Tekken 7 / O.S.T. [LP], Namco Sounds, Vinyl

Unlike the feuding Mishimas, Bandai Namco and Laced Records harmoniously collaborate once more to bring the TEKKEN vinyl series up to date with the TEKKEN 7 4LP box set - just don't drop it off a cliff. Global sales of the venerable fighting game series have smashed past 50 million units since TEKKEN 7 launched in arcades in 2015 and consoles and PC in 2017. The accessible yet technical brawler has gone from strength to strength in the era of eSports and live service games, also featuring crossover characters from Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, Final Fantasy and The Walking Dead. Once again, an impressive roster of musical talent worked on the soundtrack, including many returning composers from previous games in the series. This time, Rio Hamamoto stepped up as lead composer, with Akitaka "AJURIKA" Tohyama and Taku Inoue pulling a heavy shift - with credits across the TEKKEN, Soulcalibur, Ridge Racer, Ace Combat and Katamari series spread between them. In keeping with the series' soundtracks, TEKKEN 7 features some exquisitely crafted electronic music that mixes multiple musical elements, from jazz to EDM to synthwave and beyond. While there's a harder, more modern edge to some of the tracks, the melodrama is still thick, with opera- and metal-infused tracks helping to raise the emotional stakes as the story of the Mishima family reaches a volcanic climax. An impressive virtuosity runs throughout - be sure to listen closely to the extraordinary performances on Go Shiina's "Duomo di Sirio, Pt. 1. "Juxtaposed with all the fire and fury of the story mode are several expressive classical guitar pieces by Namco veteran Katsuro Tajima and notable classical composers, performed by Toshiyuki Kumagai. Elsewhere on the OST, Swedish art metal band BatAAr contributed original song "VREDE" (Swedish for 'wrath') to complement Lars Alexandersson's storyline; while Inoue's credits songs "Aloneness" and "The Long Goodbye" were performed by Yumi Hara and Darnell Abraham respectively. Other contributing composers include include Keiichi Okabe, Nobuyoshi "sanodg" Sano, Kensuke Inage, Yoshinori Kawamoto, Yuu Miyake, Junichi Nakatsuru, Hiroshi Okubo, Haruki Yamada and Yoshihito Yano. 75 tracks have been specially mastered for vinyl by engineer Joe Caithness, and tracks will be pressed onto audiophile-quality, heavyweight discs. In keeping with the vinyl series so far, the box set features sleeve artwork by illustrator Samuel Donato aka DXSinfinite. This Standard Edition features traditional black discs. Four LPs come in spined inner sleeves, all housed in a deluxe gatefold box.