If you are any sort of geek and you haven’t heard of the GAME MUSIC COLLECTIVE yet, for shame! These guys have been releasing game (and game-adjacent) covers as done by their orchestra (or band) for several years now and they just keep getting better! Today we’re looking at their most recent release, the victory theme from Overwatch.
Of note, one of the things I find fascinating about this band is that between the GMC (the orchestra) and the GMCB (the band), one never knows what they’ll get in these videos. At least on a visual front, the full orchestra is rarely featured in their videos. Rather, the team seems to pick the best selection of musicians to suit the song they’ve chosen, to create the ultimate cover.
Personally, I do not play Overwatch, but my partner is an avid player and fan of the eSports league, so needless to say, I’ve heard the themes to this game a few times and then some. However, the music has never overtly stood out to me in the way that many video game soundtracks have in the past. Naturally then, you can imagine my surprise when the familiar theme kicked in here as I was listening to this rendition of the song and I got really amped up. What the GAME MUSIC COLLECTIVE did here was draw my attention to how great this theme is!
They open on synth lines that might be the intermission screen music (you know, the music played during eSports breaks), before it builds up with the assistance of strings, teasing the listener as the drums join in to slow things down again. The dynamic build-up between the strings and electric guitars really works, so that when the familiar theme lines start to come in, I’m covered in goosebumps and we’re only halfway through the song. They ease off again, only to double-down on the build-up the second time, so if you’re like me, count on your skin turning spiky by the second climax because it is intense! Truly, no one masters rise-and-fall dynamics like an orchestra and these guys more than know what they’re doing.
So, if you’re a gamer, a geek, a lover of soundtracks, or generally just like orchestras and the cool things they do, check out these guys and give them a like and subscribe! Here’s hoping that once the coronavirus is under control, we’ll be seeing these guys on stage sooner rather than later!
