Yes, folks, we’re back for another Fatal Frame related SBP, because we love spoiling you. And I say “we” because this SBP is going to be a little different: Me and Dio are teaming up to bring you a one-two-punch breakdown on all of the image songs from across the Fatal Frame series! For this breakdown, I’m going to be handling the technical side of the discussion, and leaving the story elements and theming to Dio.
Decon:
The first game lacked a proper image song, but all the games in the series since that point have made use of a song that captures the feeling of the series overall, and more specifically the game the song is tied too, musically and lyrically. More or less all of these songs were composed by Tsuki Amano (formerly Tsukiko Amano), a renowned Japanese composer and songwriter; she’s also a fashion designer (having designed most of the costumes she wears in her videos and shows herself), and has published a storybook, so she’s had quite an extensive career. The sole exception is Higanbana, which was performed by AnJu, who we’re guessing is an upcoming Idol; information on her is a bit scarce, but that could just be my weak google fu.
I’ve been looking forward to doing this, actually, because stylistically, Amano’s compositional style is very interesting; her songs primarily use a rock template to build from- particularly hard rock, although some elements of punk and thrash work their way in- and feature plenty of shredding, chugging and some delicious riffs and solos (good examples of this are the songs 鮫, JOKER JOE, ウララカ, and SPY), but she usually builds atop this template by mixing elements of funk (particularly in the basslines, like on the songs ダンデライオン and 太陽, the latter of which almost sounds like a Red Hot Chili Peppers style Funk Metal track), some vaguely hip hop/breakbeat inspired drum patterns (such as those on the tracks 枳 and Primal Scream), a fair bit of synthpop and electronica inspiration, particularly in song intros (like the songs Bowling, p i g e o n, 恋, and Devil Flamingo), and even some jazz fixings in places (亀 (in ラウンジ) and 刺青 being good examples). Perhaps her favourite ones to make use of outside of the rock ones, though, are her penchant for ballads and orchestral fixings, particularly strings. A lot of her songs, on top of the already varied genre mix above, work in some gorgeous string overdubs and beautiful piano work; mix in a very “cinematic” feel that is common in almost all of her songs and her absolutely stunning, powerful, crystal clear voice and amazing harmonic range, and you complete this eclectic cocktail that is trademark Tsuki Amano; you’ll know a track of hers when you hear it, from the very first micro second.
零~Zero~ (Fatal Frame)
I can’t vouch personally for how much the cinematic and grandiose/emotional resonance a lot of her songs carry
inspired the creators of the Fatal Frame series to ask her to do music for them, but I imagine it must’ve helped; it’s wildly known at this point that the song that specifically encouraged this decision is the song Hakoniwa ~Miniature Garden~, which has often been touted as a “proto Zero” song and is considered the unofficial theme song of the first game. I’d only been made aware of this songs attachment to the series, however faintly, and I can definitely hear it in the track; that trademark Amano sound that manages to carry such paradoxically powerful yet fragile emotions is definitely there, in the overall arrangement, the subtle flutes (which I think are actually the flute patch from a Mellotron ala Strawberry Fields forever; if not, they certainly have that kind of sounds), the hollow, filtered beat that runs along the verses before becoming more bombastic and hard hitting during the almost triumphantly bittersweet chorus, it’s all there, and even on the merit of the music alone, the tone fits the canon ending of the first Fatal Frame perfectly. There’s a slight nostalgic, longing sense to the whole thing that tints the emotion of the whole thing, yet a sense of knowing that you’ve got to let this thing go, for the greater good.
Dio:Amano-san's relationship with the creators of the series starts officially with Chou, but Hakoniwa was the song that brought her to Shibata-san's attention. In interviews, she was found in the indie section, under A by Shibata-san (jokingly, she's mentioned its been to her benefit, being so close to the beginning of the alphabet for ease of finding), and the feeling of the world inside the song matched to him perfectly the world of 零~Zero~. Lyrically, she attributes the song to Kirie's feelings, though the portion of the song near the end, the middle 8: "Joined together, joined together, rocking in a cradle/ Me and you rocked by me and you/ Forgive me, forgive me, kill me, hold me gently" had a feeling Shibata-san described as "scary" and coming from a ghost itself; it felt as if it was "coming from a place deep in her heart". Its repeated 3 times, with slightly variations until the last line: "Let’s open the door and leave, leaving everything we’ve got behind." Its not a sentiment I think would be alien to Kirie, whom has learnt the beauty and joy of living, only to have it literally ripped away, as well as dooming the one true love she ever had. Its Amano-san's powerful voice that lends itself to the feelings inside, and indeed its this style of singing that she brings to every song in the franchise.
