Intense Records

WOLVERINE - Adamantium Rage OST - 2LP

Sneaker Social Club
SNKRSP001
Electronic, Garage, Grime, Hip Hop, Techno
2x12"

£20.83 (£24.99 incl. VAT)

Having been re-discovered as a groundbreaking slice of proto-grime from 1994, Dylan Beales legendary soundtrack for the SNES game Wolverine: Adamantium Rage finally gets the reissue treatment it deserves via Sneaker Social Club.When the game came out in 1994, Beales soundtrack for the SNES edition stood out from the pack for its gritty beats, deceptively weighty low end and edgy orchestra stabs, but few would have guessed how certain tracks would predict the shape of music to come. Around 2016, the Tri-fusion track in particular was picked up on by London-based producer Sir Pixalot as a mind-blowing slice of Eski beat coldness. To prove his point, Pixalot ran an acapella from J-Wing over the track and the results spoke for themselves.While Tri-Fusion is a straight-up accidental grime sheller, theres scores more heat packed away in Beales soundtrack for Adamantium Rage. The limitations of the space on the game cart meant Beale had to get creative with the most limited samples. Fortunately his background producing UK hardcore and jungle in Rude & Deadly and Stuck To Your Lips meant he knew his way around the restrictions of an Akai s950. Fuelled by the inspiration of jungle and West Coast rap, he worked on the game soundtrack with a similar spartan attitude, limited to 200kb with which to load up the music engine for the game, samples and all.Given the importance of minimalism in the effectiveness of soundsystem music, its not surprising tracks like Cyber and Dark Queen pack a punch which could absolutely set a dance off. Watch out for Weapon X Lab too - another stand out bomb creating a deadly machine funk out of the tightly clipped bass samples and weird animal groan loops. Alongside the full, original soundtrack, this first issue of Wolverine: Adamantium Rage OST comes with additional tracks never used in the original game which widen out the styles Beale was exploring within the shockingly limited means at his disposal.I vividly remember when we first played the soundtrack on a bigger set of speakers to the boss, Beale recalls, his initial reaction was one of amazement that we had created something so realand different in comparison to everything else out there in terms of video game music, which I remember with great pride and fondness. Comparing to everything out there, it was totally unique- a moment in time.