Konami's Akira Yamaoka has established himself as one of the top composers in the gaming industry, primarily through his excellent scores for the first two Silent Hill games. Combining frightful industrial noise with haunting piano melodies, Yamaoka has brought notoriety to himself and the series with a unique mix of musical styles. Few game scores are as integral to the overall mood and atmosphere as the ones Yamaoka creates for the Silent Hill titles, and his compositions are nearly unmatched in their ability to augment the emotional context of the on-screen action. Konami's latest horror adventure, Silent Hill 3, may have returned to the themes of the first game, but this hasn't hindered Yamaoka's evolution as an artist in the least.

Yamaoka's score to Silent Hill 3 is a bit of a departure from his earlier work that introduces new influences, instrumentation and stylistic elements into his compositions. The most obvious change is the inclusion of full vocalization on a number of tracks, a trend that has gained popularity in game music over the last few years. Lyrics are first heard in the game's theme song, an up-tempo rock piece entitled "You're Not Here". The track itself bears an obvious resemblance to many of Yamaoka's songs from Silent Hill 2 (such as "Love Psalm", "Promise", or "Theme of Laura"), but the addition of vocals creates an extra layer of emotional context that strongly reinforces the plight of the game's main character, Heather.

The lyrics to "You're Not Here" are sung by Melissa Williamson, a singer/actress with quite a bit of experience providing voices for video games and anime. (She is most notable to me for performing the part of Julia in the English version of Cowboy Bebop.) Melissa lends her seductive voice to a number of important tracks (including "Lost Carol", "I Want Love" and "Letter - From the Lost Days"), imparting to them a warm and soulful tone. Melissa's heartfelt sense of yearning on "Letter" is quite stirring and provides the perfect backdrop for Heather's emotional soliloquy during the car ride to Silent Hill. The lyrics for these songs, while not particularly complex, are very strongly tied into the themes of the game and nicely compliment Yamaoka's compositions.

In contrast with the predominantly piano-and-violin arrangements from Silent Hill 2, many of the songs in Silent Hill 3 adopt more of a trip-hop flavor. Tracks like "Breeze - In Monochrome Night" and "Sickness Unto Foolish Death" are outstanding musical works that tip their cap to electronic acts like Portishead. There is quite a bit of diversity to these songs as well: "Rain of Brass Petals" is a driving drum-and-bass track highlighted by a suitably ominous harpsichord arrangement; the surreal "A Stray Child" features otherworldly synthesizer accompaniment; and a downright haunting piano melody characterizes "Dance With Night Wind". Yamaoka even provides more of his wonderful acoustic guitar work on "Please Love Me... Once More", a somber interlude that follows the most emotionally affecting scene in the game.

The soundtrack itself is also a much more conceptual experience than the previous two Silent Hill scores, incorporating a number of spoken word segments that flesh out the story of the game. It is clear that Yamaoka's intention was not simply to produce a collection of songs, but to create a tightly-focused mind trip that recreates the major events of Silent Hill 3. These recitations (performed by Melissa Williamson) are culled from a variety of sources, including speeches by Claudia, the Creation Myth of the town's cult and even parts of the infamous Shakespeare riddle. Many of these readings appear at the beginning or end of tracks, but some, like "Walk on Vanity Ruins" and "Sun", layer Melissa's breathy speech over top of the music to create a captivating listening experience.

Far fewer industrial noise tracks appear on the Silent Hill 3 soundtrack, which might come as a disappointment to those fans of the original Silent Hill's ambient barrage. Yamaoka himself mixed the CD, so we can only assume that he felt these pieces didn't entirely fit with his vision. Notable exceptions include the metallic-yet-melodic "Flower Crown of Poppy" and "Prayer", an unearthly amalgam of noise, percussion and baritone chanting. Bits and pieces of some of the other ambient tracks are integrated with other songs. For instance, the familiar low-frequency moaning can be heard briefly at the beginning of "A Stray Child". Though the industrial noise is featured prominently in the background of many areas of the game, Yamaoka's sparing use of it results in a much more melodic soundtrack.

The CD draws to a close with the end-credits theme "Hometown", a reworked version of Silent Hill's classic mandolin opening theme. This rendition is much more emotionally charged however, thanks to Joe Romersa's downright haunting vocals. The lyrics recount the harrowing ordeal endured by Harry Mason as he frantically searched for his daughter in Silent Hill. If you've played the first Silent Hill game, passages like "That misty night / That dismal moon / The dead search for their kin" will undoubtedly make a world of sense. The final track on the CD is an extended studio mix of "I Want Love" that sports some of Yamaoka's trademarked axe work, along with some fiercely impassioned singing from Melissa Williamson. Though this cut doesn't appear in the game, it still fits in wonderfully with the rest of the material.

Though I'm personally split over which of the Silent Hill soundtracks I prefer most, the music in Silent Hill 3 deftly illustrates the continued development of Akira Yamaoka's musical artistry. Silent Hill 3 Original Soundtracks is a very diverse score that undergoes a number of subtle shifts in mood and tone as it progresses, yielding a soundtrack that not only mirrors the storyline of the game, but provides a unique aural experience in its own right. Yamaoka's accomplished instrumentation and arrangement skills, coupled with Williamson's spirited vocal work, make this soundtrack a definite standout in the horror adventure genre. It has a very different flavor than his previous work, but true fans will undoubtedly find a lot to love about Akira Yamaoka's excellent Silent Hill 3 score.