She ended up playing the first game to get a feel for the series, and while it scared her (and with little surprise since she also played with headphones), she wanted to get to the end to see how her song meshed with the ending. It turns out rather well, since Hakoniwa comes to her mind at the credits sequence.
零~Zero~Akai Chou (Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly)
Decon:
It’s a good thing that song came to be, as what happens next is now well known; Tsuki Amano broke into the western consciousness and earned her claim to fame on these shores with the song Chou, the theme song from Fatal Frame 2, and arguably her most well remembered piece among fans of the franchise, much like the game itself. It’s not at all hard to see why; out of all of her pieces, I’d argue this is one of her most cinematic pieces, almost entirely constructed
and built around some absolutely gorgeous string arrangements that by themselves perfectly capture a much more melancholy emotion then Hakoniwa, and are only elevated by everything else that builds around them- that lonely sounding traditional percussion that opens the piece, the duelling guitars that bounce from a lighter, mellow electric resonance to the gritty, distorted rock guitars we come to expect from Amano, and the voice- oh, man, Amano brought more then her A game to this one, hitting us with a soft voice that could almost be lulling you to sleep in the verses’, before going hard in the chorus’ and practically screaming a siren song directly into our ears; the mixture of all the individual elements comes together to create the absolute perfect melancholy, a song that encapsulates the pain of the severing of an intimate connection more then simple words along could manage, but it’s that kind of pain and suffering that we, as an audience, love to consume; the tragically beautiful, the artfully sad. Were it not for another song that we’ve yet to get to, this would probably be my favourite of the Fatal Frame songs.
Dio:
Chou is her first foray into the series, and from this, one has to wonder where she started. Well, it does start from Shibata-san contacting her manufacturer, who expressed that that year, she was going for a more Japanese feel to her sound, which meshes well with the world of Zero (humorously, the video for the song "Same" starred her in a samurai outfit, in a western village). Shibata-san was known for providing a shorter summary of the story to her, and illustrations of ghosts, the latter of which she didn't really need. Jokingly called "love letters" he made sure to entirely convey the feeling he needed for the game, and by all accounts, he managed to do it very well.
The image that came to her mind are hands, and the shape of butterfly wings that they can take. "one pair of overlapping hands vanishing", which is a strong, apropos image for a game where you lose track of Mayu so much. The feeling of loneliness from separation, Mayu's fears of being taken from her sister, or losing her. The theme of the second game comes from something that is only whole when both parts are present, and the tragedy when they are ripped apart. This is perfectly captured in the lyrics. The song comes from the point of view of one whose wings are ripped, and is fluttering into the sky, perfectly emulating Mayu's feelings. The chorus brings to mind the ritual, the middle 8, Mayu's feelings for her sister to kill her to become one, and finally the tragic leave-taking, as the speaker flutters "better than you thought".
Amano-san mentions the strings that were brought in, which open the song (and indeed open many of her songs), because strings have a feeling of the world of Zero. The strings rise with the strength of her voice, and even sometimes give the impression of wings fluttering in the verse portions. You'll find the strings in different songs give different effects. The song matches with the canon ending, simply because the developers made sure to have it match. Its the ending that is the most memorable, and thus matches the song beautifully.
零~Zero~Shisei no Koe (Fatal Frame: The Tormented)
Decon:
The third game followed with Koe, which takes a slightly different tact from Chou, and it’s largely down to the difference between the sections of the song; the verses are largely driven by a return to that bittersweet feeling, expressed through a piano palette that the rest of the elements build around, but it’s use of the piano is, in itself, interesting given the discrepancy within it; though the main piano melody is quite beautiful, a very subtle and bittersweet melody, is offset by dissonant, high note piano strikes that pull a clash-and-bend with the main melody in a very pleasing manner. Other very cinematic elements such as those fantastic string melodies and some subtle
timpani strikes make their appearances in both the verses, but for the most part, the verses sound almost like miniature ballads in of themselves, but things kick into high gear in the chorus’ and the solo section, as the strings come back in full force, taking the lead role in place of the pianos but carrying on that bittersweet resonance the piano sections set in motion, offset of course by that growling distorted guitar; the solo section in particular sounds especially cinematic and almost progressive in the way the strings move from chord to chord, note to note, and the wailing guitar provides a perfect raw accompaniment to the emotional display; something much more raw and passionate to go along with the more “refined” strings, so to speak. If Hakoniwa was the prototype, this is the perfection of the formula that song set in motion in some ways, particularly in the tone, and it carries the same kind of feeling as that song to me; the nostalgic air, but knowing that you have to let go of that thing you long for.
