Here Comes the Zelda Train! /// Music Monday #49

Ah, back on schedule. Always good to be on time. Let that be a lesson to you!

. . . Don't ask. My brain's in a bit of a weird mood today.

Today, we have an orchestral cover of a few Legend of Zelda songs, all mixed into one!

"Beyond the Mirror" from the Zelda Cinematica album

Composed by Sam Dillard

Okay, lemme just fanboy over this guy's work for a moment. Sam, who goes by Samo Studios on YouTube, does "cinematica" albums for different video games/video game series. I've bought only his Zelda one so far, but I absolutely love it. Every time I listen to it, I feel like I pick up more and more tracks from the original series that he's scattered throughout the songs. This one in particular opens with a bit of "Tal Tal Heights" before moving to "The Dark World" and "Lorule Castle" (one of my favorite final dungeon themes ever). There might be more than that here, but I haven't caught them yet.

Why do I love his work so much? Well, this song is a perfect example. It's such a majestic piece of music. Hearing the Zelda scores get an orchestral treatment like this delights me more than you might know. Sam does such a great job of respecting the original work while creating a magnificent medley that makes your heart swell with pride and joy. I dunno, it might sound a little weird, but that's what it's like for me.

Honestly, this entire album is perfect for writing. I think I'm going to have to include Sam in my acknowledgments, because Zelda Cinematica has been perfect on a few occasions for when I've been working on Shattered. The fantasy adventure tone gets me in the right headspace. I really need to include at least a couple songs on my playlists for the Portal Chronicles trilogy.

Plus, there never seems to be much for video game albums that you can buy on iTunes or wherever. Artists like Sam Dillard and Rozen are the cure for my need. They put out such incredible albums. If you have never listened to either one of them, go look them up now. The three albums that I own of theirs--Zelda Cinematica by Sam and Sins of Hyrule and Children of Termina by Rozen--are superb contributions to the Zelda fandom. And even if you aren't into Zelda and know nothing about its music, you can still enjoy these albums. They make for great background music, and you might even find them to be creativity-inducing, like I have. I would support these talented artists in a heartbeat.

Anyway, that'll be it for me. I apologize if this is one big ramble, but when I find people like Sam, people who are incredibly gifted and not well-known, I just wanna let everyone know how awesome they are. Find those hidden artists and give them all your love, because they need to know that their contributions are worth all the time and energy spent.

What're your thoughts on the song? Did you catch other Zelda themes that I missed? Have you listened to Zelda Cinematica yet? If you know of any composers who don't get enough attention but totally deserve more, share their names with me!