Belgian Techno is boss music. Or at least some of the best boss music from the early 90s is made from the same stuff and was clearly inspired by it. Charging stab riffs, convulsive patterns, the ominous phrygian mode, and the forebonding made out of repetition, hoovers, choirs and alarm sounds. As hard and manic bosses of that era, it isn't easy to beat this sound in terms of the power, pathos and old school hardcore rave vibes it conveys. So, here we curated a list of some of the essential tracks present in videogames OST of that era, many from boss fights, that can be quite clearly recognized as Belgian Techno or Techno-Rave.
The Immortals - Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat Theme)
Well, this one is the most obvious choice, the most well known. But curiously, its actually a late track, considering it was released as a single during 1993, and then in an album in 1994 that was added as a promo gift with some ports of the game. To make it even more ironic, it was featured in the 1995 film rather than in the actual game, yet its cultural impact is too big not to mention it here. Composed by Belgium's Oliver Adams, also member of Lords of Acid, Channel X, MNO, etc. The track is killer, and maybe the one to blame for all people calling "techno" anything that sounds close to the belgian constellation of Rave, Newbeat, Eurodance and Trance.
Eternal Champions - Ramses III Stage
Eternal Champions was a very good clone of Mortal Kombat. And as a proper disciple, it also imitated its music. Well, the one from the movie rather than the game, making the irony even more twisted. The "Ramses III Stage" theme is an obvious copy of the MK theme, but exaggerating the phrygian scale to make it more obviously eastern/egyptian sounding. Nothing amazing, but worth checking.
Sonic CD - Palmtree Panic (Bad Future)
Having checked the more obvious choices, we start now checking the quality stuff. Released in 1993, Sonic CD's japanese OST is a love letter to everything hardcore rave that was happening in the UK during the early 90s. And just like Belgian Techno bleeded into UK Rave, it also got presence in this OST. The Palmtree Panic stage "Bad Future" scenario has one of the best examples of this, a track reminiscent of T99's choir samples and gimmicks, and with the hectic vibers of later UK rave with acts like Force Mass Motion and alikes.
Streets of Rage - Attack the Barbarian
If Sonic CD predated the MK fallout by some months, Yuzo Koshiro has even more merit, releasing his iconic soundtracks for the beat'em up Streets of Rage during 1991. Yes, freakin' 1991 when Belgian Techno was the new big thing, and took the throne of Hardcore and Rave for lil' while. Koshiro was very proficient at keeping up with the joneses and was going to clubs himself, which explains how he drew inspiration to make music that sounded totally up to date but in game format. Here we highlight the boss fight track "Attack the Barbarian", a title that probably would make Simon Reynolds rant about barbarism and Belgian Rave. The song has lurking bass, combat beats, charging riffs, raid alarms and the aggressive sound typical of Belgian Techno during 1991.
Streets of Rage 2 - Never Return Alive
If SOR1 had a killer Belgian Techno track for its boss fight, with SOR2 Koshiro totally beat himself. "Never Return Alive" has the merit of having the most badass name for a boss fight ever written, while at the same being maybe the most evil sounding boss music ever made. Here i share with you the remix made by BomberGames for the tribute game "Streets of Rage Remake", because its so damn good and faithful to the original, but with proper rave sound. You can check the original version here. If i had to make a guess, i think Koshiro was inspired by Codine's Prologue (Heavy Bass Mix) from the iconic Shut Up And Dance label, as much as by Paranoid's Pac-Nologie from Bite Records. Also the track "Expander" is worth checking, with the unmistakable evil Belgian energy, reminiscent of V12 - Sacrifice .
Streets of Rage 3 - Boss
Usually the black sheep of the SOR saga, Streets of Rage 3 had the most obvious hardcore sound of the whole bunch. The tracks were harder and faster, more akin to Hard Acid, Gabber and Darkside Jungle. Motoshiro Kawashima took a leading role in composing this one, with a different signature sound. The boss fight track sounds like late belgian techno tracks that were faster and harder, but not being gabber yet, like Praga Khan's Injected with a Poison, V12's Sacrifice or N-JOI's The Void (which also happens to have some vocal samples very similar to Sonic CD).
Rocket Knight Adventures - Boss Theme
This is one of my favorites. Just like Streets of Rage boss fights, using this same track for each boss makes it like a dark ritual, filled with foreboding and danger. Sure, the chiptune sound may make a bit hard to feel it like that nowadays, but when you were a kid in the 90s and listened to this, you knew immediately that evil was charging towards you. The bassline sounds almost identical to Meng Syndicate's "Luminary", a resemblance that illustrates the deranged Belgian Techno heritage of the Rocket Knight boss theme.
X-Kaliber 2097 - Welcome to My Mind
This track is literally a Belgian Techno track. Well, it was actually made in the US, but it was made by Psykosonik, who released [an actual track of the same title](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEK8kAhV9s), blending hoover grooves in the typical belgian fashion with synthpop. The SNES version of the track is clearly inferior, but worth mentioning.
Head On Soccer
This one is quite unusual. A football game with a hoover-y and stab-y soundtrack. Sounds cheap and generic to be honest, but is a case worth mentioning to show the extent of Belgian Techno influences in videogames during that era.
Shock Troopers 2 - Boss Theme
Now moving to the mid 1990s, Belgian Techno was long gone and its shards influeced gabber, jungle, eurodance, goa, NRG and many other new rave styles. The most loyal of all these fragments was Hyper Techno , a japanese offshoot of Belgian Techno, more fast, upbeat and exaggerated. Shock Troopers 2nd Squad from the NeoGeo was released during this period and the boss fight is just that: a blend of fast boss music, T99-like stabs, hyper techno madness and gabber-ish beats. An awesome track, i recommend it, and playing this game as well.
Ridge Racer - Rare Hero
Another hyper techo sounding track, it has the belgian techno sounds and riffs here and there, but with the typical upbeat and japanse feel of hyper techno. Nice track, worth checking.
Tekken - Chicago
Another track that emulates the typical stab-gallore of Belgian Techno is the USA/Chicago stage theme from Tekken. The stopping riffs in some sections, that sound like emulated power chords, fits the vibe completely.
Channel X - So High
Lastly, we come full circle to meet the [MNO Trio](https://www.discogs.com/artist/14914-MNO) again. This one is also more Hyper Techno than proper Belgian Techno. Sounds less evil and more euphoric, but has a lot of the signature sounds and stab-y gimmicks of his father genre. And it fits perfect for a racing game instead of a boss fight.
Do you know any other video game track that sounds like Belgian Techno with hoovers, choir stabs or similar sounds? Please share in the comments
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