Dio:There's a few stories involving Koe. She had worked on a song called Irezumi, which is another way of reading "tattoo", which is why she went with "koe" which means "voice". Also, the theme of loss of a loved one, Rei, calls to mind 2 different views from Shibata-san and Amano-san. She had a friend who actually did lose her fiancee, and that she had that in mind while she wrote. She wanted her to move on, and that while you loved that person with her whole life, you should still have to forget that person enough to be able to fall in love again (keep in mind the parts of the chapters in the manga Chobits involving Manager Ueda, his persocon wife Yumi and Yumi, Hideki's co-worker). On the other hand, Shibata-san pressed for the theme that forgetting will effectively kill the people you have lost (as you are the only one who remembers them). Their opposing opinions left Mr. Kikuchi in the middle trying to soothe them. Therefore there is something of a slight disconnect between the messages of the actual ending (Yuu's words echo Shibata-san's, and the song is Amano's), but that is what makes the song so powerful.
The opening piano brings to mind the sound of dripping water and falling snow. That plus the mournful strings is what makes this song so heart-rending. Its not an easy song to go through, when playing with the ending. The game begins with zero, and ends with zero. All of the things that remind the speaker of the song of their lost love, the more it drags them to death, and to go on with life means you have to cut those parts away.
What I like was that chaotic solo in the song, which evoked to me the numerous voices and memories and pain the Tattoo Maiden felt and heard as she went through the ritual. This technique appears again in ZERO, and for almost the same reason, though with different sources.
零~Zero~Tsukihami no Kamen (Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse)
Decon:
This is where things become even more interesting. Koe and Chou capture that orchestral rock beauty and that cinematic feel, but Fatal Frame 4, for all it’s flaws (which even as the resident Grasshopper Manufacture fan, I have to admit were numerous), brought us two Tsuki Amano songs, one of which is the absolutely phenomenal ZERO (or as it's also known, Zero No Chouritsu). ZERO, to me, as it’s name implies, is not only a great theme song for Fatal Frame 4, but the series as a whole, with lyrics that (at least in Japanese; the English lyrics are a bit less vague) could be taken platonically, romantically, lustfully, but clearly encompass that feeling of desperation one person feels when trying to connect with another person they feel strongly for in dire straights, particularly the repeated cries of “just call my name” and “even if I’m not the me you remember” really standing out to me. I have no idea how relevant that is to the theme of the game, but I definitely feel it in the song. And that’s not counting the composition, which, oh boy howdy, where do I start? There is so much going on stylistically here; the song opens with a very peaceful sounding piano refrain that almost captures that same nostalgic feeling that Koe and Hakoniwa do, but suddenly the song shifts gears completely as this tense sounding synthesizer riff cuts it off, and before you know it, the hard rock guitars are blaring, an frenzied sounding string melody playing behind it, but then suddenly the song shifts gears again, as the verses mix a subtle percussive touch with a funk inspired drum line, synthesizer chords, slowly adding a arpeggiated synth riff, a bassline, a slightly more pronounced beat, the return of that synth riff from the opening, before building back into that desperate, almost frantic sounding chorus and bridge, which mix guitars, a steady beat, and even a bit of subtle scatting; and after two more go throughs of the verse and chorus, the song changes again, albeit briefly, into an organ dirge with some slight ambient touches (including a dissonant, deep piano chord) that slowly melts into a short, shrieking guitar solo backed by another slightly wistful piano line, until BAM, back into that hard hitting chorus and bridge, before bookending itself by fading back into that piano refrain that opened the
song, and ending on one hard, dissonant smack of piano keys; the song goes so many places, changes in so many ways, covering so many different styles that Amano has worked with over her career that it creates a hectic, but absolutely stunning track that feels unique even in of itself, and it’s easily my favourite of the image songs because of it.Fatal Frame 4 also featured the track NOISE, which sounds a lot more like a traditional Fatal Frame image track and hits the same kind of marks; a bittersweet melody that's hard to swallow but satisfying all the same, triumphant and bombastic yet still vaguely melancholic chorus’ that marry cinematic strings with hard rock guitars- but it much like ZERO it does it’s own little things that make it stand out as its own beast; some subtle drum machine beats here and there (that sounds to me to be the famous Roland TR-808 drum machine) offsetting the soft pianos and light electric guitars during the first verse, and later backing a portion of a guitar solo, perfectly complimenting the light, airy voice that Amano uses across the verse and creating that lovely sound that acoustic and electric elements make when put together; and as well as including the requisite guitar solo, it also has a really interesting breakdown a little passed the midway point that gives the song perhaps the most cinematic edge over all the other image songs, the song strips itself down to just strings, a few timpani hits, a tambourine, a little touch of harp, and some lovely flutes, with the composition taking a turn for the whimsical and the upbeat, but not in a way that clashes with the rest of the emotion coming from the song; if anything, it’s actually a really nice dip into the “sweet” half of the usual tone gleamed from the FF songs, and it adds even more character to the song because of it.
