I've been listening to these songs recently while surfing the web...

This series easily has some of the best music ever composed for a game. You would hardly believe, upon listening to these tracks, that they were written for Video Games. Yamaoka is a freakin' musical virtuoso. Listening to these songs, one feels their consciousness drift away into their own inner-world.

Breeze in the Monochrome Night- My personal favorite of these tracks, from Silent Hill 3. The complexity and beauty of the song just takes me away.

Blow Back- Easily the single best song from Silent Hill: Origins, which may have been the best in the series in terms of music. It actually managed to beat out 2 and 3 in my opinion, and it was worth playing the game just to hear the music.

O. R. T- Another track from Origins, and this is the opening song that's played in the background while Travis is pursuing the Astral Projection of Alessa down the road. I love the lyrics, they seem to convey Travis's tragedy perfectly.

Waverer- This one's from Silent Hill 4, and I mainly am attracted to it's bizarre sound. This is like something that you'd expect to be playing in a bizarre dream.

Maternal Heart- The beat to this Silent Hill 3 song is just fantastic, and it's really what keeps you listening, even after the ambient noises drift in and take over. The scene that fit with this music is really quite legendary in the Silent Hill mythos; the famous "They look like monsters to you?" 'sneer' "Oh, don't worry... it's just a joke."

Rain of Brass Petals- Another great track from Silent Hill 3. Mind you, these are all songs from moments of dialogue between the characters, none of these are the "scary" tracks, as those can just get difficult to listen to without the accompanying gameplay. Akira really goes all out in them.

Never Forgive me, Never Forget me- I know, most of these are from Silent Hill 3, but I'm remembering just how great the soundtrack of that game really was. This track was from the scene where Heather and Douglas lay the body of her murdered father out on his bed and drape his cover over him. I remember the scene at the end of the game when you step into the one room in nowhere that is fashined like Heather's father's room back at their apartment. You notice that the bed is completely soaked with blood, the body of her father is gone, and a trail of bloody footsteps lead back out the door. This is one of the most deeply disturbing images in the series in my opinion. Heather's mind, now fully under the influence of Alessa, is imagining that her father, "who once told her that he can't be killed because he's the strongest man in the world," has just gotten up off of his deathbed and walked away to god knows where. The signifigance, and rationality, of this scene can only, truly be apreciated in light of the mythos of the entire series.

Overdose Delusion- One of the end credits songs for Silent Hill 2, the other entry of the series that's famous for it's music.

Promise- This is probably the most famous track in the series. Once again, it is from Silent Hill 2, and it plays during a famous scene in the series. In this moment, James walks into a room which features a massive mirror which covers an entire wall of the room. Angela, another character lost in the town while looking for someone long dead, is holding a large kitchen knife in her hand, possible contemplating suicide. This scene, in my mind, defines her whole character and tragedy in my mind and is one of the most powerful scenes in the series.

Piannissimo Epilogue- This is the music that plays at the end screen of the second game, which as you all know shows how you did on your playthrough. I really just like the sound of it, I believe it has an ephemeral quality to it, like waking in the morning from a horrible nightmare to find that everything is as it was when you went to bed.

Null Moon- Another famous track, which plays during James's meeting with the mysterious woman, Maria. Listening to the music, one feels lonliness, a loss of who they are, and the feeling that they are pursuing a lost cause. This is THE definitive scene of the entire game; the introduction of James to his dream woman, his alternate version of Mary.

Forest Trail- Here's one of the darker tracks which plays during James's descent into the town of Silent Hill during the second entry of the series. Listening to the music, you can almost feel the danger, like the music itself is telling you to just turn the game off and leave while you still can. Take James back to his car, drive him away, tell him Mary didn't send him a letter from beyond the grave, and get him a Big Mac or something.

Fermata in Mistic Air- I love this piece, it's so sad; almost as if it Yamaoka were evoking Mozart's Requiem while composing it. This is the music that plays whilst James is carrying the limp, diseased corpse of Maria to the Cemetary in the Labyrinthe. It is certainly the scene that is most filled with symbolism in the game. The graves of Walter Sullivan and other murderers, the empty plots that bear the names of James, Eddie, and Angela; the three sinners whom the town has sentenced to damnation.

A World of Madness- The abstract nature of this Silent Hill 2 piece is just completely alluring to me. It allows one to drift away from their very body, entering a new world of theory and concept. I've got to admit, I use this music to study and brainstorm for my papers.

Ashes and Ghosts- The battle music of Westside Apartment Complex from Silent Hill 2. The music has a primitive sound to it which emulates the tension of the scene as James defends his life with a mere 2x4 with a nail in it. I also enjoy the ghostly end, which causes one to wonder what else is hiding in the dark mists. The low growl toys with the player's head, causing them to believe something more sinister lies just around the bend in this building, and those who have played know that something does lie dormant in the dark corners of James's waking nightmare.

Tear's of- A haunting track from the original entry of the series. It seems to evoke both the pitfalls of Harry's journey and the pain and suffering of Alessa's existence in her current state.

Until Death- The music that play's when Harry is first attacked by the bird demon in the first Silent Hill. Again, Yamaoka used an extremly minimalist sound that was supposed to highlight Harry's one objective, rescue his daughter from this living hell.

Silent Hill- Ah, the main theme of the series. It conjures memories in my mind of the first time that I played the game. I was twelve then, and nothing before had scared me more than this. It still remains on my top ten list of scariest games of all time. The opening, like that of Silent Hill: Origins, evokes a sort of "Lost Highway" feel. It also reminds one of "Twin Peaks," one of the largest influences for the game.

Not Tommorow- The sad music, and the scene that accompanied it in the first game, evoke a feeling of melancholy when heard. This was the piece that played as Lisa revealed to Harry that she was merely another lost soul, now another monster in Alessa's world of pain. Harry's complete rejection of her led to a terribly tragic scene where Harry locked her into the room that they were speaking in, leaving her to her fate of pain and torment.

Heaven Give me Say- The ghostly sounds of Alchamilla Hospital leave one with a feeling of uneasiness. The player can almost feel the lonliness of Alessa's pain present in this piece. The hairs on the player's body stand on edge as they plunge deeper into her subconscious, seeking a way out.

Wrong is Right- A track from Silent Hill: Origins that gives one the feeling of being caught up in events that are beyond one's control. One can feel Travis's disatisfaction with the answers he is recieving from the people that he meets; has everyone gone mad!?!

A Wicked End- The primitive drums convey a soul that is lost in the early stages of it's life in this Origin's track. Travis's tragedy has left him a man with no past, as the pain of the circumstances surrounding his parent's death has caused him to block it all out in order to retain some sense of sanity.

Snowblind- Travis is led from one set of mysteries to another by Alessa, who is intent on using him as her familiar in the world of her own creation. He travels from one bastion of memories to another, seeking the artifacts of both of their pasts in hopes of stopping the birth of the town's dark god from coming about.

Shot Down in Flames- Another great song from Silent Hill: Origins that seems to describe both Travis and Alessa, dealing with their feelings of being misunderstood and isolated from the rest of the world due to their differences.

This became much longer than I originally intended, but it's worth it. The music of the Silent Hill series is just that great. I hope that you enjoyed this musical journey into the town of the damned.