tain continuity with the established musical design for an eighth installment, Silent Hill: Downpour (just released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). Enter Daniel Licht, the American composer best known for scor- ing seven seasons of TV’s Dexter and feature films including Thinner, Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines and late entries in both the Children of the Corn and Ami- tyville series. “The main elements that inspired me were the
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dark, lonely, eerie and frightening landscapes,” ex- plains Licht of his debut video game treatment. “I tried to make the music reflect the haunting feel of Silent Hill and at the same time coax the player to venture forth into the darkness.” The companion soundtrack (now available from
Milan Records) is comprised of nineteen pieces by Licht and a theme simply titled “Silent Hill” by Korn singer Jonathan Davis. From the opening track, fans of Dexter may notice Licht’s familiar use of piano, percussion, soft vocals and guitar textures, but the lengthy score also maintains a strong link to Yamaoka’s tragic, deeply engrossing theme as players venture into the game’s grungy bowels. “Every level I used several types of music with other unique sounds,” he ex-
plains. “I start with ambient music, then graduate to an ostinato-based medium- tempo vibe that builds and, finally, all hell breaks loose with battle.” One rhythmically charged track, “Clowning Around with Monsters,” fixes a
flanging techno beat to low string figures, while a processed female cackle evokes the same chill composers Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind achieved with their creepy vocal effects for The Shining. Another, “Monastery Otherworld,” fea-
INCE 1999, EACH INSTALLMENT IN KONAMI’S SUCCESSFUL SURVIVAL HORROR VIDEO GAME FRANCHISE SILENT HILL HAS featured industrial scores and sound design by Akira Yamaoka, the sonic brain who also created the surprisingly tender main theme for the feature film version of Silent Hill. But after his departure from the company in 2009, the producers needed someone who could main-
tures a faint siren motif that recalls a bit of Goblin’s Suspiria. Among his arsenal of gnashing sonics are processed clangs, banged rhythms, droning tones, re- verberations and bass rumbles, yet each has little vestiges of the main theme. This common thread, along with the inclusion of quasi-religious, delicate female voices, helps to balance the colder, processed sounds and inject small doses of humanism into the horror. “I think, in general, people forget that a lot of music written for horror is kind
of sad and bittersweet,” he offers. “It’s about loss of innocence, loss of a com- panion, and [it’s these themes] that I’ve been work- ing with in films forever.” Clearly, the composer believes scoring horror for
any medium is much more than writing simple shock cues. Licht’s knack for introspection gives Downpour a distinct sound, but there’s also a sly sense of humour that worms its way up through the gloominess. “Having done comedy gives my music a unique
approach because I can do darker subjects, but with an ironic twist,” he explains. “I think that’s why I got the job on Dexter – I do know how to ‘wink’ in the music a little bit within a dark setting.” Because the Silent Hill games work on three dif-
ferent levels of horror (unseen, graphic and implied), one might assume Licht relegated specific sounds or motifs to reflect certain levels or mounting dan-
gers. But other than a particular choir element comprised of “very, very unpleas- ant music, organized chaos, with voices from hell” – which he says he reserved for the game’s alternate dimension, the “Otherworld,” after receiving numerous emails from fans – Licht explains that he treated each sequence with the express purpose of serving the story. “My approach to the scenes is universal to any project: ‘How can I use music
to help enhance the vision of the makers?’ Sometimes you want to do it quietly so the viewer feels like they are voyeurs and sometimes you want to add to the frenzy!”