While most of the musical tracks for id Software’s Doom were blatant rip-offs of late-80s and early 90s metal, it’s hard to argue that (at least at the time) it didn’t kick a whole bunch of ass. There’s really nothing like ripping apart a cacodemon with a chainsaw to the soothing sounds of a MIDI knock-off of Slayer’s “South of Heaven,” brought to life by an ever capable Sound Blaster 16.
Fortunately for us, videogame music has matured dramtically in the 14 years since Doom‘s original release. Still, a little history has never hurt anyone, and I was pleased to hear that Doom designer John Romero recently unearthed some classic gems — MIDI tunes created for Doom that just didn’t quite make the cut.
Romero is quick to point out that most of the music wasn’t used because it simply wasn’t good enough … and I’m not going to argue that. Still, when some of the tunes are slightly tweaked versions of Pantera and Soundgarden songs (un41.mid and un31.mid are clearly “Walk” and “Rusty Cage,” respectively), saying the music wasn’t good enough is a direct insult to middle-aged, flannel shirt wearing metal heads worldwide.
Listen closely to the collection of tracks (if you can stomach them) and you’ll hear songs that are not quite by Alice In Chains, AC/DC, and others. Anyone want to start a pit?
