Materia Collective announced that guitarist Ferdk has a new album available, which is a symphonic rock tribute to the PlayStation classic, Shadow of the Colossus. The new 11-track album is titled Battle of the Colossus, and it takes many of the game’s battle themes and gives them a hardcore metal makeover.
Ferdk explained that he was aiming to combine the beauty of the game’s story with the breathtaking battles of the colossi, fusing those two notions together with a healthy layer of metal on top, saying…
“Battle with the Colossus embodies the duality of conflict versus beauty. Guitar riffs challenge the beasts. Orchestral melodies capture their majesty. I vividly remember encountering the very first colossus, way back in 2005. I was in awe, I hadn’t seen something like this in gaming before. I found myself climbing this huge beast as the score charged into a triumphant orchestral epic, a one-of-a-kind experience. The soundtrack to this game is almost like a character of its own. It defines the experience just as much as the art direction and gameplay. It’s truly a masterpiece of a game just as much as the art direction and gameplay. It’s truly a masterpiece of a game and one of my all-time favorites, so I’m pleased to be able to release my tribute to the game and its soundtrack.”
You can actually snag a listen to the soundtrack courtesy of Ferdk’s Bandcamp page, where some of the tracks are available for your perusal.
The album contains 11 different songs, as listed below:
- Revived Power 02:56
- The Opened Way 02:56
- In Awe of the Power 02:07
- A Messenger From Behind 02:41
- A Violent Encounter 02:36
- Liberated Guardians 02:04
- Gatekeeper of the Castle Ruins 02:55
- A Despair-filled Farewell 02:10
- Counterattack 02:50
- Final Battle 01:51
- The Farthest Land 03:17
The album feels like a remastered take on old-school battle music from JRPGs. A lot of gamers will likely feel right at home with Ferdk’s tribute to one of the greatest adventure games ever made. I can’t say that any of the songs stood out in a way that completely separated them from the source material, but it definitely feels like a metal-themed homage to Kow Otani’s work.
You can get your hands on the album from a number of different places, including BandCamp, Pandora, Spotify, Napster, Amazon and iTunes to name but a few.
The album is available right now for $7.99, and you can learn more about it by visiting the official Materia Collective website.
