Behold, an album of all-new 8-bit music! An original soundtrack to a game that was lost to time! An epic tale of a heroine versus the ultimate evil, Draakula!

Verily, dear friends, yours truly has composed an album of 8-bit music for a “lost” horror-adventure game (in reality, it never existed) entitled Draakula. Who is Draakula, you ask? He is, of course, the villain of the piece, a Dutch count who lusts for blood and transforms not into a bat, but a dragon! (“Draak” is the Dutch word for “dragon”). Against him is a red-armored, purple-haired warrior, navigating the dangerous caves and cliffs of a mountain range littered with ghouls, goblins, and all things fearsome. Will she defeat the evil creatures, or be a victim of the dark, hollow caves?

The album includes a theme track (that would be played on the PRESS START screen), a boss battle theme, and six tracks between, one for each “level” of the game. The levels exist only in the mind, but I’m sure you can imagine what kind of subterranean tumult “Spooky Ghoul Chaos” would accompany. Or perhaps you could imagine the the open-air, high-up, snowy world of “Frigid Ridges”. And who couldn’t set their imagination alight with the creepy notes of “Caves of Spectral Luminance”?

For the music nerds out there, I composed this music using the strict compositional limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System. All tracks are made with 3 instrument tracks only and a percussion track. And no chords here, either. Single notes, only! (I look forward to geeking out about this in a later, in-depth article about the creative process).

The album artwork was done by the brilliant Pixel artist Slynyrd! I just love it. Visit his website here, and see a time-lapse video of the artwork being created here!

Do yourself a favor (if you’re brave enough!) and head on over to the Bandcamp page. It is currently available in full, for streaming or purchase!