dB Soundworks – The Binding of Isaac

September 28, 2011 • self-released

Since I picked up the game a few months ago I've sunk almost a hundred hours into The Binding of Isaac, a rogulike-action-RPG-twin-stick-shooter sort of game. Its short playstyle and huge depth makes it incredibly addictive and fun. Not to mention, of course, that it has a pretty slick soundtrack as well; admittedly lately I've been playing with the music off and listening to something else since, well, a hundred hours of the same music can get repetitive. But that's not to say it's bad!

On the contrary—its music is very well-crafted, mostly a sort of classical-electronic fusion (similar to db Soundworks' other) with sweeping, doom-laden string ensembles and choirs, backing some ambient yet melodic synthwork. As far as soundtracks go, it's pretty standard fare; these sorts of arrangements wouldn't be out of place in your average sci-fi or drama film, except for the nice IDM-like beats integrated into the mix. See "Divine Combat" for a perfect example—the dark strings combined with the frantic glitchy beats and infectious melody clicks amazingly well. Or "Dreadful"'s incredibly tense, Jaws-like strings and ambient house beats. There are also more dreamy pieces like the ambient "Peace Be With You", offering a nice contrast to the tension of other tracks.

One thing I'm not a huge fan of, though, is that there's a bit less variety in this seventy-two minute album than I would like. Many of the songs are remixes or variations on melodies in earlier tracks—take the tune "$4cR1f1c14|_", a chiptune remix of "Sacrificial", or "Greed", an easy-listening version of the same. In the game, these tracks' inclusions are justified—they are played in the arcade and shop respectively—but on the album they should have been no more than trivial bonus tracks, not central tracks (and certainly not five minutes, in "$4cR1f1c14|_"'s case).

It's hard to fault the soundtrack for that, though, since the tracks are so well-composed that it's impossible to dislike it. The way the electronic synths and beats are combined with the classical music is simply perfect—not to mention that the classical bits, on their own, are still pretty amazing and sound absolutely fantastic. Also worth mentioning is the awesome tech house remix of many of the main themes by Big Giant Circles, one of my favorite tracks on the album. So yeah; it's definitely one of the better game soundtracks I've heard lately. I could be biased from hearing it so much but I'd say it's definitely worth a listen.

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