Inside Yokohama Arena on a Saturday night in October, thousands of fans are headbanging in unison to a tune you may have heard coming from your kid’s computer. Suddenly, the rhythm cuts out and the glowstick-waving crowd freezes in unison. What sounds like an electronic timer starts, and the crowd is impressively still for about 10 seconds before the guitar kicks back in and the rocking resumes.
On stage are The Primals, a five-piece band founded by Final Fantasy XIV sound director Masayoshi Soken that plays heavy metal covers of the game’s soundtrack. The crowd’s familiarity with the material being performed is made apparent by the aforementioned pause, which comes in a rendition of “Stasis Loop,” a melody that plays when a character casts a time-stopping spell to freeze the in-game battlefield.
To be present during the arena time stop is to be witness to a beautifully surreal moment of camaraderie. It’s a testament to the evolution of video game music, a genre that has gone from 8-bit beeps and boops in the family living room to fully realized productions that bring the gaming experience into a new realm of spectacle.