Dio:When it came to data for the 4th game, Amano-san was given about the same kind of data, according to her interview, but was also given pictures of kelp. For those who have played to the end, you'll note the kelp comes into play during the credits sequence. But that's about it. ZERO, ended up becoming "too cool" and maybe not as "japanese-style" as her previous songs. And this is why it was used as an opening, and then as a closing. Because of the many different characters, she had not as much focus on a single point, and spread it all around. This way, it became a "series" song more than just a single game. She had problems remembering everyone, and with the sheer amount of characters in game 4, I don't blame her.
Noise was made because she was also told she could write what she personally wanted, and so it was born. The theme of forgetting and remembering carries from both the game as well as from the previous game. Both songs are about losing oneself and identity, and the decision to reclaim them or to forget and move on. Strings come back in both songs but are strongest in Noise rather than both versions of ZERO.
The chaotic guitar pieces in the solo of ZERO evoke a sense of the noise and condition of the memory robbing disease from the first game, which echoes the solo portions of Koe, and for the same reasons. The noise the patients in the sanitarium echoes the solo portions, and that's what I liked about that. Noise's string solo actually doesn't appear in the credits theme, but its the most auditory representation of oceans, water and kelp. The feeling of sinking into somewhere cold and deep, but comforting, is the charm of these songs.
零~Zero~Shinku no Chou (Fatal Frame: Deep Crimson Butterfly)
Decon:We then come to the remake of Fatal Frame 2, subtitled Deep Crimson Butterfly, which brought with it a new Amano track, and one with a very different tone from the original. Kurenai opens with the same percussion section, but almost straight away, the composition seems to capture that same air and emotion as previous songs, an excellent counterpoint to the original melancholy piece the game was paired with, but against comes with its own unique flavours; the biggest being whilst the other Fatal Frame songs have generally made liberal use of distorted guitars, this one keeps the rock guitar solely for a solo section, and instead gives both acoustic guitar and strings the job of leading and guiding the piece, giving the song a sort of “adult contemporary” flavour in some ways (much as I always disliked that term), and it gives the song a more “stripped down and back to basics” feel when compared to ZERO, but not in a bad way; in some ways, the song feels a bit more down to earth and has a clearer sense of cohesion, a less frantic feel to it, almost feeling mellow even in the chorus sections in some ways, yet at the same time the expression of emotion feels a lot more “mature” for lack of a better wording, compared to the more raw outburst of pure feeling Chou captured. In that sense, it’s a really interesting counterpoint to Chou, both in execution and tone, yet both songs still capture that same sense of identity of being Fatal Frame and in some ways are very similar, whilst being very different.
