A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Battletoads soundtrack LP, released by I Am 8-Bit.
I’m going to give you a second so you can process the craziness that you’re seeing here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Battletoads soundtrack on vinyl. That’s Battletoads – as in the Nintendo game from the Nineties, regarded as one of the hardest games of all time.
Is this the 8-bit soundtrack in all its 8-bit glory? Yes it is. Is that green vinyl and custom artwork a-la Run the Jewels? Yes it is. Are you hallucinating right now? No, you’re not.
“Just how far can the vinyl boom go,” you ask? At least this far, apparently.
Battletoads has an interesting reputation. I remember it getting hyped as a brand new super-cool franchise in side-scrolling fighting game. The minute I saw the advertisement for it, I knew I wanted it. I wasn’t the only one either, because Battletoads spawned a TV cartoon show,  action figures, and maybe even more marketing projects – I’m not sure. When the game came out, people genuinely liked it, but man – was it hard as fuck. I have fond memories of playing Battletoads as a kid. I would come home from school, and instead of doing schoolwork, I would play my NES, and often, Battletoads. I never got past the third stage with the racing obstacle course, mainly because I would be too careful to figure out the racing engine used at that point and would just crash as my heart was racing a mile a minute.
One drop of the needle on this piece of vinyl and all those terrors came right back to me. To be honest, the Battletoads soundtrack had some pretty kickin’ tunes considering we were dealing with a set of 8-bit music compositions. You get it all here. Even the songs past that third stage which I never got to hear.
Yes, it’s absolutely preposterous to press something like this on vinyl, but the folks at I Am b-bit had the balls to do it and do it right. Because this package is a gatefold featuring art by Nick Gazin who did the excellent Run the Jewels artwork, and is pressed on green toady vinyl. The sleeve even has some cool glossy accents in order to make this cool artwork even cooler.
Of course, the Battletoads soundtrack isn’t for everyone, there’s no arguing that. But, who cares? Any fan of the games or gaming console music will love adding this record to their collection. So what are you waiting for? Go get it. NOW. [OLLIE OTTOMAN]
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The Battletoads soundtrack vinyl LP is out now. Buy it here, directly from I Am 8-bit. http://store.iam8bit.com/products/battletoads-vinyl-soundtrack
