Armcannon: Legvacuum

A few weekends ago, real-life friend and frequent Wort Report commenter Andrew Metzger thankfully introduced me to Armcannon, a Buffalo, NY-based rock group that specializes in putting its own unique spin on video game themes. Their debut album, Legvacuum, is sure to inspire pangs of nostalgia in anyone who can, to this day, recite the "Konami code" by heart or those who toiled endlessly to earn the best possible ending in Super Metroid to get a glimpse of Samus Aran in her underwear. Not that I would know anything about that. Ahem.

But this album is more than just a showcase of pixel passion. Simply put, Armcannon rocks. From "Kraid (Metroid)" to Legvacuum’s final (and strongest) track, "The Legend of Zelda & The Adventure of Link", it’s apparent that Armcannon isn’t just about aping the musical stylings of Hirokazu Tanaka or Koji Kondo. Armcannon retains the musical flavor of each piece, but infuses these tunes with a fresh hard rock/metal sensibility that makes them more than mere homage. The album also features music from classic titles such as Mega Man 3, Mega Man X, Final Fantasy VII and Tecmo Super Bowl.

Click here to visit Armcannon’s MySpace for more information on the band—including performance dates, audio samples and photographs—or visit their home page at Armcannon.com to purchase a copy of Legvacuum. And don't worry, unlike most of its source material, Legvacuum isn't sold in cartridge form. You won't need to blow into anything to get it to work.