A four-track digital album from artist Ferdk and music publisher Materia Collective is currently available for purchase and download from the iTunes App Store, the Google Play Store, and Bandcamp. The album is only $4 and it’s called Glory to Metal: A Symphonic Metal Tribute to NieR: Automata.

The four tracks are based around four of the more popular songs from the NieR: Automata soundtrack, which was originally composed by Keiichi Okabe and MoNACA. You can check the track listings below:

01. Bipolar Nightmare
02. Alien Manifestation
03. Forest Kingdom
04. Grandma (Destruction)

You can actually use your auricular tongue to taste the sweet tinge of heavy metal from the audio meal provided by Bandcamp with the embed below.

Once you get done licking up every note and audible chord, you can actually purchase the album from over on Bandcamp’s store if it’s to your liking.

In the press release, Ferdk explained what led him to creating the heavy metal rearrangement based on the soundtrack for NieR: Automata, saying…

“When I jumped into NieR:Automata I became fully immersed into the game’s world and its exploration of the human condition,”

 

“Immediately after completing the game, I felt the urge to do something with the music, and given its heavy orchestral work it was a perfect fit for my bombastic, symphonic metal style. Battles are always an easy choice when it comes to metal, but I felt I wasn’t tapping into the full potential of the game’s musical range, so I added two more tracks that stood out to me for the ambience they create when they’re featured in the game. I hope listeners enjoy these songs reimagined for electric guitar and orchestra, and feel transported back into Yoko Taro’s world.”

If you had the least bit of interest in the NieR: Automata soundtrack and possibly even enjoyed that unforgettable field battle score, the track “Alien Manifestation” will likely hook you once the first note drops. It sent goosebumps right down my arms once that electric guitar kicked in and the string section swelled up a minute or so into the song.

Surprisingly it’s not really over the top heavy metal. Ferdk focuses a lot more on retaining the core melodies that Keiichi Okabe wanted to get across, which usually relied on the emotional weight of the situation that would draw gamers in and keep them hooked like a fish on a line with irresistible bait. In a way, Ferdk’s arrangements leave you wanting more thanks to his applied restraint to the heavy metal themes – the musical coloring of Okabe’s vision of NieR: Automata never gets lost in the tonal palate of Ferdk’s arrangements. It’s definitely a show of respect from Ferdk, even while working from an easel of heavy drumbeats and a palette of unmistakably aggressive guitar riffs.

You can learn more about the four-track album by visiting the Materia Collective website.