Konami Digital Entertainment – Silent Hill 2 (Original Video Game Soundtrack)

Incredibly atmospheric and cerebral, fits the game perfectly. Up there with the best soundtrack of all time. Fermata in the Mistic Air is one of the the most haunting pieces I’ve heard, and goes very well with that scene in the game.

The cover art I’m not too big on, however the red-black swirl vinyl looks awesome. The inside art is quite silly on side D.

Favourite tracks are Fermata in the Mistic Air, White Noiz, Null Moon, Alone in the Town, Promise, Laura Plays the Piano, True, Betrayal, Black Fairy, Overdose Delusion.. pretty much very track.

Wow… I’m so disappointed. The 5 stars is for the score itself, not this pressing. Disk one sounds flawless but disk 2 is so full of popping and clicking despite being clean and having no surface scratches. I couldn’t even listen to it. I don’t know how this was allowed to leave the factory in such a state. I can see that further pressings didn’t have this issue, so it may be worth grabbing but mine is a dud.

While the packaging art is drab and generic I can gladly say the music is here in a good showing for the most part.
We get an atmospheric soundstage utilizing the stereo well for most tracks but not all. It has power and especially depth behind it which fits nicely in this well resolving sound.
Some dynamics might not be fully drawn out and separation could be better. Bass too is not as full as Id like it in places but for the most part its decent.
Something I did not quite expect however is the vinyl quality here. Its got only very soft crackling at worst and a couple pops over the music on my copy. GZ might be starting to listen to the complaints.

Equipment Used:
Rega RP1 with Paratrace tipped Nagaoka MP-200 Cartridge
Cyrus 2 Amplifier
System Fidelity SF-3050 Tower Speakers
Custom made HQ Speaker Cables

The music sounds incredible, a handful of noise every now and then on my pressing but if anything I'd say it adds to the overall spooky and melancholic atmosphere. The artwork leaves a lot to be desired. Original artwork from the game would have been ideal but what is there is good enough. The pressings themselves are unique too, especially the red and black swirl. The red is VERY dark and at first I thought Mondo messed up and gave me a black pressing. Upon putting it up to a light the red revealed itself. A must have for any fan of the game!

My first copy of this was really awful. Surface noise throughout and many pops that were so loud you'd jump out of your seat (maybe quite fitting for Silent Hill?) Magdalene sounded like the piano was set up next to a popcorn stand. After multiple washes and no luck, I acquired a second copy and it is so much better. Still the odd pop and click that I've come to expect from Mondo, but mostly quiet. This went from one of my least enjoyable records to one of the most played. Akira Yamaoka's music is truly incredible and can evoke so many emotions.

I have several things to say about this release, good and bad ...

Good: I love the art and aesthetics of the cover, the inserts and the discs, it really shows that it is made by fans for fans, however I would have preferred the original cover of the 2001 CD, I think it really goes with what the soundtrack is and represents, but hey, it could be worse, Sara Deck did her job pretty well. Each graphic piece is full of details, trust me.

Bad: The discs don't sound bad at all, but I'm sure it's the same quality you can get on CD or Streaming, seriously. This album does not stand out for its sound, however it does its thing, and the fact that it has background noise complements the lo-fi aesthetic of some songs, let's say it's bad for good.

The other, it seems to me an impressive lack of respect that nowhere, BUT NONE, the name of Akira Yamaoka appears, I do not know if it is a licensing problem or such, but it is super sad that he is not credited anywhere since the disc is to listen to him, to his work, very bad there Konami and Mondo.

Anyway, despite everything I am satisfied, it is a very enjoyable album and if you are a fan of SH you must have it.

This release is OK, but I'm glad I have this soundtrack availaible on vinyl. Everything sounds good except for B9 where the sound quality sounds like it's coming from a radio but it starts to sounds normal through the end of the song. The artwork is rubbish, I wish they would just keep the original artwork instead.

Boards of Canada influence is so heavy, Heaven's Night almost sounds like Stry Craty Bya.

Love the music, but there were lots of minor crackles and pops throughout, escpecially on side A. Maybe a static thing or a dust thing, they did came out a bit dusty, I used a soft brush and that's all (I'm new to this vinyl thing - 4 months - and have yet to spend some money on a wet cleaning device or something else). But like someone else here already said, with "Silent Hill" it kinda adds to the atmosphere a bit, since the games had an artificial grain to their graphics as well, so it's kinda like that just on the musical level. :D Would still prefer a quieter copy though, but maybe one day, I'll wet clean it and then it'll hopefully sound much better. :)

Records sound clean which is really needed for a release like this. Not a fan of the artwork but the record makes up for it. Still don't understand the unnecessary obi which covers up the cover :/