King of the Monsters 2 OST - American City(Stage 1)

[@john78tv]

I like how they included the laugh track, almost like he's laughing at us & not with us.

[@metri0n]

What's super wild is that the laugh is purely synthetic. The sound was constructed from scratch shaping a sound wave using a filter to make it "wobble" slowly while slowly pitching up giving you that sorta laughing sound. Sounds like there is a very small amount of delay happening at the end of the sound as well. If you really listen to it, that is what is going on. It's hard to explain but yeah... you can easily make stuff like that with a synthesizer. It's really neat.

[@SamChaneyProductions]

Some of the best synth melodies and tones. Terrifying and otherworldly but still funky as hell.

[@metri0n]

Been listening to this trying to pin point what gives it that terrifying vibe. I think it's the synth using intense vibrato and slightly longer attack than usual. So the note plays but as the sound sustains, the vibrato fades in real quick which gives the synth that wobbly/wiggle sound. No idea why that adds to a spooky unsettling vibe but it definitely does and that technique was used quite a bit in all the music in this game. So there must be something to that

[@MrVictsan112]

this entire sound track is fire

[@metri0n]

Seems like many people are curious as to why this sounds creepy, how this was able to be made in the 90s when the game was made etc etc. Synthesizers being used with computers was something pretty new back in the 90s but you had some pretty nerdy ass people behind the knobs and buttons that ALSO knew music theory or were musicians. Creating good sounds and putting them together are two different skillsets. The creepiness comes from what's called detuning as well as vibrato being added to the synths. They could also being using low frequency oscillators (LFO) to achieve that same effect. If you're interested in learning more about why certain sounds sound creepy, I recommend reading about the overtone series and how we interpret different frequencies played together sounding either good or sour. It goes without saying that high vibrato + detuning + chord dissonance = creepy vibes

[@adamdegrammont2103]

Great song

[@Trevastated]

I like both versions of this song. The arcade version is bananas, but this one is weirdly creepy? Great game... except that Lavicus cheats!

[@XiloChannel]

Lavicus was the hardest boss. Even Famardy was easier than that bitch lol!

[@MrVictsan112]

this is the original tho is fire

[@ArcCaravan]

Lavicus. One of my greatest video game fears.

[@metri0n]

One of the worst parts of Lavicus is that you go straight from fighting Sackeyes to Lavicus with no break in between. You actually fight two bosses back to back with the second having their life bar stretch across the screen haha a true test to your younger self's patience

[@isaacsantos267]

Why they don't put this theme in the movie? This theme is amazing!!

[@tradeofalljacks4358]

This one sounds more sci-fi-ish than the rocking Neo Geo version.

[@Stovetopcookie]

Definitely sounds scarier than the arcade version. The limited sound capabilities add to the surreal effect. The first part has a buzzing undertone like hornets or bees. The second part is like a creepy organ slightly out of tune. The third part wants to be trumpets or horns but are just off somehow.

[@metri0n]

Ok just in case you are curious about this still, I want to try and analyze this for you to give an understanding as to what is going on with these sounds. First off, the buzzing undertone is just a synthesizer (from what i can hear, using a sawtooth/triangle combo) with a filter and maybe some slight automation on the cutoff to give a sort of pulse and movement to it. (good catch though, most people struggle to hear those kind of tones in the music they listen to. The second part you are referring to doesn't sound like an organ to me but rather just another synthesizer but this time without filtering as this is the lead of the song and should be pronounced and heard well throughout the frequency spectrum. The creepy part I think comes from the vibrato which is being added to each note of the lead synth albeit with a longer attack as to give the note a chance to play then slowly have that wiggle (called vibrato) fade in as the note sustains. Don't ask me why that makes things creepy haha it just does for some reason. As for the last part, you're kinda right. That's just another synth that is "modeling" some type of brass instrument like a horn. Something to also notice is that orchestral hit you keep hearing during the last part on the 1 is used in practically every single song in this game haha I think it adds to the action vibe this game was going for. Hopefully if you still care, you may have found this interesting. I did audio engineering for a long time and stuff like this fascinates me too.

[@metri0n]

Oh I almost forgot to mention that a lot of the creepy vibe that these songs give off come from using dissonant chords and keys in whatever scale is being used. Seems to me that note dissonance mixed with intense vibrato is what lends itself to the creepy ass vibe in these songs

[@Stovetopcookie]

I had the snes version. How come you could never get to the upper part of the city? There were green and gold colored buildings that did not appear elsewhere

[@metri0n]

There are surprisingly a lot of changes which happened in the SNES port. Obviously the music being one but even the bosses were altered to be less creepy because the American audiences are a bunch of religious pansys

[@yonoid8036]

Not neo geo... This is snes version ost...!!!

[@Alukardo11]

This looks diferent :/

[@clarkwolfang9779]

this is the snes version

[@XiloChannel]

SNES version better.

[@capgamer9833]

🥺 i like, arcade versión... Not this