Metal Gear

Events, Game Music

‘Metal Gear in Concert’ coming to Japan, then the World

June 6, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on ‘Metal Gear in Concert’ coming to Japan, then the World Share this

Seemingly just to keep the Metal Gear name kicking around, Konami has nonetheless announced a tantalizing concert performance for fans of Hideo Kojima’s long-running series. Metal Gear in Concert will be performed twice this Summer in Japan, first at the Orix Theatre in Osaka on July 30th and again at the Tokyo International Forum on August 2nd.

Each will be performed by the city’s resident orchestra (the Tokyo Philharmonic and the Osaka Symphony Orchestra) and will be conducted by Nicholas Buc. Singer/songwriter Donna Burke will also be performing which means her vocal themes from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid V will most surely be played. The full setlist hasn’t been announced yet but Burke recently recorded new versions of all the Metal Gear Solid vocal tracks so it’s possible she’ll feature heavily throughout the evening. Like most video game concerts, Metal Gear in Concert will also feature a synchronized video presentation above the players with footage from the series.

Don’t fret, Western fans! While the show is debuting exclusively in Japan, Konami mentions that plans are in the works to bring the show on tour to North America and Europe but presumably not until 2018. For those interested in attending there are more details on Konami’s site. The rest of us will just have to dig out our old albums or involuntarily start humming the “MGS Main Theme” as I’ve been doing while writing this post.

Sources: Metal Gear Informer | Konami
Game Music

Video Games Live Singapore: Hibino’s Strange Outfit and a Crazy Girl Who Wants Her One-Winged Angel

June 26, 2009 | Gideon Dabi | 4 Comments Share this

We aren’t quite sure if Hibino was channeling a 30’s mobster or Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor costume from the original Superman movie with his outfit, but he sure can play the saxophone. This is from the most recent Video Games Live in concert in Singapore, an instrumental version of the title track from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I always felt the song had such Bond-like flair to it right up until the “Some day, you’ll feed on a tree frog” line….

A second video features a rather enthusiastic female audience member getting disturbingly excited about the “One-Winged Angel” segment from Final Fantasy VII. Click on the jump to check it out!

Also, thanks to Tommy Tallarico for shooting these videos over. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Warning: Metal Gear Solid 4’s Epic Soundtrack Can Cause Premature Aging (Review)

September 3, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

I’ll come right out and say I haven’t played MGS4. In fact, I just found out today via wikipedia that the game doesn’t take place in the distant future, as I thought the fact that Snake had aged so much was because the setting of the game. Oops! That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the music though.

We’ve been talking a lot about some of the composers behind Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, but we never got around to publishing a review of the game’s 2-disc soundtrack. That ends today! We’ve listened to the thing countless times through, and although it’s a monster of a soundtrack, we’re going to try our best to avoid writing a novel about it.

Composed by a massive team headed by film composer Harry Gregson-Williams along with Konami’s Nobuko Toda, Shuichi Kobori, Kazuma Jinnouchi, Sota Fujimori, Akihiro Honda, and of course our friends at GEM Impact, Norihiko Hibino, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Takahiro Izutani, and Takehide Ayuzawa (as an uncredited arranger), it’s a miracle that any of this music fits together, but it does! It’s time for some gritty, war-time ambiance, so brace yourself for a unique listening experience.

Hit the jump for our full impressions of the game’s official soundtrack. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Galactic Assault Prisoner of Power: A Future Where Metal Gears Won (Review)

August 22, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

I just realized that the words words “metal gear” come out of my mouth way too often.

I’m going to come right out and say that some of the music on this album sounds uncannily like Metal Gear Solid. I’m actually fighting the urge to don the voice of Psycho Mantis as I’m typing this, as I’m sure you’re already tired of that joke. I guess it makes sense that Russian composer Sergey Khmelevsky (how do you pronounce that?) would create something like this if you believe the accusations that the MGS theme itself was plagiarized from the work of a Russian classical composer.

Anyway, I guess I missed out on this RTS title when it was released in 2007, as I’ve never heard of it. It’s apparently based on a Soviet-era novel, and didn’t fare well with the critics. I suppose it’s interesting to hear music that sounds like MGS in an RTS title, so maybe that’s something to pique your interest.

Check out full impressions of Galactic Assault Prisoner of Power after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Metal Gear Solid 4: GEM Impact’s Story

June 30, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 8 Comments Share this

While Metal Gear Solid fans are familiar with Norihiko Hibino’s important contributions to both Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, many may not know how vital his company, GEM Impact, was to the score for Metal Gear Solid 4. You may know some of these guys pictured above from their recent work on the Sekaiju no MeiQ² *shoou no seihai* SUPER ARRANGE VERSION album which we were quite fond of. However, with so many composers involved with the music in MGS4, Hibino and GEM Impact’s involvement nearly went uncredited, relegated to a mere footnote in the record books… until now!

Join us after the jump for an exclusive interview with Norihiko Hibino as we discuss the individuals who comprise GEM Impact and the 90 minutes of quality music they contributed to the outstanding soundtrack for Metal Gear Solid 4.

[Special thanks to illustrator Uetake Macarthur for these custom portraits of the GEM Impact team!] (more…)
Game Music

Bassist Jeff Curry Brings the Heat, Chats About Metal Gear Solid and Jazz

June 25, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Bassist Jeff Curry Brings the Heat, Chats About Metal Gear Solid and Jazz Share this

While you may not have heard Jeff Curry’s name before, he has contributed to a number of projects and games that you may be familiar with. With recent projects including The Outer Rim, the Etrian Odyssey II SUPER ARRANGE album (both of which we’re quite fond of), the Metal Gear Solid franchise and some of Norihiko Hibino’s personal projects, Jeff Curry has been around. OSV was able to catch up with Curry who is currently in Japan living it up as a talented jazz musician.

I recommend heading over to Curry’s personal website right away to view photos of this bald gaijin who is showing Japan that American musicians can be nearly as talented as Japanese musicians. Oh yeah, there’s some music samples there too.

Check out the interview after the jump! (more…)