Despite it being nearly six years since Breath of the Wild came out, it seems like we’re still in the dark about the exact nature of its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom. While we wait for the light at the end of the bleak, empty news tunnel, Tim de Man provides us with more musical speculation for the upcoming sequel. This time, he has composed a track titled “Subterranea” which was inspired by the infamous, neck-crackingly good E3 trailer which first introduced us to the presumably dehydrated Gannondorf and hinted at the possibility of spelunking through the dark secrets of post-Calamity Hyrule.
Throughout the track, Tim de Man uses percussion in interesting ways. There are repeated moments where two notes are played. Sometimes they are played on a deeper, resonating instrument and other times on a higher pitched, wooden instrument. In both cases, the two successive notes recall the sound of a heartbeat which also reminds us of the original trailer for what is now called Tears of the Kingdom, because one of the very first sounds that we hear in that footage is a heartbeat. It’s a really clever callback that helps elicit a feeling of dread as if our own hearts are beating just a little faster as we delve into the dark.
Much of the melody of this track is played by brass instruments. At times, the brass is low and deep. These notes are generally held for longer amounts of time and in many ways bring Danny Elfman’s Batman theme to mind. Just like in Gotham, they provide a feeling of mystery tinged with fear. What will Link and Zelda find hiding within the caverns? Surely, not some Keese-themed vigilante! Along with the deeper brass, there are also horns or some other slightly higher pitched brass instrument that plays. In contrast to the fear brought on by the deeper brass, these notes instill a sense of antiquity. Who knows how long those timeless depths have stood quiet and still before the princess and the knight dared to delve into them.
Accompanying the brass and percussion is an instrument I’d never heard of before called an erhu. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the erhu is “a two-stringed Chinese vertical fiddle.” Throughout the piece, de Man uses its ethereal strings to create a ghostly, haunting feeling that adds another spooky layer to the track. The sounds of the erhu are the gossamer cobwebs providing the icing on this chilling musical delight. Tim de Man has once again provided a track that allows us to remember the path to Tears of the Kingdom, while also inviting our mind to imagine the future trails we’ll blaze. While listening to this music, our minds can wander the long-forgotten, decaying caverns of Hyrule, marveling at the ancient wonders and jumping with fear at the mysteries and horrors that will await us there if only in our minds for the moment.
