CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I'm not sure exactly what brought this to mind today, but I was suddenly curious about possible soundtrack CDs for the Silent Hill series. I did a bit of research and discovered that their are soundtracks available for at least SH 2 - 4. I've only played the demos of SH 3 and 4 but I loved the creepy and beautifully haunting music that I have heard.

I know some of you have played the games and also heard the soundtracks (did some forum searching), so I figured I'd ask for your recommendations on the best soundtracks. Also, do many of the songs have lyrics? I think I'd prefer no vocals, as I wouldn't have to worry about their content then.

There are soundtracks for each of the 4 games. Each one is good for its own reasons.
The first is the absolute scariest, most unnerving soundtrack you will ever hear. I'd hesitate to call it music, most of the tracks are more like random, industrial noises arranged to some semblance of rhythm (but in a good way). It's best listened to with headphones.
The second is mainly ambient, drifting trance-y stuff with a bit of the nerve-racking style of the first but not as much. Also really good.
The third is kind of like mixing the traits of the previous two together. Most of the tracks have a more easily distinguishable rhythm. It's also the first one to have songs with lyrics (there are four if I'm not mistaken - three with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and one with Joe Romersa).
The fourth is the most rhythm-based one. It's not as moody and atmospheric as the others, but still continues the trend of being pretty darn good background music. It also has the most vocal tracks (I think maybe five or six), one with Romersa and the rest with McGlynn. None of the vocal tracks in either of these last two games have any offensive content, though.
So I can't really pick a personal favorite because I guess it depends on what I'm in the mood for. As I mentioned before though, when you listen to the SH1 soundtrack, use headphones or you'll miss a lot of it.

Hey, thanks for your in-depth notes, Spoony! I think I might be leaning towards the soundtrack for Silent Hill 2. I seems to be the most popular according to some of the amazon.com reviews and I like smooth trance-type music. But, like you said, it depends on one's mood. I think I follow on the headphones for the 1st soundtrack - industrial and effect-heavy audio often has a lot of stereo effects. They are much more noticably with headphones. That is the kind of music (?) I like to listen to some evenings slouching back in the my computer chair with headphones on and the lights out, with my eyes shut. Very immersive.

kryptech wrote:I think I follow on the headphones for the 1st soundtrack - industrial and effect-heavy audio often has a lot of stereo effects. They are much more noticably with headphones. That is the kind of music (?) I like to listen to some evenings slouching back in the my computer chair with headphones on and the lights out, with my eyes shut. Very immersive.

Yeah, only don't expect to be able to fall asleep to that one

[quote="SpoonyBard"]Yeah, only don't expect to be able to fall asleep to that one ]
Not exactly "unwind" music, huh. Still, I think I'd find it inspirational. And who knows what kind of intriguing dreams you might have that night?