Zombies!!! (CD Soundtrack)
By Midnight Syndicate
I’m gonna be really honest here: I’m all zombied out.
Romero hasn’t made a good one in awhile. I can’t stand “The Walking Dead”. It’s a genre that’s just been done, done, and done.
You know what I never get tired of? GAMES! Tabletop, video, however they come, I’m all about games. So yes, even if they involve zombies, I’m down with getting my game on.
Zombies!!! is a classic tabletop title that has just released it’s 13th expansion, so you know it has to be solid. Played on a modular system that changes the “map” depending on what scenario you’re playing, it’s a classic zombie apocalypse survival horror romp you play with your friends, trying to escape the hordes. It’s a game that sets and relies upon mood as much as the rules to make for a fun evening of gaming. Until now, though, that mood has been set by the story and art alone.
Atmospheric music legends Midnight Syndicate have stepped up to the plate and created a score for the game. The Official Board Game Soundtrack is here, and it’s a winner.
MidSyn have long been the masters of setting mood and tone, of telling stories via instrumental music and limited sound effects, but on Zombies!!! they enhance the effects and have created a score for a film that doesn’t exist. It’s a film you’ll live every time you sit down to play a game of Zombies!!! alone or with friends.
Using their expertise, they’ve created eighteen short tracks that suit eighteen different moments you’re likely to run into while playing the game. Each track effectively captures the mood of what the title describes. “Zombie Master” has a forceful and ominous beat that you can easily imagine would herald the coming of a creature fitting that title. “We’re Screwed” and “Adrenaline Rush” fit the frenzied dash as things start to go wrong in your escape.
It seems like there are far more sound effects at play here than in previous MidSyn releases, and that suits it well. From the chopper overhead in “Race To The Helipad” to the zombie moans, crunching gravel, and the sound of shells being loaded into a shotgun in other tracks, the effects work enhances the feeling of the game perfectly.
This one may not be as good for independent listening as standalone releases, but I wasn’t playing the game when I heard it and I enjoyed it a great deal. It’s well outside the standard Victorian setting of MidSyn’s work, so it has a unique feel that adds to the value to longtime fans of their work.
I dug it, and I can’t wait to play Zombies!!! or another horror tabletop game with this in the background. As always, it’d also be a perfect fit as the score of any haunt, professional or amateur, or any other time you want to set a spooky, thrilling mood.
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