Stemage Celebrates 20 Years of Metroid Metal With New Retrospective

If you’ve been playing Metroid for a while, odds are you’ve heard of Metroid Metal. You’ve probably even heard a track of two. But have you ever thought about how long Metroid Metal‘s been around?

Grant Henry, better known as Stemage, has sure been thinking about it. In a new YouTube video, Grant looks back on 20 years of Metroid Metal. It’s a 25-minute yarn, spun on old stories, the ups and downs of performing, and so much more. It’s fascinating to hear from Grant himself on his experiences in not just creating some of the most memorable fan tracks in all of gaming, but in connecting with and collaborating with others, and performing live.

The video goes in-depth into the project’s history, from it’s absolute very beginnings to where it is today, as well as the adaptations that were necessary to navigate the ever-changing landscape of modern audio technology, both as a performer and as a musician fundamentally.

The very first Metroid Metal track dropped all the way back on April 18th, 2003, with “The Theme,” followed by “Kraid’s Theme” a few days later on 4/22. Iconic tracks from all across the Metroid franchise has been tackled by Metroid Metal, from Lower Norfair and Phendrana Drifts to Torvus Bog, Bryyo, Sector 4, Tourian, and so much more. The very last Metroid Metal track, the theme of Sector 4 from Metroid Fusion, dropped ten years ago in April of 2013.

Personally, Metroid Metal is some of my favorite gaming music period. I would absolutely love to see Metroid Metal come back with a Metroid Dread track or maybe something from Metroid Prime 4 when that releases! Grant does say in the video that Metroid Metal continues, and that he has some new ideas, some Metroid related, so who knows what’s in store for us in the future!

If you’re a big Metroid Metal fan, take some time this holiday weekend and check out this retrospective. And do yourself a favor and fire up some Metroid Metal. If you haven’t already checked out Metroid Metal, you absolutely should. It’s some of the best Metroid fan music out there, and it’s not at all shy about leaning into delivering a true “metal” take on classic Metroid tracks.

Source: Stemage

Dakota Lasky

Dak is Editor-in-Chief and Podcast Host at Omega Metroid. If he’s not playing Metroid Prime Remastered, he’s definitely playing Destiny 2.