Dawn of techno

As someone who was just three years old when Tiberian Dawn was released and therefore didn't even know how to switch on a computer, I didn't get into the Command & Conquer-series until years later with Command & Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun - well, I was still far too young for that, but I was already fascinated by real-time strategy back then. C&C is a household name, something pretty much every gamer has heard of. Be it the series which focuses on the fight between GDI and the bald-led Brotherhood of Nod, or the alternative timeline with timetravelling Einstein and Stalin.

Even though it has been somewhat forgotten today and beaten to death by Electronic Arts, I enjoyed almost every installment. However, despite the remaster, I never dared to play the original, which is why I have no connection to the game and was allowed to listen to its soundtrack for the first time.

Games from the Command & Conquer-series

Command & Conquer: Der Tiberiumkonflikt (1995)

Command & Conquer: Red Alert (1996)

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999)

It was composed by rocker Frank Klepacki and comprises 25 tracks. Even if it is not identical to the original, I will also list the score of the remaster released in 2020 here. Apparently, however, overtime was worked, as it has 46 tracks, more than twice as many as the 95 version. However, this may also be due to the fact that tracks from the addon The Covert Operations are included. In terms of content, however, the two are very similar:

After just a few seconds into the first tracks, it becomes clear that the composition in Tiberian Sun is a continuation of Klepacki's work here. Because I already know the electric guitar riffs and synth beats from the sequel. As a true child of the 90s, the score tries to combine the trends of the decade, which leads to a crazy mixture of synths (No Mercy), trance-like groove (Re-con), techno and metal rock (Prepare for Battle). But because that alone isn't freaky enough, samples of unit sounds and cutscenes are also used. This can sound good, but just as easily trashy.

Let me tell you a little story concerning this: around the same time the game came out, I was still playing with toy cars. My favorite was a police car that was equipped with four buttons, each of which played a slogan when pressed, such as "Hands up, this is a robbery!" Now this phrase was played every time I pressed the button. Every time. Immediately. And multiple times if I pressed it more than once. You know where this leads.

So, like Klepacki, though at the tender age of three I had already learned how to process the various nuances of such simple words as "hands up" into a rhythmic, albeit very annoying, string of syllables - much to the dismay of my parents. But if they had heard Klepacki's music, they might have recognized my talent! Beyond these tasteful aberrations of flavor, there are also tracks that are more reminiscent of Age of Empires (Prepare for Battle) or Detective Conan (Rain in the Night). These experiments can seem strange, but at the same time one must not forget that this is still background music for a strategy game, which is intended to support rather than suspense.

What Klepacki has put together here is a cornerstone for the later parts and is groundbreaking, but should also be clearly labeled as a product of its time. Anyone who likes the style of the time will have fun here whilst connoisseurs will get a pleasant rush of nostalgia. I'll stick with the sequel, which remains somewhat more stringent.