Majora’s Mask is a haunting game, with an atmosphere and music to match, but for me, the music peaked when I went to the final area in Ikana. The music in the canyon itself was spooky, with the low musical tones, but when I reached Stone Tower Temple, that feeling changed from haunting to intriguing. The Stone Tower Temple theme is one of my favorites in the Zelda series, and I’m always delighted when I find a good cover of the song. DSC’s guitar cover is one of those gems that once I discovered it, I found myself listening to it over and over.
The Stone Tower Temple theme has so many subtle nuances that make it unique. The rhythmic drum beats, and low harmonic notes that make up the background. Both these mix with a paced staccato rhythm, then a smoother melody that overrides it all. The chorus, verse, and harmony all mix together to form a track that perfectly defines the area it accompanies. It’s intriguing, mysterious, and makes exploring the sometimes frustrating temple a little bit easier. In addition to all of this, we really get two songs in one since we have the theme when the temple is normal, and the theme from when the temple is inverted.
In his cover, DSC tackles these nuances and differences in sound in two ways. For the first portion of the track, each subtle piece is tackled on an acoustic guitar, drums, and ambient melody in the background, which is the only exception to the rhythm. The acoustic sound really benefits the first half of this track; it’s subtle and mysterious, but not overwhelming, much like the first half of the temple the song originates from. But when there’s a switch, things definitely get flipped on their head.
The inverted theme is played on an electric guitar, which not only offers a different sound like the original track, but captures that almost ominous feeling you have about this upside-down temple perfectly. The melodies and harmonies of the track are all the same, but the sound is such a dramatic shift that it really sets off the end of the piece in a fantastic manner.
DSC has a variety of covers on their YouTube channel: Songs from Zelda, the Mario and Kirby series, and movie covers as well. They also have a Patreon and Spotify accounts where you can follow for updates and find out more about them and their music.
