N64 GoldenEye Track "Cradle" Has Heavy Metal Roots

Legendary video game composer, Grant Kirkhope, is well known for his work on the Nintendo 64 soundtracks for Banjo Kazooie and GoldenEye 007. For the latter, Kirkhope found numerous inventive ways to play with and remix the classic James Bond theme while implementing his own original touch. For one song in particular, Kirkhope drew from his time as a musician in a heavy metal band.

Yesterday, Kirkhope tweeted this hint:

I wrote this song for the metal band I was in before Rare, I used the riff for one of the games ... but which one?
https://t.co/810bOya304

— Grant Kirkhope (@grantkirkhope) August 29, 2014

Sharp-eared twitter user @MuseofMoose quickly identified the riff from "No Absolution" as one heard during the Cradle stage music from GoldenEye. In this level, Bond chases down his former double-crossing ally, Alec Trevelyan. The driving riff adds to the drama of the climactic encounter, and given the intensity of the song it's no wonder it began life as a metal song.