Dio:Coming back to a familiar village, Shinku no Chou or Deep Crimson Butterfly, this song was meant to compliment, but never replace Chou. She wanted to use the word for "Crimson", the "akai", and so went about it like this: "Since if it was written in hiragana I thought people might take it as "shite kurenai?" (won't you do it?), so I decided to use the old "wi" character. Comparing the two titles, it had to be "Kurenai"." Not "shinku" since they hadn't chosen the title at the time. Since Chou was written from the viewpoint of the one who was flying awkwardly, Kurenai would be from the point of view of the one who couldn't fly. Mayu's song and then Mio's song. Its the thinking that Kurenai was a sister song, and a little sister song, to Chou, that helped Amano-san codify her song. Shibata-san brought up a sister song for Hakoniwa made 5 years later, Utakata, and said that it was possible to write another song int he same world. As a "little sister" song, it matches Mio, whom is the younger twin.
When she had the chance to speak with the localization, recognized the nuances of language that aren't always expressed well: "For example, the "hamidasu mono karitoru hasami wo tazusae" part. This has the meaning of "people who stand out and are criticised and punished." The kind of nuance I wanted in the English translation was "why are they knocked down?" which I had trouble with. I thought that the "karitori mono" part should be "lay us down" or "cut us down", and went back and forth about it many times with Nintendo of Europe's staff. "Lay us down" has a the image of a crushing/suppressing feeling, and after taking the advice that it had more an image of "exclusive and limited" and "pushed aside" I thought "cut us down" might be closer and went with that."
Another lyric that was actually translated with the same feeling. "The part that goes "kimi wa nigete yuku tozashita tobira wo ikutsu mo surinukete" was translated as "I see the doors closing behind you, I rush to make it there in time", which is precisely what I was going for. So much so that I automatically replied in comment, "That's so moving!" (laughs). It represented the "even though I tell you not to go when it seems as though we will be separated, I can never keep up with you" image that I was going for really well. Maybe that's how Mayu feels in the actual game, too. I used that as a hint, but the translation team really understood that and how well they understood impacted me deeply. I was so happy that everything I wanted to say had been conveyed, even the metaphors."
There are 2 versions of the song: the one from the album that includes opening percussions that aren't in the one used in the game, which opens with the exact prelude Chou begins with. The strings are so much sadder, and heart breaking. Her voice goes from high to low notes like a music box, almost too quickly, which is a style that is evident in all the Zero songs. The lyrics of the chorus: "Are you still wandering? Are you still waiting? Are your broken wings still carrying you through that moonless sky?" The pain of the one who can't fly, to be left behind, is so painful it seeps through the song.
零~Zero~Nuregarasu no Miko (Fatal Frame: Raven-Haired Shrine Maiden)
Decon:Finally, we come to the new game, Fatal Frame: Raven-Haired Shrine Maiden, which again has two songs, only this time, one of them was composed by new blood; AnJu steps up to the plate and brings us Higanbana. But first: Amano did return for the new game, however, to provide the song Torikago ~In This Cage~, and the result is very interesting; the feeling of the song overall somehow captures that same bittersweet sense, but has a very slight melancholic edge to it, in some of the chords and notes, creating a very interesting track tonally, both compared to previous Amano songs and to Higanbana, capturing the same vibes of both “refined” and “raw” displays of emotion by way of the counteracting string arrangements and the rough, steady rock beat and rhythm guitars that previous Fatal Frame tracks captured. Also like Higanbana, I find it interesting that a game with such a bleak feeling has a song that, whilst still somewhat melancholic, overall feels a lot less so, in fact even feels hopeful for something, and that’s something that a lot of the other songs have in them that I didn’t really bring up; this sense of hope towards the future, even in spite of the tinges of melancholy, the displays of pain, or the ever present feeling of “the curse never ends” the games are known for capturing; or, perhaps, even BECAUSE of all of that, there is hope for how things could turn out; an acceptance that bad things happen, but life continues, life prevails. Again, no idea if that’s going to tie into the game in any way, but listening to both this track and AnJu, there is that oddly bright spark in both songs that contrasts the bleak, frightening atmospheres of the games and their themes.
Dio:
Torikago came after most people were concerned that Amano-san didn't do the theme (the explanation that its not Zero without her is ludicrous, since the first game of course doesn't have her), but I'm sure having 2 different artists makes the transition easy. According to those who have played it, this song isn't available unless one wears a specific costume swap at the last battle. Since there haven't been any available translated interviews about this song (and the next) yet, we can only speculate not only lyrics (also not available at time of writing), but also the data she received and her process.
