Vomitron
NEScessary Evil
(Metavania Music)
The newest album from Massachusetts based instrumental VG-Metal project Vomitron is much different than it’s predecessor, 2011’s No NES For The Wicked in that it is actually focused less on guitar theatrics and instead puts a greater importance on keyboard compositions. That’s not really a problem here, as these seven pieces (split into separate parts in some cases) fit very well with the chiptune based source material – which the press leaflet assures me is “no chiptune.” Well, in a way; it kind of is – but in a much different manner than you would expect. Vomitron actually adds a bit more authenticity and depth to pieces that we’ve heard covered over thousands of times on the internet, by composers worth just as much as salt as Vomitron here. Yet what separates Vomitron from the others is his superior composition skills, which change these medleys into something truly exciting and worth a listen. There aren’t ten tons of guitar solos to be found here either, which alternatively separates this from the “solo-shredder” albums that are all too common nowadays. Instead, Vomitron gives us an atmosphere within these classic tunes while at the same time playing them note for note with the originals. Keeping this in mind, the production value on the record is incredibly crisp and comes off like any professional disc that you’d find at your local record shop. As far as I’m concerned, it is. I even have a physical copy of the disc right here in my hand, which I can assure you has a nice (but possibly unexpected) style of cover art for such a record. You’d almost expect a Perturbator album from the cover art, so it’s a bit odd. That being said, we must never judge a book by it’s cover.
As for the tunes, we start out with a pretty stellar rendition of the Wizards & Warriors soundtrack but I was never good enough at that game to really explore it. I also considered it’s successor Ironsword to be much better. After that one, we have a fantastic representation of the original Metroid soundtrack, but with some rather astounding takes in the vein of atmosphere that I simply adored. Especially some of the less heavier sections on the disc. Once again, this isn’t like Stemage or Goat’s Metroid covers and synths play a much larger role than the guitar. If you want to hear a guy shred up a storm with Metroid tunes though, check out Goat’s stuff. I believe that particular piece is still free. There’s so much more going on here in the vein of a soundscape than I would have ever expected, which makes me recommend it much more over the solo-heavy stuff that I’m also recommending. You’re not getting a instrumental metal album so much as you’re getting a symphonic instrumental metal album. Many of the riff compositions here are quite normal for these tunes (as there is only so much you can do when you’re playing note for note) but this is something that we should expect, given the material. After that, we have a medley of a game that I used to own (and is the same reason why someone uses the term “Dark Souls Tier” in terms of difficulty online, I want to slap them) which is more commonly known as Konami Turtles (just like Konami Batman) and is seldom covered in it’s entirety, or at least done right. I’ve heard a few medleys of the piece here and there, as well as the intro theme (which I absolutely loved as a child – this helped get me into heavy music) but I feel that Vomitron has really done something special here, especially in the aquatic area which shows an impressive amount of atmosphere. I really like when this guy goes for slower approaches – it’s not something that we see coming and works in his favor.
Next we have a Castlevania II medley, which is definitely not something I’m a stranger to. I used to download free horrible quality bootlegs (the band gave them away) of NESkimos performances and put them on CD’s that I would play while heading back and forth to work on my bike. Those were great times, so this piece certainly brings that back. As for that medley, I’m still rather fond of Goat’s work as well as Konami’s own in house band hired to perform these pieces during the mid-nineties (Dracula Perfect Battle I & II, don’t try to buy them as they are extremely old and out of print, plus they cost hundreds to import and are freely offered on The Castlevania Dungeon) but I can say that Vomitron does manage to offer a rather strong performance here and if you’ve heard the others, you’ll still enjoy it. Medleys of Bionic Commando are nothing I’m unfamilair with either, but I think this is the first time I’ve ever noticed how close to the Mega Man soundfont some of these tracks are. Marble Madness also appears, which is a very seldom covered game and sounds exceptionally re-imagined here. The drums even pound with the fury of black or death metal at times and there are a few Gojira/Meshuggah influenced bits of technicality to be found as well. The heavy stuff doesn’t last for long, but it’s definitely different.
As the second portion of Konami Turtles and Bionic Commando follow directly after, it makes me often wonder as to why they’re broken up at all. I must say, I’m not a fan of Vomitron’s decision to split these medleys into two parts and would rather have heard them as one entity. I think this method also allows the full game experience to be enjoyed in it’s entirety, especially when certain pieces are brought back into the mix, like with the second half of Bionic Commando. If there’s one more thing I’ll say about that particular medley, it is also one of the only Bionic Commando medleys that I have fully enjoyed. Other bands have covered these same tunes and put me to sleep, but Vomitron did something right here and I’ve got to properly make a note of that. The disc ends of course with my favorite game series of all time, Mega Man; in which several of the artist’s favorite tunes are covered. Why he decided to just pick specific tunes I’ll never really know; but it’s a bit different than you’d expect and almost enters pure electronic territory. Surprisingly enough, the Mega Man medley is not split up like the others and equals out to roughly the same amount of time that many of these tracks would, had they been put together. I found that a bit strange.
All in all, Vomitron gives us quite a refreshing take on several classic video game soundtracks and allows for new amounts of depth and dynamics to shine where even hundreds of other VG Metal acts haven’t been able to do so, which is surprising. The only qualm that I have with this release is that perhaps some of these tracks have been over-covered and with the exception of Konami Turtles and Marble Madness, most of these are pieces that I’ve heard played almost every which way you can think of. It would have been really interesting to hear something like Little Samson, Power Blade (I will fight you over the greatness of Power Blade’s Soundtrack) or possibly another soundtrack that hasn’t recieved as much coverage as most of these have. Even so, it’s still a great time if you love synths as much as guitar and truly does all of these pieces proper justice. It’s a bit safe, but I’m sure that more will be on the way. Definitely give it a listen and relive some of your favorite 8-bit gaming moments, especially with the release of the NES classic.
Purchase NEScessary Evil here.
