Box art for the limited edition of Linkin Park's "A Thousand Suns"
This is about 2 weeks old now, but I think it's still worth mentioning, especially for those who haven't been following Gundam-related news (e.g. from Ngee Khiong).
American band Linkin Park will perform their latest single "The Catalyst" (「ザ・カタリスト」) as the opening song for the upcoming arcade game Gundam Extreme Vs.
Album art for the normal release of Linkin Park's "A Thousand Suns"
The song "Catalyst" has been released as a single in Japan on 15th September, and it will also be in the album "A Thousand Suns" (『ア・サウザンド・サンズ』), which will be released in Japan on 24th November. The single and album are already released in the US on 2th August and 15th September respecitively.
The limited version of "A Thousand Suns" album will also include a 1/144 HGUC Gundam GP01Fb gunpla Linkin Park edition, which features a carbon grey and white colour scheme, with the normal release's album art on the shield (I think this is a decal).
Official retail price for the album + gunpla bundle is set for 5500 Yen. CDJapan has it available for pre-order.
The opening of Gundam Extreme Vs can be watched on the game's official site, or on YouTube as shown below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzWqz4Ae6is
I haven't followed Western music, but having a big American band collaborating with Gundam for gunpla 30th anniversary is quite something. As for the song, I don't really know whether it's fitting to the Gundam Extreme Vs game. Combining the video teaser with the music feels like a fan-made AMV (Anime Music Video) to me; something just feels out of place... Maybe it's just me.
But apparently this isn't the first time Gundam is linked with Linkin Park, as it is said on Wikipedia that Sazabi, Wing Gundam Zero Custom, and Gundam GP01Fb can be seen in the music video of "Somewhere I belong". Nonetheless "The Catalyst" will be the first collaboration between the band and the Gundam franchise. I wonder whether they will do more of this kind in the future?
Sources:
Warner Music Japan
COBS Online via Ngee Khiong
I reckon this is an awesome move. Bringing a western band will sure help the franchise in promoting this game.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about other ppl but I'm SOLD. XD
Woah, really?! I had no idea! That's freakin' AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, it wouldn't surprise me considering some of their music videos in the past.
This bodes well for the gundam franchise with this collaboration! The cover is awesome with them in UC uniform ^^ By the way I added you in for SC2 already ^^
ReplyDelete@ Optic:
ReplyDeleteGood to know that you like the idea, even though you are not into Gundam. Hope it does promote the game well (maybe this will mean the game will get English version when it hits the console eventually).
@ radiant:
So there are quite a few of tell-tale signs from the style of music videos they do? I wonder whether they will do more of this sort of stuff in the future. :o
@ chubbybots:
It sure is a nice collaboration to draw the East and the West closer together. It's interesting to see the band wearing Federation uniforms with Anaheim Electronics logo on them!
Hey buddy, sorry I'm late to post on this - but wow, that is pretty big to have Linkn Park collaborate. I'm not a fan of the band (or the song really) but maybe it will be some good publicity. I find it interesting that the band is dressed in accurate uniforms as well, I wonder if someone in LP is a MS Gundam fan.
ReplyDeleteGundam v Gundam Ex looks interesting, but again, I kinda fizzled out after the first one. I've been playing the VS series since the original EFSF vs. Zeon and it sure has come a long way!
@ Apt-1B:
ReplyDeleteNo problem - I'm often late on commenting other people's posts ^^;
I am not surprised if one of the band members is a Gundam fan, or else it would seem slightly random for them to collaborate with Gundam in the first place.
While the dream match of Gundam vs Gundam is pretty cool, I think I like Gundam vs Zeta Gundam and Rengou vs Zaft II the most, though I am still looking forward to the Extreme Vs one!