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 feat.Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
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 song Shot Down In Flames is a haunting, melancholic track with an emotional appeal. The lyrics evoke the feeling of being trapped in a cycle of pain and despair, unable to escape your own mind or the ghosts of your past. The singer, who is likely the victim of some form of abuse or trauma, is haunted by the memories of his abuser and is struggling to find a way out of the cycle.
The opening lines of the song, "Swear at the walls, they make fun of me," are an indication of the mental state of the singer. He is angry and frustrated with the world around him, feeling like he is being mocked and ridiculed for his pain. The following lines, "Day after day, eyes that follow me, is it you again? Can this be the end forever?" suggest that he is being stalked or haunted by the person who hurt him, unable to escape their presence.
The chorus of the song, which repeats the lines "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," is a powerful condemnation of the cycle of abuse. The singer is trapped in a loop of pain and misery, unable to escape the influence of his abuser, who continues to exert control over him from beyond the grave.
Line by Line Meaning
Swear at the walls
Express anger and frustration towards the walls that surround you
They make fun of me
The walls seem to taunt and mock the singer, causing them distress
Day after day
This is a recurring cycle of negative emotions and experiences
Eyes that follow me
There is a sense of being watched and followed, contributing to the artist's paranoia
Is it you again?
There is a fear and dread associated with seeing someone again, possibly a person who has harmed the artist in the past
Can this be the end forever?
The singer wishes for an end to their suffering, but questions if it is even possible
See through your eyes
View the world from another's perspective
Child's heart that cries
A vulnerable, innocent side that is hurting emotionally
Raven flight, flies
A symbol of death and darkness, possibly alluding to the artist's mental state
And the meaning dies
The significance and purpose behind the artist's actions and emotions is lost
As it was before
Returning to a familiar state of being
It will be no more
That state of being is ending
Time does that
The passing of time brings change and transformation
Does it sound like you?
Questioning whether someone who once cared for the singer has truly changed or not
Where are you now?
Wondering where that person is, and why they aren't around anymore
Does the young one know you're here?
Concern about the impact of a person's presence on a younger, potentially vulnerable individual
Breath on the glass
A physical act of leaving evidence of one's presence behind
Once again
Recurring behavior that has happened before
Feel her pull you in
Being drawn towards someone or something despite knowing it isn't good for you
Nobody leaves
There is no escaping the artist's mental state or past experiences
You won't let you
The artist is holding themselves back from healing and moving on
You're afflicted
The artist is suffering from emotional and psychological pain
Can you hide who you are?
Questioning whether it is possible to conceal one's true self
Take a look at yourself
Reflect on one's own behavior and mental state
Can you stop what will be?
Wondering if one has control over the future
You think running will help?
Questioning whether avoiding or fleeing from one's problems is a viable solution
Can't give up on the past
The singer is still holding onto their past experiences and emotions, unable to let go
When the past never ends
The emotional pain and trauma associated with past experiences continues to affect the artist's present
Now the dead that you raised
Metaphorically bringing to life and dwelling on past traumas and emotions
Live in me
These past experiences and emotions continue to exist and impact the singer's present self
What have you done?
Regret or disbelief in regards to one's own behavior
You're insane
The artist feels as though they are losing their grip on reality
Can you bring God down?
The artist feels helpless in their situation, unable to make significant changes
Plans that you made
Expectations that the artist had in regards to their own future or the future of others
Don't include me
Feeling left out or not a part of a certain plan or future
Fire will dance
A metaphor for passion and intensity of emotions
On the wind
The unpredictable and fleeting nature of these emotions
Breathing in your heart
The intensity of emotions being felt in one's chest
Your sacrifice
The emotional toll and the sacrifices made in order to continue in one's current state
Wasn't wanted
The artist is unhappy with the sacrifices they have made to remain in their current emotional state
Still you try
Despite the difficulties and pain felt, the artist continues to try to cope and find ways to survive
Contributed by Aaron A. 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 😥😥🙁☹️😭😭