Lead and Gold Soundtrack
For a while I’ve had this video game called “Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West”, a multiplayer third-person shooter set in the Old West. It’s got quite a pretty aesthetic — clean and slightly stylized, effectively conveying the mood of western scenery without being overly specific or photorealistic. I’ve always loved the look of the west, and this is a nice artistic interpretation.
I haven’t played the game in a while, but something that I do keep coming back to is the music. The composer has done a bang-up job of creating a score that I think is getting up there with Ennio Morricone. It’s not particularly bombastic like some of the Hollywood westerns, but it still captures the western appeal perfectly. Sometimes it’s triumphant, sometimes mournful, sometimes jaunty, but always seems to fit with the awesome (in the classical sense) landscapes and the self-reliant attitude of the settlers.
Yeah, I know that a lot of the appealing facets of the Old West have been more recently fabricated out of some sort of romantic nostalgia. The real West is probably closer to what you see in Unforgiven — cold, harsh and brutal. But who cares? Fun is fun, and this particular concept of the West has resulted in fun music.
The game development team is Swedish, so it seems kind of odd that they’d hit the mark of this very American topic so well, but I’m not complaining. I’m just listening to the soundtrack on repeat.
Main Theme
Devil’s Pit
Jacob’s Bridge
Prospector’s Peak
The Fort
Check it out.