Finally, my copy of the soundtrack arrived. I eagerly tore open the package, the wrapping, and hastily placed the disc in the CD drive. A few seconds later, the familiar guitar and mandolin laden intro filled the speakers. Approximately 72 minutes later the final track was over. Here's my thoughts.
I've come to realize that a huge portion of what makes Silent Hill so engaging isn't just the visuals of decayed corridors, or desolate town streets. I'd say that the soundtrack to Silent Hill is easily just as, or perhaps even more important to setting the feel of the game.
After the first intro track, the soundtrack descends into a lush soundscape consisting of everything from bells to pounding drums, faint basslines intertwining with otherworldly shrieking, while almost every track segues seamlessly to the next, and every bit of it is nearly as intense as playing the game itself. Play it in the dark and it's guaranteed to get your pulse racing. You'll find everything that can be remotely classified as music in the game on here. And though some of it amounts to little more than ambient noise, the tracks played together just mesh wonderfully into one amazing experience.
There are some things which come as somewhat of a disappointment, however. Namely the "Lisa Track", titled "No Tomorrow 1", is stripped down to the basic acoustic guitar, the real "songs" are really just book-ends (much like the game, which isn't really bad though) and most tracks last roughly around 1:30. However, I felt that the good far outweighs the bad in this case, and there's even a few surprises. The title track is slightly extended on here, and faintly near the end, the sound of what I assume to be Lisa crying can be heard. Very haunting.
If you loved the music in the game, you owe it yourself to get this CD. Anytime you want to relive that feeling you get when playing, put this in and you're there.
