Mortal Kombat: The Album

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"Techno Syndrome" redirects here. For the 1995 film soundtrack, see Mortal Kombat (1995 soundtrack).
Mortal Kombat: The Album
Soundtrack album by
The Immortals
ReleasedMay 31, 1994
Recorded1993-1994
LabelVirgin
ProducerOlivier Adams
Mortal Kombat chronology
Mortal Kombat:
The Album
(1994) 		Mortal Kombat (1995):
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Mortal Kombat: The Album is a soundtrack album by The Immortals (Maurice "Praga Khan" Engelen and Olivier Adams), released in 1994 to accompany the home versions of the video game Mortal Kombat. Television commercials for the home versions included a brief plug for the album at the end.[2] The single Mortal Kombat (Techno-Syndrome) was released in 1992.[3]

Engelen and Adams were invited by Midway Games following the success of their techno/industrial/new beat band Lords of Acid, and were then provided with a copy of the game, detailed information about the various characters, and a library of sound effects to sample, being given one month to compose an album in-between tours of their project.[4] The album featured a techno song for each of the 7 playable characters, as well as boss Goro, along with two additional tracks. One of those, Hypnotic House (Mortal Kombat) was used as an intro in the Mortal Kombat Sega CD.

The other, Mortal Kombat (Techno-Syndrome), was the only solo effort, as Engelen had left for a meeting of his record label, leaving Adams to do the song by himself on his Atari ST computer.[4] "Techno Syndrome", with its signature scream of "Mortal Kombat!" - taken from the "Mortal Monday" commercial advertising the home console version of the game - has subsequently become famous as "the Mortal Kombat theme song" because of its use in the 1995 film, and remixed versions of the song continue to be associated with the Mortal Kombat franchise.[4] The soundtrack reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 charts.[5] Jonathan Oyama, writing for Venturebeat claims that Techno Syndrome is based on "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited, but Adams and Engelen have said that the resemblance was a coincidence, and that no legal action was taken.[6][4] The scream was done by actor Kyle Wyatt.[7]

"Techno Syndrome" is also a hidden song featured in the Sega CD version of Mortal Kombat when one chooses to enter the "soundtrack" mode at the Sega CD intro screen. It can also be accessed by putting the CD in a CD player and selecting track 17. The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard Heatseekers in the United States.

Track listing

All songs written by Maurice Engelen, with the exception of Olivier Adams where noted.

  1. "Johnny Cage (Prepare Yourself)"
  2. "Kano (Use Your Might)"
  3. "Sub-Zero (Chinese Ninja Warrior)"
  4. "Liu Kang (Born In China)"
  5. "Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)" – written by Olivier Adams
  6. "Scorpion (Lost Soul Bent On Revenge)"
  7. "Sonya (Go Go Go)"
  8. "Rayden (Eternal Life)"
  9. "Goro (The Outworld Prince)"
  10. "Hypnotic House (Mortal Kombat)"

Other renditions

"Utah Saints Take on the Theme from Mortal Kombat" was a remix by the Utah Saints that was a track on the 1995 soundtrack album.

Benjamin Wallfisch composed "Techno Syndrome 2021" as the theme song for the reboot film.[8][9] It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales[10] and number 15 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[11]

A cover of "Techno Syndrome" by Anamanaguchi is used in the 2023 Netflix anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, with new vocals by Wyatt naming Scott Pilgrim characters instead of those from the game, and the "Mortal Kombat!" scream replaced by "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off!".[12] The version was released as a single from the series' soundtrack album on January 19, 2024.[13]

References

  1. ^ "The Immortals -- Mortal Kombat". AllMusic.com. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "Gimme Those Tunes". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 57. EGM Media, LLC. April 1994. p. 20.
  3. ^ "The Immortals - Mortal Kombat". Discogs. 1992.
  4. ^ a b c d Grebey, James (April 21, 2021). "The Team Behind the Mortal Kombat Theme Song Had No Idea They'd Created a Knockout". Vulture.
  5. ^ "Revisiting the Mortal Kombat Song". OC Weekly. April 17, 2015.
  6. ^ Oyama, Jonathan (October 5, 2010). "Origins of the Mortal Kombat theme song". VentureBeat. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "Longview man is voice behind epic 'Mortal Kombat' scream". 3 May 2021.
  8. ^ Fischer, Tyler. "Mortal Kombat Reboot Award-Winning Composer Revealed". Comic Book. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "'Mortal Kombat's Composer Began the Score Before Getting Hired — And Yes, It Includes the Iconic Theme". Collider. 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  10. ^ "Benjamin Wallfisch". Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales. Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  11. ^ "Benjamin Wallfisch". Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  13. ^ "Anamanaguchi's 'Techno Syndrome' Cover from 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' Released". Film Music Reporter. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
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