Music Spotlight: Metroid Metal

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“I wanted to take melodies completely familiar to fans but add songwriting elements and create something new.”

Metroid Metal was brought to life in 2003 by longtime musician Grant Henry, known by his stage name Stemage. The tribute band began as a solo endeavor; Henry played all the instruments and programmed drums using an analog cassette 8-track. What resulted from his unaccompanied jam sessions was an original, high-octane, heavy metal tribute to Metroid on the NES.

“Nostalgia frequently draws us to old game soundtracks. But hearing it again later after becoming a musician, the Metroid soundtrack is objectively one of a kind, and the same applies to Super Metroid,’ explained Henry. “Many Metroid songs carry a sense of unease, but others are filled with resolve, adventure, and victory. It’s an interesting combination of tension and release which goes right along with some of my favorite types of heavy, guitar-driven music. This more than anything drew me to the Metroid OSTs.”

“His versatility is incredible,” Henry said, praising franchise composer Kenji Yamamoto. “If you tell people that the same composer tackled both Super Metroid’s Maridia and Punch Out!!, they’re always surprised. I only wish he could have contributed to more soundtracks in the early Nintendo years. I am thrilled that he’s been able to work on later Metroid games though. He knows that sound. He is that sound.”

Metroid’s music has the added benefit of boasting “defined melodies and motifs” while remaining sparse enough for interpretation. “This makes it perfect for keeping the themes intact while creating something completely different underneath. That was the goal of the Metroid Metal arrangements. I wanted to take melodies completely familiar to fans but add songwriting elements and create something new. I’ve done plenty of straight covers over the years, but Metroid Metal is anything but.”

Intending to move on to other classic console games after his debut digital collection, Henry couldn’t escape Metroid’s draw. He doubled down on Samus’ adventures, moving on to arrange the Super Metroid tribute song “Lower Norfair.”

“The NES has many classic soundtracks, but Super Metroid was able to do more with instruments, textures, ambience, and layers,” Henry continued. “Jazzy soundtracks like Pilotwings I would just leave on loop. Castlevania IV, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart—their soundtracks could have existed on the NES in scaled down form, but it wouldn’t have been the same. On Super Nintendo, things got more cinematic and interesting, and this was around the same time I started listening to more complex types of music anyway. The timing was perfect.”

After success in his solo act, Metroid Metal began to evolve toward its final form—a full-fledged band amped up for live performances. Henry brought other talent into the fold: Dan “Chunkstyle” Taylor on the bass, Kevin “Cheddar” Lawrence on drums, and both Dan “Danimal” Behrens and Michael “Kirby” Molnar joining Henry on guitar. The new team debuted “Metroid Metal Live” on January 3, 2009, at MAGfest 7, and note their following PAX 2009 performance as where they gained incredible momentum. Their live performances went on to inspire a new album called Varia Suite.

“The attention over the years has been amazing,” recalled Henry. “I started doing arrangements early on when the VGM remix scene was not as thriving. I was influenced by a handful of bands doing something similar, but that was it. Now, hundreds of bands apply to conventions every year, YouTube covers are commonplace, and the scene could almost be considered crowded. I’m grateful to have started this a bit earlier on and that people have been accepting to my somewhat unconventional arrangements. The live shows have been a blast.”

According to Henry, Metroid Metal hasn’t gone unnoticed by Nintendo. “I heard from Retro over email during Metroid Prime 3 development, showing their love for the project. We actually had a member of the dev team from Metroid Prime Hunters come up to the booth at PAX. I have a picture of Hip Tanaka holding his copy of the Varia Suite album. It’s a shock, but feels good.”

“Super Metroid perfected a formula that would later influence a mountain of games,” concluded Henry, taking a step back to reflect on the game as a whole. “It played great, but the story twists were also huge. Unlike many RPGs at the time that had good stories, you were always alone in Super Metroid. That helped it have more of an impact. It was your story. It’s no wonder that Super Metroid remains many people’s favorite game of all time.”