music, how it made us feel, rolling around the room (finally able to after emptying my bladder!), showing the invisible audience our best combat rolls, bathed in the light of the huge box TV screen! Not a care in the world! Looking back now it could easily have resulted in us dying a very Scream - Stu Macher death but I’m not sure we would’ve noticed, we were in the zone!
I didn’t know it then, but this wouldn’t be the last time I was captivated by gaming and music, or by how that combination could make something in me feel most alive.
From the Monkey Island and Pokémon theme tunes to curated playlists in games such as FIFA and Forza, I began to make playlists in my head, way before Spotify or Apple Music were doing it! My brain activated this highlight reel without the need for a button, bringing with it a rush of dopamine from remembering the moment I’d heard that tune in a game and how the combination had made me feel at the time.
Sitting awkwardly on the floor in front of our shared PlayStation, my brother as player one, OF COURSE (I was always the one riding pillion when he wanted to play!), the song “I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” by Black Kids fired up as Andrew set up a game of FIFA 09 for us to play. When I played games against my brother I would deploy the most school-playground of tactics such as abuse of the slide tackle button and sending my goalkeeper running up to the other end of the pitch to take out his team! Listening to this song as my soundtrack made the antics fun and cheery rather than my usual rage quit after being thrashed thirteen-nil by my brother playing as some lower league side to my premier choice!
As soon as the name of the song and artist popped up I immediately added it to my playlist on some early version of the Apple iPod. Being introduced to new music in this way was a real buzz, the shuffle of songs, not knowing what the next “absolute banger” would be or by who!
NEW TRACK UNLOCKED
I can’t write about music in games without mentioning the incredible Tony Hawk series. I couldn’t tell you which songs were from which version of the game but Tony Hawk soundtracks came with a feeling; morphing from good girl who got straight As in her homework and wouldn’t say boo to a goose… to teen rebel, flipping off the “system”, chewing gum, laughing loudly and wishing I could skateboard trick (Ollie!) my Mathematics books! In a school where I was bullied for being a nerd, at home, in game, I finally felt able to release a little bit of ME and that came with the background “noise” of Armageddon by Alkaline Trio in Tony Hawk Underground!
I don’t think the Cari of this period would be hugely shocked to hear that we began rocking Vans Rowleys and didn’t end up doing so well in school! I don’t blame Mr Hawk personally (though my Mum might!) but one thing I do realise is that this is the first time I’d really connected with this type of music in a genuine way. I’d been lucky to have been brought up on rock culture with my Mum who played many homemade mix tapes, usually recorded from the radio, although she did have an impressive collection of vinyl… memories of Dad dancing to Thriller by Michael Jackson… what is a Dad but to embarrass you right?! BUT this was current, it felt new to me, fresh and soundtracked that riot mentality that had been simmering in me from real life while simultaneously allowing me to be a vert skater which I can tell you I dreamt of being but had no chance of ever achieving outside of my console!
RADIO ON
Fast forward and current day Cari’s music taste and wardrobe of black clothing and band shirts has grown extensively! Games and music are still at the forefront of my stimulants but they now come with more screams and illegible fonts, that look more like the antler of deer, in musician logos! Forza Horizon elevated the “I wish I could do this in real life” dreams, flipping over buildings and driving at 200 mph down British country roads. Then Horizon 5 took me to Mexico and blasted Teardrops by Bring Me the Horizon, only confirming who I was… a metal head with a taste for destruction! In a landscape of pop and dance music, metal was still my God. I had the skinny jeans, the silly fringe and I had the shouty soundtrack.
Radio stations in games like this have always led me to new songs that my ADHD has to replay an agonizing (for those around me) number of times on repeat! “EVERYTHING IS SO FUCKED” screaming along in what I felt was a battle cry that in reality probably sounds more like a cat going through a lobotomy without sedation… I knew who BMTH were, I loved their music but gaming brought with it that feeling of being invincible, in a car that would smash up and then repair itself without hurting me as the driver or my bank balance! Everything, I’m pleased to say, was not “fucked” but songs like this gave my inner emo a chance to vent, maybe I was late with homework or I’d annoyed my parents, but when you’re driving around recklessly when in reality you don’t even have a provisional, who really gave a fuck!
WHERE THE FUCK IS THE METAL?
Despite these standout moments, for me, metal representation in games is still few and far between. Where was my Kerrang radio in these games? How long has Metal Hammer been going and still we have one or two songs in a sea of generalised rock and indie? WHERE DO I GET MY FIX?!
Mick Gordon’s DOOM soundtracks already prove just how well-loved this combination is. For me, it’s the perfect accompaniment to slashing, ripping and tearing through the enemies. It was my number one answer in a recent Riff & Respawn for top game soundtrack. For me, combat feels more powerful, more demonic especially in otherwordly games and what could be more metal than a fucking chainsaw?! I don’t think it would have had quite the same effect on me and many others if Madonna had been singing Like a Virgin in the background, now offence Madge…
Why do I care? BECAUSE somewhere there’s another little Cari getting bullied at school for being too good at their work, and they’re owed THEIR war songs too. I want someone to go looking for a band JUST BECAUSE they heard a sick tune on the in-game soundtrack while bombing around their fantasy world.
I want them to become a huge fan and eventually filling THEIR Mum’s spare room with boxes because they’ve bought too many band t-shirts with logos that look like dead spiders.
So…
Player two: what song did a game introduce you to that never left your playlist? What’s the first track you’re requesting on our imaginary metal station?
The Tony Hawk games are the only example I can think of when I would listen to a playlist of songs, but I loved those games for their music. I remember briefly feeling like I was really cool being part of that skater culture, despite how in real life I would probably just fall off a board!
Ace of Spades was the only one I could specifically remember being in the games, but when that's your intro music it's hard to forget.
I really enjoyed reading this, thanks.
The video game with the best soundtrack for me is probably WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008. I used to be obsessed with that game and the soundtrack has so many bangers. It's mainly composed of rock and metal songs. Famous by Puddle of Mudd. Well Enough Alone by Chevelle. Every time I listen to those songs I feel the nostalgia.