Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Bachelor of Music Honours
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)
First Supervisor
Michael Terren
Second Supervisor
Lindsay Vickery
Abstract
Silent Hill 2 (2001) is a psychological-survival horror game for the Sony Playstation 2 console, described as one of the greatest video games of all time. The game, as well as the original soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka, continue to have an active and dedicated cult following, with the soundtrack garnering millions of plays across streaming platforms. In particular, the ambient pieces in the soundtrack are very popular, colloquially described altogether as Silent Chill. Despite its popularity, few have systematically described the soundtrack’s unique characteristics or its ongoing influence and relevance to soundtrack composition today. It is suggested that timbral analysis can clarify some aspects of its mysterious appeal. A timbral-analytical framework adapting Lavengood’s (2017) spectrogram-based method and Blake’s (2012) culturally informed method is proposed and undertaken. The analyses find that the Silent Chill pieces are characterised by predominantly ‘dark’ timbres, inharmonicity, beating harmonics, and a spectral and auditory fullness due to overlapping and clashing frequencies between instruments. This framework, despite some limitations which are discussed, is found to be comprehensive and adequate for the timbral analysis of pieces in the style of Silent Chill, and can be adapted for other styles of soundtrack and ambient composition.
Recommended Citation
Atkinson, C. N. (2020). Silent chill: A spectral analysis of Akira Yamaoka’s Silent Hill 2 original soundtrack. Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/1554