Doom Musings: Soundtrack rankings: Plutonia 2

Well, I guess this was something that had to come eventually. Plutonia 2 has some interesting tracks by Jimmy, Julian Aubourg, pcorf, stewboy, Jamie Robertson, and TGH. With that said, it also treads familiar Bobby Prince music, including Doom tracks and one from Duke3D. These will NOT be in the rankings, however, since we will see how great the original tracks were instead. That said, these are great original tracks, no real duds to speak of.

27. Certain DOOM (intermission)

This is actually Julian's only contribution to the soundtrack. It's a serviceable intermission track with great percussion to provide the tense atmosphere that can follow you as you go from level to level. It's great, but the other tracks are just better.

26. A Game Score (MAP08)

Jamie's got some of the stranger tracks overall, with this one being driven well by the percussion and feeling pedestrian for a fairly short map, but you probably will get done with the level faster than you'll appreciate this track. That said though, ten levels from here would be something better, so at least it gets some credit there.

25. I will chop Mariah Carey's head off with a chainsaw (MAP21)

That's a mouthful of a song name. Dunno what pcorf was thinking with that, but here's another track where the majority is driven by percussion. The beat will be in your head, but then you'll hear the low strings producing the rest of the melody. It's simple, but it is somewhat effective in letting you into the final third of Plutonia 2.

24. Gateway (MAP03)

I feel that stewboy has come a long way since his Plutonia 2 tracks. Compared to his work here, the more modern MIDI's he's done are far smoother in sound and more memorable. Here we get muted guitars that make a serviceable melody, but the overall sound may be drowned out by the combat overall and then you have the matter of his other tracks being more showstealing than this.

23. Starting Out (MAP15)

With a title like that you'd expect this to be the MAP01 music, but it's not! It's a little more fun than Gateway I'd say, though it does use the same muted string instruments which isn't good when you compare to what stewboy would do later on. In any case, this has more strings than Gateway, which is a good thing because we can feel more of the melody in any case!

22. Silicone Dust (MAP18)

Well I did say that ten levels after the one that had a Game Score we get something better. It's Jimmy's take on A Game Score more or less. This track's got a melody which sort of takes this, as well as the more memorable and atmospheric Under a Crimson Moon, and just styles it the way Jimmy styles it. And I appreciate the work for it too. It's humble, in other words, and you gotta have that humbleness sometimes.

21. Come Out Fighting (MAP16)

When you see The Green Herring's tracks, they are usually heavy rockers, and this isn't an exception. Come Out Fighting will drive you forward with the bass before having heavy grungy riffs take over for much of the song. The riffs are quite simple, but they make the action more interesting in any case.

20. Nobody Told Me About Plutonia (MAP32)

Well, someone's gotta do a tribute to Nobody Told Me About ID for the Go 2 It-inspired level. Jimmy's spin is a case of evolving an older MIDI. Whereas the original felt sinister but with a drive to slowly succeed, this is a case of speeding the melody up while adding much better instrumentation to make it feel more modern and techno. Both are good things, and both coincide well with Go 4 It.

19. Outpost of Destiny (MAP27)

This is honestly a very underrated track even by pcorf's standards. The low horns compliment the strings that come in almost perfectly, and the xylophone notes! I love those little dinks so much. It's an appropriate amount of sinister for a sinister little level. I really, really wish this track had more mileage! For those that don't know, many of the tracks from Plutonia 2 get reused in other sets, but this one hasn't been reused once (to my knowledge at least)!

18. Rock the Building (MAP07)

In which Jaime does a rock song that services the MAP07 Caughtyard-inspired level and does it in, well, a serviceable manner. I really don't know what else to really say, because I do enjoy a rocking MAP07. The percussion is the most interesting part, as usual for Jaime's MIDIs here.

17. End is Nigh (MAP20)

This probably could have been lower in the ranking. It's because much of the track is nothing but short woodwind notes and some percussion, making a quiet, ambient, but still somewhat atmospheric tone. Does it fit Lurking Fear that well? I'm unsure. The rest of the percussion comes in, but that's not what saves it. It's when the guitar comes in. Wow, that guitar part is BEAUTIFUL. This would have been somewhat sub-par if it wasn't for that.

16. The Hunt (MAP29)

Jaime's tracks sure are weird! Another percussion-heavy track, but it gets to those two droning string parts which are LOUD, before the bass and percussion pick up the pace and guide things to a conclusion. It's one of the strangest MIDIs overall, but looking at the name, I believe this has to be a love letter to Prince's On the Hunt. I mean, those loud strings are like the beginning, and the bass part feels like it would fit well with the overall mold of On the Hunt's melody. Way to go, but man my ears.

15. Against God's Will (MAP24)

Another great rocking track by TGH which drives you well with the percussion before the grungy guitars pick things up, providing a melody that sort of is kinda AimShootKill-like. Maybe I'm spitballing considering what I compared it to, but look at the title of the MIDI and compare it with AimShootKill as well. Anyways, it slows down at one point but keeps the melody and that's always pretty cool.

