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.
The Sacred Line
Akira Yamaoka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This time...
Am I too... far?
Did I cross...
That line...
Getting hard... to tell...
Order shifts, stumbles down...
Standing strong, with your sacred line...
With your cold, sacred line...
Genocide... Unfolds...
I forgive all...
Ring of thorned...
It shines... I refuse to fall.
Standing still, in this rocky boat...
Chase my mind, takes It's toll...
Something lost...
Is now found again...
I return to my soul...
This line, that can't be broken...
This line, that never will be crossed again.
In time, will be forgiven...
This line, affected by the innocent.
Opposite of what hear...
Dying is the least of fears...
Can't give up!
We have come too far to ever turn away!
We have fear to swallow!
Can't let go!
Be prepared for anything...
There's something wrong!
And the worst is yet to come.
This line, that can't be broken...
This line, that never will be crossed again.
In time, will be forgiven...
This line, affected by the innocent.
This line, that can't be broken...
This line, that never will be crossed again.
In time, will be forgiven...
This line, affected by the innocent.
Runnin' by another line...
When you cross the sacred line.
The lyrics of Akira Yamaoka's song This Sacred Line delve into themes of conflict, identity, and perseverance. The opening lines "Is it me? This time... Am I too... far?" suggest a sense of uncertainty and introspection. The singer questions whether they have gone too far across a certain line and whether they can discern their own actions. This ambiguity and confusion are reinforced through the following lines "Did I cross... That line... Getting hard... to tell..."
The song then explores the turmoil of conflict through the lines "Different day, and another war... Order shifts, stumbles down..." The singer acknowledges the shifting and unpredictable nature of conflict. However, they also speak of a "sacred line" that they stand with, a line that will not be crossed again. This line represents a sense of identity and purpose that the singer refuses to abandon. The chorus "This line, that can't be broken... This line, that never will be crossed again" reinforces this resolve.
The song concludes with a sense of determination, as the singer declares "Can't give up! We have come too far to ever turn away!" and "Can't let go! Be prepared for anything... There's something wrong!" This determination is underscored by the repeated refrain "This line, that can't be broken... This line, that never will be crossed again" which suggests that, despite the chaos and turmoil of conflict, the singer has found a sense of purpose and resolve in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it me?
Am I the one responsible?
This time...
This particular instance...
Am I too... far?
Have I gone beyond the point of no return?
Did I cross...
Have I stepped over...
That line...
The boundary that should not be crossed...
Getting hard... to tell...
It's becoming difficult to distinguish...
Different day, and another war...
Every day brings a new conflict...
Order shifts, stumbles down...
The established system is failing...
Standing strong, with your sacred line...
We remain steadfast, protecting what's important...
With your cold, sacred line...
Even if it seems harsh or unfeeling at times...
Genocide... Unfolds...
A massacre of great scale is taking place...
I forgive all...
Despite the atrocities, I choose to release anger and resentment...
Ring of thorned...
Despite the pain, it continues to shine like a crown...
It shines... I refuse to fall.
Though we may be tested, we will not give up or give in...
Standing still, in this rocky boat...
Despite the turbulent surroundings, I choose not to be shaken...
Chase my mind, takes It's toll...
The mental struggle is exhausting...
Something lost...
An aspect of ourselves or our lives that we've misplaced...
Is now found again...
Rediscovered after much searching and effort...
I return to my soul...
I reconnect with my deepest self and values...
This line, that can't be broken...
A boundary that must not be crossed or ignored...
This line, that never will be crossed again.
Once we respect this limit, it shall not be violated ever again...
In time, will be forgiven...
Eventually, we can learn to let go and release the past...
This line, affected by the innocent.
This boundary should not cause harm or be breached unknowingly...
Opposite of what hear...
Despite what we may be told or taught...
Dying is the least of fears...
There are worse things we may face or suffer than death...
Can't give up!
We must persevere and hold on no matter what...
We have come too far to ever turn away!
Our journey has been long and arduous, but we cannot abandon it now...
We have fear to swallow!
We must accept our fears and confront them head-on...
Can't let go!
We cannot allow ourselves to give in or give up...
Be prepared for anything...
We must be ready for whatever comes our way...
There's something wrong!
There is an issue that needs to be addressed or fixed...
And the worst is yet to come.
Things are going to get even more difficult and challenging...
Runnin' by another line...
Ignoring or disregarding another boundary or limit...
When you cross the sacred line.
If you violate or disregard this boundary, there will be consequences...
Contributed by Alexis L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cristian Hdez Gatica
Silent Hill Homecoming tiene a mi parecer el mejor soundtrack de toda la Saga y esta es por mucho mi canción favorita
TR TAHAR
I didn't play homecoming yet but this track make me fall in love with it 🥰
Ser Kon
What a f@ckin great song and great lyric video from you,man!Good job.
DjUnsusteiner
1:57 You know it's a Silent Hill song If the song contains a sample of the theme of the First Silent Hill Game
Ultra's Reckoning
That singing voice is beautiful.
John Walker
I love her natural voice, plus the tube mic distortion.
Chimgo 1
me enamore del fondo gran canción y gran juego combinación perfecta
Christopher Bernal
Tengo un cover de este tema en mi canal:
https://youtu.be/Pk_FbjvCHRw
Loneliness 永遠に
madre mia que rolon
Pattech
I kind of wish Silent Hill was real.