This is the soundtrack to one of the greatest video games ever created. Straight up. Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night was the greatest Castlevania game of them all, originally released on the first Playstation and Sega Saturn. It featured a cross between traditional platformer gameplay and an RPG context. That aside, the music was fantastic and extremely memorable. This album was released originally as an addition to the sale of the game itself. So without further hesitation, let’s get stuck into the music here.

We begin with Metamorphosis NO.1 which sounds super freaky, almost like as though the day of judgment for humanity has come in a musical sense. It was at the beginning of the game. It ends quickly.

Next is Prologue which is an awesome piece of metal shredding and other instrumentation. It is the music at the beginning of the game when Richter goes to find Dracula. Brilliant stuff, and good listening.

Illusionary Dance is a good piece of orchestration, also at the beginning of the game. This is a fantastic soundtrack to the eternal battle between good and evil in the realm of humanity. It is short, once again.

Nocturne In The Moonlight is the classic build-up of melody and emotion that you hear at the start of the game. Epic, awesome and brilliant. A great listening experience, with a dark finish. Great stuff.

The next piece is Prayer which is the background music to the screen selection at the beginning of the game. It’s a solo vocal piece without words, which ends quickly.

The intro music to the proper part of the game is Dracula Castle. It’s a good mixture of keyboards and guitar in a fairly traditional music setting. It sounds glorious, going into various sections of different musical territory.

Dance Of Gold comes next, being fairly early on in the game. It’s a glorious classical piece written specifically for that part of the game. Sounds very neo-classical. Another good instrumental piece here by the Castlevania Sound Team.

Marble Gallery is a joyous and uptempo piece (at least for the game itself) of music that is memorable and quirky sounding. Interesting listening, even on its own. Great stuff all the same, with pacing harpsichord to boot.

Next is Tower Of Evil Mist which sums it up nicely. It is a more traditional classical music sort of piece. Sounds rather dark and warped for such a piece, great listening experience all the same. It has some great melodic sensibilities about it though. A good piece to hear, with a great climax towards the end.

Following is Nocturne which is a song with Japanese vocals which is quite reassuring sounding. No spoilers here, but it is for a special part of the game. Great listening all the same, very gentle, and reassuring sounding.

Wood Carving Partita is next, a neo-Classical piece of harpsichord glory. It’s quite a pleasant listening experience. Calm and reassuring, it sounds glorious and historical. A nice piece to hear, it is inspired. Good stuff to hear.

Doorway Of Spirits is no doubt one of the freakiest sounding classical music pieces that you will ever hear. Period. Although it was recorded specifically for the game, it will make your hairs stand on end. Great stuff, and very suspenseful to listen to.

Next is Festival Of Servants which is a great satanic sounding uptempo metal inspired piece for the game. Awesome sounding, it is a great musical piece to hear. Very much another loud and uptempo number.

Following that is Resting Place which is the music for when you die in the game. It sounds dark and freaky because it is.

Requiem For The Gods is next, sounding rather holy, with wordless melodic singing. It has loud clock chimes in it, too. It’s still somewhat dark sounding, being a Castlevania church anthem. Great stuff, and another essential musical twist in the game itself.

Crystal Teardrops comes next. It has some drum loops and bass guitar, along with some more typical Castlevania sound parts. It’s still a very good listen for an extended part of the game. Great stuff to listen to, all the same.

The freaking sounding Departed Way is a very dark piano piece with some animal noises in it. It’s not typical Castlevania music that you expect to hear, it is purely dark music. Great listening all the same though. This makes the game sound and play different, too.

Next is Rainbow Cemetery which sounds somewhat futuristic compared to the other music on this recording. It’s still a great listen, although less dark than you’d expect from the other recordings. Still very suspenseful and varied instrumentally though.

Silence is a strange instrumental piece for a brief period of time. Not much to say here about it.

Lost Paintings is an icy sounding keyboard ballad for a large part of the game itself. It is a good listen, although quite clearly not the best track here to listen to. Good effort though.

Next is Dance Of Pearls which is actually a danceable, even romantic, sounding musical piece. It’s a good listen regardless, rather reassuring and soothing sounding. Interesting all the same to hear. Great use of melodies and instrumentation are here.

One of the more freaky sounding pieces of music is here, Cursed Sanctuary. It will literally raise the hairs on your body, it is that eerie and dark sounding a piece. Brilliant, but freaky sounding. Great though.

Demonic Banquet comes next. It is a great musical piece set for that, with dark female wordless harmonies. Surely, the sound crew was influenced by satanic music? Whatever may be the case, this is a freaky listen all the same. It has a loud climax.

Wandering Ghosts is more straightforward, with more harpsichord and funky sounding Fender Stratocaster parts to boot. Great to hear, all the same, the music here is unforgettable on this album, and indeed, the game itself. Very expressive playing is here.

Next is the longer piece The Tragic Prince. It’s much more metal-sounding and inspired musically here. Great and epic listening, although it is a more straightforward piece to hear. The drumming here on this piece is fantastic. A good listen all the same.

The freaky sounding Doorway To The Abyss comes and sounds really eerie and suspenseful. A great piece of music to that particular part of the game, it sounds weird. Very strange sounding, this is really dark music to hear, even today.

Doorway To Heaven is another dark musical piece for a large part of the game. It starts off with dark string sections, before going into a fairly fast instrumental piece. Perhaps the darkest set of instrumentals ever made? We can never be too sure, but this is likely the case.

Death Ballad sounds messed up, as it is. Dark and evil sounding, it sounds really good though. A nice piece for the dark and interesting game itself. It sounds eerie, more so than most music out there.

Next is Strange Bloodlines which is a more traditional video game sounding piece. It has a great sense of suspense and instrumentation here for some twisted parts of the game. Awesome stuff to hear regardless.

Following is Metamorphosis NO.2 which is another dark instrumental piece for the game. Very short though.

Finale Toccata is a little annoying sounding, but still essential listening. It has repetitive organ sounds and wordless harmonies to boot. It’s for a large part of the game but is still memorable. A more subdued piece, it goes into a classical music frenzy after a few minutes of listening. Pacing drum beats keep this one going throughout.

Black Banquet is just that. It is a loud, super dark and evil sounding piece for a critical part of the game. Once again, it’ll make the hairs stand up on your body. Satanic music for those who enjoy this sort of thing. Great stuff. The music on this album is scary, evil, and amazing.

Lastly, we have Metamorphosis NO.3 which sounds like that there is some light at the end of the tunnel here. It is very short.

The verdict is that this music is very near perfect for those who really like horror movies, satanic music, or the Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night video game itself. It’s a great and literally scary listen. Fans of the game should check out the release of it onto mobile phone stores. It is an amazing game and an amazing soundtrack.

Scary.

9/10