

With the explosion of video gaming systems the last few decades, it's good to see metal bands taking the phenomenon a step further. Enter Augusta, Maine's Last Chance to Reason, a progressive death metal band that is creating their own video game. "A progressive music/video game crossover is natural when you consider that video games are our generation's emergent medium," drummer Evan Sammons told Noisecreep. "Games are new and full of possibilities, and we wanted to explore that new ground by melding it with our musical goals."

The fusion of rock and video games arguably goes all the way back to Journey's arcade game. With the popularity and rising profiles of metal bands in general, a video game fused with an original album is inevitable.

The genesis of the concept can be found in Last Chance to Reason's previous release. "Our first album, 'Lvl. 1,' had a decidedly alien sound that our producer Jamie King likened to 'Metroid,'" Sammons continued. "Around the same, time I had been attempting to write some short stories dealing with video game-like worlds."

Eventually, the band hooked up with game developer Tom Vine. Much like the music and film industries, the gaming industry has its own indie movement, of which Vine was a part. "When [I] played Tom's games, 'Paroxysm' and 'Plasma Warrior,' I knew I had to contact him," Sammons explained. "Tom and I started discussing the project, and we immediately hit it off because we had similar taste in games and goals for game design. We conceptualized the game during the process of writing the album, so the lyrics and musical themes would be tightly linked to the game experience."

Last Chance to Reason's 'Level 2' is the new album that Vine is developing, and Sammons expounds on the lyrics and philosophical basis of the game, adding, "I'd say the game/album is an exploration of themes that have been prevalent in gaming forever, but rarely put under the lens. The lyrics are generally from the perspective of the main character as he grapples with his reality in a video game world. It was interesting to explore the parallels between our own world and the world of a video game. They're more similar than one might initially think, and I think they reveal a lot about us if you look in the right places.

"I'm not sure how big into metal Tom was before he started the project," Sammons noted, "but I can say he's super-pumped about how the album has come together. He's heard every demo and mix throughout the process and has always been into it."

You can follow the the progress of the game's development at the Last Chance to Reason blog.