14. Sam's the Man (MAP14)

I wonder who Sam is referenced to here? Sam Woodman perhaps? I mean HR2 was something he composed a lot of strange tracks for, and HR2 came before PL2. But in any case, we have a Sinister MIDI, pun intended, which is appropriately spooky and prods the player along well. Quite fun.

13. Deadly Town (MAP05)

Starts off atmospheric with some interesting guitar licks before percussion takes over. Jimmy works the magic of the instruments in super-strange ways. It then has at least two interesting riffs, and players will take note of the guitar parts real quickly. Fantastic, and also appropriate for the short level it's in.

12. Plutopia (MAP26)

I guess Jimmy was thinking of this at the same time TVDV was thinking of the level title! Well, this is a fairly interesting Jimmy track, with the simple synth melody providing the benchmark, but with Jimmy continuing to add variances to make this spooky yet action-packed at the same time. You'll spend quite some time in Plutopia, so might as well listen to its theme song with dignity well!

11. Wasteland (MAP33 and text)

Beautiful droning sound with proper triangle notes dictate the main melody of this particular text screen music, which works quite well in the level Chocolate too. It's an extreme amount of Sinister, almost as if it belongs on the Heretic soundtrack, but it could work nearly everywhere. So evil-sounding!

10. Pyrainth (MAP01)

To start off Plutonia 2, you get introduced to a track which has its starting parts sound like a combination of Blood Jungle as well as what you might expect for an Egyptian theme. Though there's no Egyptian levels in Plutonia, the backdrop provided is sinister, and damn I use that word a lot but Jimmy's Plutonia 2 work does not age poorly, it just works out so well and may continue to work out well in the future.

9. Slime Dweller (MAP19)

Gritty, grungy, and has a very sewer-like feel and name, Slime Dweller is a fantastic Jimmy track to fit the underground mold. The bass is top-notch, and then the rest of the spooky instrumentation will further drive things forward. The loud drum beats near the end are icings on the cake. Truly a lovely tune to deal with grungy atmospheres.

8. Bloody Hell (MAP02)

Hey, want a track that feels like you're in a jungle? This is the one for you! It's truly got the jungle feel to it, which I adore quite a lot. Easily Jamie's best work due to the fun jungle notes and the feel of the green around you. I really don't have anything but praise for this one. Great job Jaime!

7. Battle Strategy (MAP09)

One of Jimmy's more rote MIDIs that sort of makes it feel like it's a Mark Klem tune, Battle Strategy is used in a level where you definitely want to use good strategy to survive it, therefore we get a good amount of percussion to help you strategize your grand slam against the demons, with interesting guitar licks further complimenting the fun melodies provided.

6. Astral Dreadnought (MAP10)

Astral Dreadnought gets used as much as Mark Klem's Anchor. There must be a reason for that right? Well, just listen to the spacey-sounding beginning, the bass that follows, the fun synth melody that also follows, and the deconstruction of said melody, plus the bass and the few more synth parts. Quintessential Jimmy all in a single package. Very fun to plow through demons with this. But I like five more tracks more!

5. Night Run (MAP17)

Interesting that two MAP17's, this and Speed of Doom's, use this track. But it's the best of stewboy's MIDIs for Plutonia 2 because it's got a very memorable guitar riff as the melody, fun variations on it, and the buildup to it is quite fun. A very fun MIDI made for very fun levels!

4. Sanctified (MAP25)

You want something to feel the cold feel of ice? Well the intro to this song, and the cool piano notes, will let you into Black Ice well. Sanctified is a track that wouldn't be out of place at all if Plutonia did have an ice level, and forgoing that, the string pieces further the sinister-ness. All this while feeling cold, as cold as death. Jimmy's made a fine one here.

3. Under a Crimson Moon (MAP12)

TGH, known for rocking MIDIs, slows down considerably and makes a track that would fit during a pedestrian night. One where you sit down, relax comfortably, listen to some ambient percussion and then the song kicks in with the woodwind that soothes your soul. Then the drums start kicking into overdrive at some point, weirding you out, but not so much you'd leave the scene. That's the overall feeling one gets with this one.

2. Become the Hunted (MAP11)

I always imagine that the main percussion here feels like some very sinister incarnation of knocking on wood, and it always feels that way despite Arch-Violence having far, FAR less wood than the level that inspired it. A track that forgoes any violent encounter, the proper creepiness will abound as you waddle your way around arch-vile territory, and it fit quite well for the nasty Precarious (Sunder MAP05), where the song actually feels like the level title.

1. Cataclysmic Impact (MAP30)

But we gotta end this with more than just anything, therefore Jimmy takes the gold with Cataclysmic Impact, a song that must be built up before we get down and dirty with the melody. Creepiness will go up as the song goes, with piano notes conveying exactly what you will expect to deal with TVDV's creepiest Icon of Sin overall (in my opinion at least). Not to be missed!