Music to My Ears continues this week with a look at a song from a game I haven’t even played yet! Woahhhhhh!

“Bowser’s Lava Lake Keep” is the background music for a stage that leads to Bowser. It’s from Super Mario 3D World. And that’s about all I know.

This is something of a break in tradition for me. Usually I try not to listen to a soundtrack before I’ve played a game, because the context of certain songs provides extra meaning for me. Maybe something especially cool happens during gameplay and the music’s right there to make it even more epic. Maybe something especially poignant happens, like Aeris getting stabbed with a 347-foot sword, that tugs at the heartstrings.

So why have I heard this track already? To be frank, I needed one song to serve as a background tune for some upcoming videos, and I took a chance on a Bowser level track because they have been great lately.

For example, Super Mario Galaxy 2 used a remake of Bowser’s Road from Super Mario 64 (and you best believe that track is getting its own MtME post someday) that updated the track with a live choir and orchestra. New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s Bowser stage was my favorite theme in the game. If I were a betting man, I would have put money on this song being awesome too, and Lava Lake Keep doesn’t disappoint.

Listen to that strange combination of a sense of urgency and adventure. You know it’s serious time when you hear a track like this. And that makes me very excited for when we finally get the chance to play through Super Mario 3D World ourselves (as though I needed any extra motivation for another co-op Mario game!).

Bowser’s Lava Lake Keep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvlu234xOo4

Music to My Ears covers soundtracks or individual songs from video games every Tuesday. You can view all posts in the series by clicking here.