Silver And Steel and Shadows In The Moonlight

[MiracleOfSound]

Silver And Steel and Shadows In The Moonlight

This week we find out why Gavin isn't as "dark and edgy" as you may have wanted.

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[LonelyWizzard]

You realise you now absolutely have to make a 16-minute synth drone piece about Mario's hat now, right?

Reading this was the first time I listened to Silver and Steel, and now I really want to try the Witcher, great as always Gav.

 

[burningdragoon]

Mmmmm, your comments weren't violent or actiony enough.

 

[jurnag12]

Always interesting to read these bits. Here's to more awesome music in the future! */Raises glass*

And let's all give a hand up for another mention of Devin Townsend, a guy who more people should know about because his music is made of awesome.
He made a damn concept album about an alien coming to Earth seeking the ultimate cup of coffee, and it had a brilliant mix of awesome controlled metal chaos (Ziltoidia Attaxx, Planet Smasher) and softer pieces (Solar Winds, Hyperdrive). And that's not even the silliest nor most musically brilliant thing he's done.

 

[BrotherRool]

I think of all the 'talking about your content' features yours is one of the best or not the best here. Extra Punctuation and Loading Time rock but it's fun how much you interact with people in your articles (plus it's an excuse to listen to Shadows in the Moonlight again )

 

[Mister K]

"Why was there no mention of all the sex. The game was full of sex.

Because sex is just sex. You see sex everywhere. It's not a part of the story I found particularly interesting or inspiring or unique. I never really have much interest in sex in games. I prefer it in real life."

Can this kind of answer be classified as BURN?

 

[JaceArveduin]

And this is why you're awesome Gav.

Oh, and some people appear to have not realized there is such thing as 'folk-metal' and some of it's rather good. And I know an RTS game for you, BFME It's simple, build farms, build barracks, build units, swarm enemy base while also building OP heroes. Oh, and it's LotR, so you can borrow bits of inspiration from other sources

 

[Formica Archonis]

... I'm sure there would be some head scratching were I to send in a 16 minute Philip Glass style atonal synth drone-piece called "Mario's Hat" or something like that...

Maybe they could get Rob Hubbard to remix it.

Spoiler: Two videos: Koyaanisqatsi and the theme from Delta. One was an (apparently) unintentional remix of the other.

 

[putowtin]

so no "mushrooms frying in butter" from you!

That's all good, just keep doing what you're doing and I'll be happy

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

You're really not holding back today are you... always funny though, and your comments on 'dark and edgy' are spot on.

When listening to Silver and Steel it was weird because it kept reminding me of Nord Mead, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why, as Silver and Steel wasn't exactly comic. I guess the rhyme structure was doing some subconscious trickery. I loved Shadows in the Moonlight, and I agree. While AC2 is my favorite game of all time for a multitude of reasons, in my opinion the best part wasn't the combat, sneaking or any particular missions; it was just climbing to the top of the tallest buildings around and just standing there, staring at the utterly breathtaking scenery.

 

[ccesarano]

Oh, and some people appear to have not realized there is such thing as 'folk-metal' and some of it's rather good.

I think a lot of people are awfully close-minded when it comes to musical genres, which is funny as I have trouble getting into music that's not power metal. I guess there's at least an appreciation for other styles.

I find it more amusing that people suggest Black Metal as being something that's medieval sounding. If I were to go medieval my first two thoughts would actually be Iron Maiden or Blind Guardian, and to an extent you could even go as far back as Led Zeppelin considering they sang about fantasy as well. Does Immigrant Song sound metal enough, I wonder? Or are people just incapable of looking back?

And as Gavin says, it all depends on the aspect of the story you're looking for. Blind Guardian's Nightfall in Middle-Earth is a fantastic album when it comes to battlefields and more war-like emotions, but when I think of Hobbiton then a song like Close to the Edge by Yes just seems more appropriate to the tone of it.

Then there's a band like Falconer, who, despite the electric instruments, just sound like they'd be right at home at a Renaissance Faire.

 

[The Last Melon]

I was worried that this was going to be another column of "Boy, you fuckers are stupid, so let me snark right back at you and show you what a smart, successful man I am!" That was my biggest problem with Encore, but I'm glad to see that this one has gone back to the reason that we're all here - i.e., the music.

On an unrelated note (I don't know whether Gavin takes questions from the forums, or just from private messages), but are you a big classical fan? Were you influenced at all? Any favourite composers?

 

[VeryOddGamer]

Damn, some people are dickish.
Also, you do like Halo. Huh. Good, because now I feel less uncivilized for liking it.

 

[VeryOddGamer]

I was worried that this was going to be another column of "Boy, you fuckers are stupid, so let me snark right back at you and show you what a smart, successful man I am!" That was my biggest problem with Encore, but I'm glad to see that this one has gone back to the reason that we're all here - i.e., the music.

On an unrelated note (I don't know whether Gavin takes questions from the forums, or just from private messages), but are you a big classical fan? Were you influenced at all? Any favourite composers?

Well, he did take the last comment on "Shadows in the Moonlight" from the forums.

 

[FEichinger]

Didn't really fit Assassin's Creed because it was too relaxing.

Playing Assassin's Creed 2 was one the most relaxing experiences of my life.

A thousand times this ... Seriously, except for the slightly annoying "Don't be detected by that randomly twitching guard"-memories, AC2 was a pretty darn relaxing experience.

 

[John McGill Conklin]

This might be different in the games, but Silver and Steel seems to fit Geralt from the books pretty well. It's deceptively lethal, seeming like a simple folk song when in fact it's one of your best pieces.

And it's freaking fantastic, just like the witcher himself.

 

[Thaius]

I'm Gavin's new favorite person for that comment?

...I'm okay with that.

Also excited to see that you like Halo, Gavin. I've wanted a Halo song from you too, but was never sure if you enjoyed the series. So this gives me hope. I always thought the beautiful, dangerous mystery of Halo in the first game would make a good topic, perhaps with an abrupt mood change akin to the revelation of the Flood. *shrugs* When you do figure it out, I have no doubt it'll be great.

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

Really looking forward to the day you achieve that perfect Halo song. I was trying to narrow it down to core themes and there's really so much going on that one song would be hard to cover it all. I write poetry about games for my university course and when I got around to Halo I started with the religious aspect of the Covenant and then tried to include some of the immoral but desperate choices made by the UNSC.

On the topic of these songs, I loved Shadows in the Moonlight because it reminded me of how brilliant AC2's opening was, something I had forgotten about in my hatred for Brotherhood. Gonna have to force myself through Revelations before AC3 comes out.