C418 - Minecraft Volume Alpha ALBUM REVIEW

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Minecraft is one of the most popular and iconic video games of all time. This week, Minecraft Dungeons, the first new game in the franchise made by the original developers, Mojang Studios, released. I personally haven’t played it yet, but I’ve heard great things from my friends that have it. So, I decided to take it back a couple years to the first volume of the Minecraft soundtrack, titled Volume Alpha. Like the Beta album and upcoming untitled third (!!!) album, Alpha was created by electronic producer Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418. He has made other music under the C418 moniker, but his work for Minecraft is his highest-profile work by far. So, how does Minecraft’s music affect the game? Is Alpha any good? Let’s see…

Alpha is the first volume in the Minecraft soundtrack, and it could be considered an ambient album. Most of it sets a mood or an atmosphere. None of it is really intense or action-oriented, just background music to your gameplay. Alpha tells the story and journey you are about to embark on in the world from just the music itself. I think that’s a pretty amazing achievement for an ambient album. I personally never get ambient music that much, but I feel like I get this, for some strange reason. The songs themselves are so different at how it can capture you. The impressions of the songs makes the overall atmosphere calming, but perhaps too calming. Listening to this soundtrack can sometimes give me chills and eerie feelings of loneliness and isolation, yet I barely realize it. It's honestly quite creepy, but I just let the music consume me. The difference between this and Beta (the second volume) is that Alpha is background music, and Beta is unlockable music tracks. That doesn’t mean that one is superior over the other, but I just prefer Alpha over it.


All in all, I absolutely love Alpha. When I first listened to this record way back when I first played Minecraft, I never realized how much it would mean to me during this time. I’ve recently come back to Minecraft and have played it with some friends. I’ve also played it by myself, taking in every detail of the gameplay and, obviously, its music. C418 is a genius for making this soundtrack what it is: an ambient masterpiece. Alpha is one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, and I’m very happy that I’ve gotten to write about it, even if it was a little shorter than my other posts.


10/10


Stream Minecraft Volume Alpha here

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube Music




I really hope that C418 did the soundtrack for Minecraft Dungeons too, I need that new Minecraft shit.

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