Overview

Fallout is widely regarded as one of the greatest PC games of all time. With its post-apocalyptic setting, hybridised gameplay, and, of course, supremely atmospheric gameplay, it stood out as a particularly inspired release for its time. Before the digital release of Vault Archives in 2010, consumers could only legitimately listen to the soundtrack out of the game through a now rare disc released by the game's publishers. Sticking with a barebones minimalist approach, the scores complements a barren and hostile wasteland with its mechanical and industrial sounds.

Body

There are no tracks on Fallout particularly stand out amongst the others, but there are certainly a few which deserve to be pointed out. First focusing on those tracks which are wholly ambient and industrial, made up from suspended notes and heavy bell percussion, "Desert Wind" represents the barren landscape which the game is based around. The track is intimidating in terms of its persistent notes and drive of the tubular bell background, heightened further with screeching strings which feature 2:03 onwards. "Industrial Junk" is just as atmospheric, but this time we hear a more mechanically inspired approach with the use of metallic sounds, otherworldly sounds, and piston-pumping bass beats.

"Underground Temple" though is the most hard-hitting atmospheric theme; representing the cave system in Fallout, the track emanates danger and injects fear in the listener. Again we can hear the use of discordant strings and, more importantly, the prominent use of suspended tubular bell notes to highlight the vast space of the caves, whilst also being suggestive of imminent danger.

The other tracks from Fallout which I would like to point out feature sporadic (nuclear) fragments of melody across their playing time, in a sort of suggestion towards the more melodious sounds in Fallout 2. The world map track "Moribund World" is one of the more prominent themes which feature some sort of melody. Though the melody in this track only consists of a repeated three note wind sequence, it is skilfully integrated alongside an ethnic drum rhythm, and expertly placed to put the listener in a mission completing mood.

"A Trader's Life" which represents the central hub in Fallout is another track which is more melodically focused than the others. The selection of instrumentation is bizarre and Asiatic, creating an ancient merchant society, despite the game's placement in the future. Out of those of which I would class as more melodious though, "Khans of the New California" is a favourite of mine. The track features a scintillating bass riff, the same ethnic instrumentation heard elsewhere on the soundtrack, but also integrates some rhythmic development here and there too. By no means is it better than any of the other tracks, just I find it a little more impacting.

Summary

Be it due to a lack of variety, a clear lack of any thematic focus, or an agglomeration of clichéd themes, sometimes in game music a soundtrack appears which initially seems to make little sense. Fallout's soundtrack is one of these, but rather than falling into the above sections, it falls into one of its own: the overly ambient, threatening, and ominous. It took me a few listens to get to grips with what this physical release really represents, though perhaps a fault of the music being listened to in isolation, rather than alongside the game's context. Those who own Fallout The Soundtrack should treasure this rare disc and the rest wanting to revisit the music for the game should head straight for a download of Vault Archives instead.