Samo Studios - Blog Posts

It’s my blog, and I get to nerd out about Metroid fan covers if I want.

Track 10: Power

I swear, I love this track so much. I was never a fan of the original Raven Beak theme. The percussion felt lacking, the vocal element didn’t seem to match the gravity of the situation, and the overall track just seemed discordant and lacking pattern. However, “Power” absolutely improves upon the base track in almost every way I can possibly think of.

The entire album returns a lot of old leitmotifs, from the iconic Brinstar depths, to the chase theme of the SA-X. Most importantly to “Power” is the eerie loop of the Super Metroid save room. It appears elsewhere in the album, but it is actually the first leitmotif within the final track. Its inclusion is brilliant. Raven Beak has been spying on us, lying to us, and manipulating us through the Network Station save rooms. To hear this leitmotif turned sinister is a perfect display of the realization that we were never alone, and NOT in a good way. The track then transitions into Samus’s theme, then Raven Beak’s leitmotif in a monologic fashion, perfect for Raven Beak’s declarations and ordering of Samus to capitulate. The almost vocoded vocal element really excels here as a low hum in a moment of intermission. You can imagine Raven Beak pacing about his thrown room explaining the necessity of his schemes, and his justifications.

Then as the actual battle portion of the song begins, we see that the pace is slower than the original, allowing the Raven Beak leitmotif to really shine and draw itself out. The save room leitmotif is carried over, as well, adding some variety and vigilantly reminding us of how well our enemy knows us. The full vocal rendition of his theme just fits so damn well with his overwhelming power and technology. We actually get a bit of the heroic part of Samus’s theme as well, perhaps to mark a significant set of blows. Then a brief interlude of the darker first half of her theme, no doubt signifying Raven Beak losing one wing and tearing off the other himself. The final act of the song shows a distinct level of desperation on the part of both combatants. We can imagine that they are both running out of resources, and the looming threat of planetary destruction. The finale showcases Samus’s theme and closes very upbeat. However, we all know that victory doesn’t quite happen as Samus anticipated.

Though it does come in the end

This track has given me several ideas for my own rewrite of the Metroid saga. I constantly had the idea of the throne room being heavily damaged throughout the fight, cuz, I mean

Look at that massive beam. There is no way he isn’t at least singing the banners. However, “Power” makes me think more into it as symbolism for Raven Beak dismantling Chozo society and morals in order to fit his own insane agenda and ideals. I could even see the towering Chozo statues tumbling down onto him during the final phase of the fight, as if their likenesses are throwing themselves upon him, begging him to cease this madness, to stop attempting to kill his own daughter. I also imagine both of them losing weaponry and tools throughout the fight as well, further amounting to their desperation as they run out of power bombs, super missiles, miniature suns, and other critical ammunition. I also like to think of Raven Beak using a spear like other Chozo warriors, but being disarmed of it throughout the fight, showing that he is no rightful heir to their legacy. There are so many ideas floating through my head on the matter.

In any case, Sam Dillard did excellent work here. And you should ABSOLUTELY check out the album! The link for it is in the video description.