Metal Slug 4 Original Soundtrack Vinyl Review "I was first introduced to Metal Slug in the back of a dingy record store" 💿 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGM

Since the first release in 1996, the Metal Slug series was a long-time staple in arcades over the world. I was first introduced to Metal Slug in the back of a dingy record store (Rainbow Records) in my hometown of Pontypridd, it was one of three cabinets at the back of the shop (the other two were Aliens and Power Drift, if memory serves), and I was instantly hooked on the high-octane action that the game delivered with it’s intense militaristic soundtrack, colourful visuals and zany animations (I’ve always loved the Metal Slug reload animation) – even the in-game slowdown added an oddly cinematic quality to the experience, and made it feel like you were causing so much on-screen carnage and havoc that the game was struggling to keep up with you, good! It’s a series to which I often return, usually when visiting arcades scattered around the UK, as a blast on a Metal Slug title – especially with friends - always brings back great memories.

Wayo Records have previously also released Metal Slug X, which I covered back in 2021. It was quite a unique soundtrack experience, sticking in memory out of all the vinyl I’ve covered here at GF due to it’s heavy use of crisp sampling (of everything from guitars and voicings to full orchestration) as well as a marching focus on kinetic energy, a very memorable mix!

Metal Slug 4 was released in arcades back in 2002 and ported to home consoles a couple of years later, this soundtrack is taken from the arcade original, composed by Toshikazu Tanaka, a familiar name for SNK fans, as he is a composer that has worked on many SNK series from Ikari Warriors through Fatal Fury, King of the Fighters, and a personal favourite of mine - Super Baseball 2020*. The Metal Slug 4 album comes on a single vinyl – the version I have is a yellow translucent vinyl, whereas there is also a red splatter edition on the Wayo Records website - the cover artwork is taken from the original arcade poster, and features our protagonists leaping in front of a massive explosion as debris – and underwear, natch – flies everywhere, the Metal Slug logo is bold, front and centre at the heart of the explosion, it’s a big, vibrant piece of art that celebrates the wonderfully bonkers game series. The rear of the cover features three of the main characters atop the titular Metal Slug - again in front of a smoking explosion. Below this image lies the track listing – also, kudos to Wayo Records for supplying the record in an anti-static sleeve, a move that is always appreciated!

SIDE A

• 01 Declare War (Opening Demo)
• 02 Choose a Person (Character Select)
• 03 Let's Run Through! (Stage 1)
• 04 Show Spirit (Stage 2)
• 05 Snowy Road (Stage 3)
• 06 Cadaverous (Stage 4)
• 07 Go Ahead! (Stage 5)

SIDE B

• 01 The Scene Of a Hard Battle (Boss 1)
• 02 Furiously (Boss 2)
• 03 Secret Place (Stage 6)
• 04 Uncanny Laugh (Demo Before Last Boss)
• 05 Final Madness (Last Boss)
• 06 Escape (Demo After Last Boss)
• 07 Good Ending
• 08 Bad Ending
• 09 End To The War (End Credits)

Side A

The initial couple of tracks are briefer than the others, as they act as the album opening, following the tasters of ‘Declare War’ and ‘Choose a Person’, the album kicks into meatier gears with ‘Let’s Run Through’, as incredibly poppy drums, beaming synth and horns bounce off each other creating an intense arcade rush. Palm-muted, chugging guitar meshes with touches of shimmering lead guitar, it’s a big opening track filled with peppery drumming and heroic melodies. ‘Show Spirit’ is next and kicks off with a marching band snare tied to a pulsing, dance 4/4 beat. It’s less intense than the previous track, but still has that gung-ho vibe that propels the album forwards, it also had that same synth breakdown in a faux-violin style that adds an edge of melancholy. ‘Snowy Road’ is up next, and after a thunderous intro, gave off surprisingly Goldeneye 007 N64 vibes in the tone of the instrumentation, yet tied more to the high-impact Time Splitters score. It’s a great, pulse-pounding track that stood out, as it all rocks along to a surprisingly dancey beat, a garbled spoken word section adds to that spy-vibe, it’s all very wonderfully early-00’s. Good. Also worth noting, due to their arcade heritage, these are rhythmic loops as opposed to flowing song narratives, in that each track will tend to loop twice through and then fade out, as is standard with arcade soundtracks. Following ‘Snowy Road’, ‘Cadaverous’ begins with delicate hand percussion and atonal guitar, with a more otherworldly vibe. Soon, a brush-struck snare kicks in, but the sense of keening mystery remains in the main drive of the song. Descending, clashing guitar chords fight over Eastern-sounding synth, definitely the darkest track on the album thus far! ‘Go Ahead!’ finishes the A-side. Stage 5 in the game, the track leaps into the fray with a  deeper, marching snare and a building horn section calling out a war cry. This track calls to mind a pitched battle, with heroic brass and strings almost feeling JRPG-esque in their presentation. The production on the album is incredibly crisp, and despite the sampled origins, there’s a big sound here, accentuated through the style in which they are delivered, that military drive giving a sense of bombasticism.

Side B

‘The Scene of a Hard Battle’ wates no time in racing into squealing guitars with a rush of intensity! A boss theme, this delivers all the kinetic energy you’d expect in a bullet-riddled arcade action game. The action doesn’t let up with the next track – also a boss theme – ‘Furiously’, a song that also pumps along with a sense of credible threat. Stabs of orchestration over rumbling tom-toms and horns, this gives off vibes of a more cerebral enemy than the frenzied onslaught of ‘The Scene of a Hard Battle’, with a centre melody that even slows down over marching snare, before returning to those orchestral stabs. The third track on the second side of the record is ‘Secret Place’, moving us away from boss themes and back to stage music (this is the music featured in the sixth stage of Metal Slug 4), beginning somewhat eerily, the tune suddenly ramps up to a dance-driven beat with broad snare and hi-hat. Following this, the piano takes the lead for a while before sampled electric guitar milkily leads the song through the somewhat spacey loop. The sections of the song move quickly here, it’s quite the ride! Again, there’s always that sense of funky melody at the heart. ‘Uncanny Laugh’ follows this, and is a doom-laden, tub-thumping piece of music that gives off the sense that not all bodes well for our plucky protagonists! ‘Final Madness’ acts as the final boss theme, leading on from the prior, foreboding track. Opening with one of the most unsettling chords on the album, this soon settles into another high energy theme as the heroes struggle to take down the final boss in the game. I assumed that all would be well following the boss defeat, but no! ‘Escape’ is another frantic rush that acts as a race against time before ‘Good Ending’ brightens things up with a cheery, celebratory victory march, all trills and cymbal crashes, hurrah! Rounding out the album firstly is ‘Bad Ending’, which – as you’d expect – acts as a counterpoint to the good ending just heard, but actually comes across as somewhat alien, funky, and cool! I was fully prepared for a misery fest, but this is actually a great and unusual piece of music that I did not expect from the title. The final track here is ‘End to the War’, leading straight on from the bad ending music, it returns us to that proud, marching vibe that echoes throughout the album, even including some harp runs, a positive end to the proceedings.

SUMMARY

Metal Slug 4 comes across as somewhat more cohesive than its barmy brother Metal Slug X, as that soundtrack had tracks  flourishes that felt more experimental.

They make a great pair, but Metal Slug 4 put me more in the mind of the game and hangs together slightly more fully as an album, I’d say. A fun soundtrack to an incredibly fun game.

*A game at which I remained undefeated in an ongoing tournament with my brother for the first twenty years of my life…and have now lost every consecutive game over the LAST twenty years.

Wayo Records – Purchase Link