He is best known for his work on the Silent Hill series for which he composed all the music and sound effects in all seven current games (excluding Silent Hill Play Novel for Game Boy Advance). Some of the music from the first four games was also remixed and used in the Silent Hill movie. He also played a doubly important role as producer of the third and fourth Silent Hill games (which were available for PlayStation 2/PC and PlayStation 2/Xbox/PC). His music from Silent Hill 2 was performed live in 2005 at the third Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany and at the world-premiere of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony Live! on May 27, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois, where Yamaoka himself accompanied the orchestra with an electric guitar. As well, Yamaoka actively composes music for Konami's Bemani line of games, particularly, the Beatmania IIDX series.
His first original, non-soundtrack album, iFUTURELIST, was released in January 2006.
Career
He joined Konami on September 21, 1993 after previously being a freelance music composer. He is most well known for his work for the Silent Hill series of video games, for which he composed all the music and sound effects in the whole series (excluding Silent Hill Play Novel for the Game Boy Advance and Esperándote in Silent Hill, composed by 村中りか (Rika Muranaka)). Since Silent Hill 3, he is playing a more important role as the series' producer, also continuing with his music composition working.
Yamaoka's sound commonly contains strong melancholy undertones and generally identifies with the dark ambient, industrial, trip-hop and rock genres. Since Silent Hill 3, he also started working in collaboration with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Joe Romersa for vocal compositions.
Much of his work from previous titles has been compiled for the 2006 Silent Hill movie adaptation, directed by Christophe Gans.
His music from Silent Hill 2 was performed live in 2005 at the third Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany. Yamaoka also performed music from Silent Hill at the world-premiere of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony Live! on May 27, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois, and accompanied the orchestra with an electric seven-string guitar. He also composed songs for Konami's Bemani series, which has also featured tracks from Silent Hill.
His first original album, iFUTURELIST, was released in January 2006. He also wrote the theme of 101%, the main show of the French TV channel Nolife.
On December 2, 2009, it was announced that Yamaoka was leaving his long term employer Konami.
Personal Life
Before working as a video game composer, Yamaoka initially sought a career as a designer, but instead became a musician after studying product design at Tokyo Art College.
In 1993 he joined Konami to work on the game Rocket Knight Adventures 2. When Konami began searching for a musician to compose Silent Hill's score, Yamaoka volunteered because he thought he was the only one capable of making the soundtrack.
Yamaoka stated in a 2009 interview that his favorite game creator is Suda 51 and his favorite video game is No More Heroes.
Shot Down In Flames
Akira Yamaoka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They make fun of me
Day after day
Eyes that follow me
Is it you again?
Can this be the end forever?
See through your eyes
Raven flight, flies
And the meaning dies
As it was before
It will be no more
Time does that
Say it again
Like you said
Does it sound like you?
Where are you now?
Does the young one know you're here?
Breath on the glass
Once again
Feel her pull you in
Nobody leaves
You won't let you
You're afflicted
Can you hide who you are?
Take a look at yourself
Can you stop what will be?
You think running will help?
Can't give up on the past
When the past never ends
Now the dead that you raised
Live in me
What have you done?
You're insane
Can you bring God down?
Plans that you made
Don't include me
One more time
Fire will dance
On the wind
Breathing in your heart
Your sacrifice
Wasn't wanted
Still you try
Say it again
Like you said
Does it sound like you?
Where are you now?
Does the young one know you're here?
Breath on the glass
Once again
Feel her pull you in
Nobody leaves
You won't let you
You're afflicted
The lyrics of Akira Yamaoka's "Shot Down In Flames" describe a series of experiences that are a mix of reality and illusion. The singer is surrounded by walls that seem to judge and torment him/her. It appears that he/she is in search of someone or something that has been lost or that he/she can't let go. The singer is trying to connect with the past, the present, and even the dead, but all of his/her attempts fail. The lyrics depict a battle between the singer and his/her demons, and ultimately, the singer tries to escape through death, but it's not clear if he/she succeeds.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of confusion and desperation. The singer's thoughts are fragmentary, and he/she seems to have lost touch with reality. The repeated lines "Does it sound like you? Where are you now? Does the young one know you're here?" suggest the singer's sense of abandonment and longing for someone who is no longer there. The chorus, "Say it again/Like you said/Does it sound like you?" seems like the singer is trying to recapture a lost moment, but it's slipping away.
