As video games became more cinematic and mature, Metal Gear Solid was at the forefront of this shift, positioning games as adult experiences with a real message behind them. It wasn’t mature in the sense that the game was filled with tasteless gore, nudity and foul language for mere shock value – MGS was a deep and thought-provoking experience on par with Hollywood films. It dealt with themes like love and death on the battlefield, nuclear war, human cloning and gene manipulation, and the duty of a soldier versus his emotions. The story and dialogue were often impactful and deep, and idea of a video game being this powerful in the late 90s, both emotionally and technically, was unheard of. Yet MGS would have lost most (if not all) of its impact without the game’s soundtrack. It is a perfect representation of the game’s themes and paints the sad, haunting tale of Solid Snake and his desperate fight to stop terrorists from launching their nuclear strike against the US.
During the initial infiltration of the terrorist-held nuclear facility on Shadow Moses island, players are greeted with the cold and evocative “Cavern.” Its mysterious melody and haunting choir set the stage for Snake’s dangerous mission, as you’re given little supplies with no weapons or ammo, and forced to survive by being stealthy. Stealth gameplay like this was still extremely uncommon at the time, and the idea of avoiding enemies to survive rather than fighting them was even more rare. Even now, “Cavern” suggests that not all was as it seems in MGS, and that Snake would be tested to his limits before the end.
“Discovery” is one of the more emotionally impactful songs on the soundtrack. The gently reverberating synthesizer followed by slow buildup of the strings are complimented by the heartrending melody at 1:20. The occasional snare drum and percussion echo in the background, giving “Discovery” just the right touch of militaristic tragedy.
“End Title/The Best Is Yet To Come,” composed by Rika Muranaka and performed by Irish singer Aoife Ní Fhearraigh, is the only composition from the soundtrack that features lyrics and a real orchestra instead of simulated instruments. Not to suggest the rest of the tracks are inferior because of this, it’s just a noticeable difference. It’s an amazingly beautiful track, especially for a video game, and doesn’t reach the level of corniness that some scores do when they add in lyrics. Also, notice the variety of different instruments used for this song, which is vastly different sounding than anything else on the soundtrack.
“Mantis’ Hymn” is one of the most chilling and haunting songs of the last decade, let alone of the entire soundtrack. This clear-cut standout has a prevalent gloomy and demonic tone to, an appropriate theme to one of MGS‘s most memorable characters.
Psycho Mantis’ telepathic powers and creepy appearance set him apart from the rest of the game’s bosses, making him a formidable and unpredictable foe and someone that isn’t even fully trusted or understood within his own organization. Upon his death, Psycho Mantis reveals his sad past to Snake and the player. He speaks of how as a boy he only saw hatred in his father’s mind toward him, and that when he looked into other peoples’ minds, he only saw their desire for procreation. These were pretty dark and twisted themes for a video game to deal with, but MGS did so gracefully, thanks again to it’s wonderful soundtrack.
The MGS “Main Theme” will be instantly recognizable to fans of the series since it has been used in almost every single game since the original MGS in 1998. This upbeat and epic fanfare paved the way for Harry Gregson-Williams’ scores for future MGS games, and is a track that oozes with tactical military action and stealth gameplay.
The Metal Gear Solid Original Soundtrack was composed by a wide number of artists and musicians under the KCE Japan Sound Team and is still available for purchase, and at a reasonable price as far as rare soundtracks are concerned. Physical copies purchased from Amazon are the probably the easiest to obtain, but the stock is limited.
