The Listening Chamber: Game Over - Nintendo Metal (2002)

Previously in The Listening Chamber, we looked at the early work of Minibosses, one of the first VGM cover bands to release an album that was widely received.  This time, we’ll look at one of the first VGM bands to release an album that included original vocals to go along with their rendition of the music from various video games.  The band is Game Over, and the album is Nintendo Metal, self-released in 2002 by Game Over.  Game Over are based out of Sweden, and currently consist of a vocalist, a guitar player, a bass player, and a drummer.  The musical style is metal covers of the music from classic games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with original lyrics created by the band for most songs that tell a story pertaining to the particular game that is being covered.  All of the lyrics on this album are dark in nature, with themes of hopelessness, despair, and failure being prevalent.

Game Over - Nintendo Metal (2002)

Nintendo Metal consists of 5 tracks – 4 with vocals and 1 instrumental – and has a run-time of 17:37.

Track one is Cataclysmic Clash (4:26), a cover of Top Man’s stage from Mega Man 3 as well as the Stage Start theme from Mega Man 2.  The lyrics tell the story of the robot war that is ongoing in Mega Man 3, painting a grim picture for the odds of humanity against the forces of Dr. Wily’s robot masters.

Track two, The Grim Reaper (3:46), is a cover of stage 5 (Heart of Fire) from Castlevania.  The lyrics paint a tale of the desperation and despair that Simon Belmont feels as he progresses further into Dracula’s castle, reluctantly heading towards a confrontation with the Grim Reaper.

The third track, Nocturnal Persuasion (3:10), is a cover of stage 3 (T.V. Set) and stage 1 (The Office) from Gremlins 2: The New Batch.  The lyrics are in a call and response configuration, with the gremlins threatening to eat the humans and the humans responding that the gremlins will be destroyed.  The gremlins counter, saying that the mogwai will be destroyed, and the humans respond that the gremlins will be electrocuted.  Again the gremlins reply, stating that they are taking over the building and reproducing to grow an army, with the song ending with the humans once again saying that the gremlins will be destroyed.

Track four, Little Mac’s Confession (4:26), contains portions of the Fight Theme, Little Mac Down, and Game Over songs from Punch-Out!!.  In this song, the lyrics recount Little Mac apologizing to his trainer, Doc, for not being able to withstand the assault from Mr. Dream, who knocked him out and defeated him.

The fifth and final track, Heavy Mario (1:49), is an instrumental version of the Overworld theme from Super Mario Bros.  The only lyrics in the song are “Game Over” at the end of the track, a fitting end to an album by the band of the same name.

Even though Nintendo Metal is only 5 tracks long, it is listed as an album and not an EP.  Game Over’s only other album, NESperado (2006), is only 6 tracks long, so the length of Nintendo Metal is not outlier behavior for the group.  Game Over is not the only VGM cover band to include lyrics with their music, but they were the first band to put out a game music album with lyrics that was widely received.  And while lyrical covers of video game music often fail to achieve a high level of quality, Nintendo Metal is a solid effort that is enjoyable – even fun – to listen to.

Game Over does not have a bandcamp page, but downloads for two of the tracks from Nintendo Metal are available for download directly from their website.  As of this writing, their website states that there are still some copies of the CD version of Nintendo Metal available for purchase, but this may no longer be the case.

Even though finding a physical copy may be difficult, unless you absolutely cannot stand to listen to metal then it would be worth your time to find the album in either digital or physical format and see what the group is about.