January 5, 2021 on RateYourMusic.
Release: Zelda 3: The Light World (The Amazing BrandO, 2012)
I gave Zelda 3: The Light World a shot because it was a Zelda rock opera, an idea I love and have yet to see pulled off properly -- one that was unfortunately not executed well here, either. The lyrics just drip with unclever vulgarity and misogyny and the blatant mischaracterization of Link as a self-centered, arrogant, unbearably horny prick you can find in any other early-2010s Zelda rock or rap track with lyrics. It's to be expected, I guess, but still a bummer. That said, it turns out some of the instrumental tracks are very good when you listen to them without the crude drivel they're buried under! And there's one brief, heavenly twist at the end of the rock opera's third episode, "The Chosen One." The vocalist suddenly switches to The Penguins' "Earth Angel," crooning over that thick layer of electric bass and guitar and that simple, almost-delicate piano loop of the Kakariko theme in a moment of sweet, sentimental bliss, rising up out of the trashiness around it for a minute. A dumpster dive of a listen, for sure, but at least one with some neat trinkets in the muck.