Line by Line Meaning
Swear at the walls
Express frustration towards the physical barriers around
They make fun of me
The walls seem to taunt and ridicule
Day after day
Without fail, consistently
Eyes that follow me
Sensation of being watched or monitored
Is it you again?
Questioning the identity of the observer
Can this be the end forever?
Wishing for release from unwanted attention
See through your eyes
Viewing the world from someone else's perspective
Child's heart that cries
Feeling vulnerable and helpless, possibly like a child
Raven flight, flies
The freedom and grace of a bird in flight
And the meaning dies
That beauty or significance is fleeting and will not last
As it was before
The cycle will repeat itself
It will be no more
Everything eventually ends
Time does that
The passage of time brings change
Say it again, Like you said
Repeating a demand or phrase, hoping for a different answer
Does it sound like you?
Questioning authenticity or honesty
Where are you now?
Feeling abandoned, isolated, or lost
Does the young one know you're here?
Worrying about the influence or impact on the innocent
Breath on the glass, Once again
Leaving a physical trace, a reminder of presence
Feel her pull you in
A sense of being drawn towards something, like a magnet
Nobody leaves, You won't let you
Feeling trapped or unable to escape one's own thoughts or actions
You're afflicted
Suffering or burdened with a problem or condition
Can you hide who you are?
Questioning the ability to conceal one's true self
Take a look at yourself
Self-reflection and introspection
Can you stop what will be?
Uncertainty about the future and the ability to control it
You think running will help?
The idea that avoidance or escape is a solution
Can't give up on the past
The past impacts the present and cannot be ignored or abandoned
When the past never ends
The past remains constantly present and affecting
Now the dead that you raised, Live in me
Consequences and responsibility for one's actions extend to others
What have you done?
Realizing the weight of one's own actions
You're insane
Questioning one's own sanity
Can you bring God down?
Asking for divine intervention or judgement
Plans that you made, Don't include me
Being excluded from someone else's agenda or vision
Fire will dance, On the wind
The beauty and danger of destruction and change
Breathing in your heart
Emotional intensity and passion
Your sacrifice wasn't wanted
Feeling underappreciated or unrecognized for efforts made
Still you try
Persevering despite the odds or the difficulty
Contributed by Noah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TheCreepyLantern
"what have you done, you're insane. can you bring God down?" is a line that has haunted me since i first heard it
@milkbiscuit166
How so
@kornetic5
Same
@Vadim_Slastihin
I bet christians and muslims(and jews) hate this line.
@TheCreepyLantern
@@Vadim_Slastihin nah man, i'm a christian, son of a priest even and i love it. It's a song in context of silent hill. I've met the thing the order calls god and helped Heather shoot it in the face! XD
@milkbiscuit166
@@Vadim_Slastihin I'm a Christian and I don't think that the song is bad. For somebody who doesn't know what god or in this case a demon is they would think it to be blasphemy but for someone like me who has played the games and knows what this fake god is I take no offense by it.
@dawnmarie1752
I love listening 2 the soundtracks for these games so beautifully done and so was the story Team Silent should never left Silent Hill hasn't been the same
@madpoetsociety2917
I agree wholeheartedly though, unfortunately Team Silent didn't actually leave but were intentionally "disbanded" as it were by Konami. Profits over quality, as always.
@therossblackwoodshow6288
I love how the capitalized lyrics are presented, you can just feel the conviction and proper emotion in them and it truly does the song the justice it deserves with its emotional power.
@SEUL888
Esta música debería estar en spotify 😥😥🙁☹️😭😭