What makes this song so wonderful is the prelude (which calls back the prelude of ZERO, with the piano); the guitar, the piano, and the strings. They're so simple, like a tiny waltz. When the song starts proper, it starts hard and passionately. The notes rise, before falling into her gentle voice. In the first verse, there's the quiet organ in the second part of it that appears again in the second verse, but halfway through, it gives way to those Zero strings, so subtlety you miss it unless you're listening to it. This gives it a sort of cathedral feeling, reverence, which flows into the reverence for water in the game. The english portions of the chorus: "The distance to heaven, the distance from my heart" and "The distance to heaven, the distance to sky" are such wonderful images; these changing distances that may be relative to one another, or may just be the same achingly far distance to someone. Its these portions of the chorus that end the song, and leave the listener with such a feeling that its inescapable. Even the bridge to the middle 8 has her voice reduced to a reprise of the prelude, that sounds so other worldly, that you nearly mistake it for a synthesized instrument than a true human voice. By the time you get to that middle 8, you can nearly hear the sounds of an orange sun over a vast ocean of water in the distance.
Decon:
Higanbana is very much akin to Kurenai, in that it captures that kind of “adult contemporary” (christ, can we just invent a new name for this genre, please?) feeling, perhaps slightly moreso, further emphasising the acoustic guitar meets string section vibe, but moreso, as here, the beat is incredibly subtle, keeping rhythm but never making itself too visible, instead allowing the guitar to move the song along, leaving the strings to lead most of the piece with a bit of backup from some piano lines; although I’d imagine you could still call this quite bittersweet sounding, I feel the emotion captures in the song is much more upbeat overall, if not in the tempo of the song then definitely in the melodies and general feel of the arrangement feels a lot more relaxed, at ease, or even at peace. In fact, that’s probably a better way to explain the feeling the song gives off to me; it feels peaceful, and it fills me with a sense of ease of mind, like someone has finally come to terms with something, in a way, but in a different way to some of the earlier songs; it’s less acceptance, and more complete understanding. While the song isn’t really my cup of tea, it’s extremely well composed and arranged, and I think it’s a very bold and interesting choice of song to use for a Fatal Frame game that, though it feels different (and markedly different from an Amano song), it still feels like it could fit, and in fact in a weird way, it’s the contrast between the song and the theme and feeling of the game (or what I’ve gleamed of it) that actually makes it work, although I imagine the whole story manages to put the song in a much better context.
Dio: Higanbana is the main ending theme, and is the theme you will encounter most of the time (unless you fulfill the above conditions). There's a significant difference in tone, rather than rock, its more like an enka song, to which the easiest comparison is a ballad in western music. Enka songs are, in lyrical tone, meant to share a lot more with country music (uncouth but its true), in its laments on love lost or broken hearts. They're probably closer to the theme of loss and Zero than anything else, which was a great choice in a song that would be changing the guard, from Amano-san to AnJu. With bowed and plucked violin, subtle percussions, and a beat that brings to mind exotic "beachy" themes. Its a percussion style that does remind one of water, and sunsets. On first listen, yes, its nothing like Amano-san, and that's simply because it ISN'T. Its a female enka song, and its really fitting for this series, so its definitely a wonderful song.
The word "higanbana" refers to the flower, the red spider lily or lycoris radiata. These flowers were traditionally planted in graveyard borders because the bulbs were poisonous and would prevent burrowing animals from disturbing graves. Thus they are traditionally associated with death or the dead, and since the flowers and the leaves never appear together, they also represent lovers who cannot be together. The flower is mentioned in the 4th game as something one ghost compares herself to. The cover of the single even resembles the flower (above). Without lyrics, I can't exactly say what parts fit with the game, but thematically, it fits so well, I can't conceive of the game without it.
Decon:
But then, there is something vaguely hopeful about the games, even with their bleak themes, oppressive locations, and terrifying ghosts; even if the curse never ends, there are people out there who can face up to the dark, are ready to brave pain and personal suffering for the people they care for (even if doing so means they have to make some very hard decisions), for their ideologies, for whatever reason they choose, and I feel a lot of the image songs, maybe subtly so, capture a little of that sense, on top of their own personal connections to the games they’re written and composed for, and in that sense, they serve as excellent image themes for the games they reflect, and as excellent counterpoints to the fear-driven direction the in game sound and music for the games make use of it.
~Decon & Dio (10/19/14)
images sourced from discogs.com, wangchao.net, otonomai.net, CD japan, wikipedia, and the Zero wiki.