Silent Hill (Akira Yamaoka song)


 * This article is for the song in the first Silent Hill. For the song in Silent Hill: Downpour, see Silent Hill (Jonathan Davis song).

Silent Hill is a song from Silent Hill. The song is track #1 in the Silent Hill soundtrack and was composed by Akira Yamaoka. The song plays in the intro video. One way or another, this song appears in every main-series Silent Hill soundtrack to date, except for Silent Hill: Origins.

Composition
The Silent Hill main theme is set in two major keys: F major for the first and third segments, as well as D major for the second segment. The time signature is a constant beat of 4-4, in other words, four crotchets per bar for the entire song, with the first and third segments being set to a very fast pace, while the second section is significantly slower than both. A heavy emphasis is placed on strings, guitar, percussion, and a general orchestra, with the choir making itself heard in the second segment. Discernable instruments include strings section (violin, viola, violincello double bass, harp, guitar, mandolin, banjo etc), and a drum set (snare drum, bass drum, tom-tom, cymbals, hi-hat etc)

Silent Hill (estudio)
Silent Hill (estudio) is the piano version of the theme.

Recurring theme
From 1:54 to 2:18, a recurrent theme in the series is played and is used as the overall main theme of Silent Hill. This theme is used in every Silent Hill soundtrack except Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Downpour:
 * Silent Hill 2, "Theme of Laura" (2:03-2:15)
 * Silent Hill 3, "I Want Love" (2:28-2:52)
 * Silent Hill 4: The Room, "Your Rain" (2:54-3:15)
 * Silent Hill: Homecoming, "This Sacred Line" (chorus)
 * Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, "Hell Frozen Rain" (3:36-3:52)
 * It can also be heard faintly in Akira Yamaoka's rendition of the Dead by Daylight menu theme (0:12-0:25 & 1:10-1:23)

Trivia

 * Silent Hill 3 features a new version of this track named "Hometown" with lyrics written and sung by Joe Romersa. It appears during the closing credits of the game and was also used in a trailer for Silent Hill: Origins.
 * At the end of the Silent Hill 4: The Room song "Waiting For You ~ LIVE AT 'Heaven's Night' ~", the introductory mandolin notes from this theme are played, as if the track were an excerpt from a concert which would be continued with this song.
 * The same mandolin notes are used at the end of the first trailer for Silent Hills, that was revealed in P.T..
 * In Silent Hill: Downpour, a jukebox inside the Devil's Pitstop diner plays the original theme from Silent Hill. It is also played later when Murphy Pendleton meets Bobby Ricks.
 * A shorter version of the song plays during the intro sequence of Silent Hill: The Arcade.
 * The third segment employs the signature three-note bass melody of the James Bond theme.