Zelda Fan Album “Tears of Hyrule” Available on Major Streaming Services
Posted on April 22 2024 by John Lortie
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continues the series’ legacy of strong, stirring musical compositions. Its music complements the player experience while heightening or relieving tension during gameplay and cutscenes. Some of its pieces are also just a joy to hear outside of the confines of the game and are already beloved by Zelda fans (see the winner of Zelda Dungeon’s 2024 Musical March Madness for a prime example).
Composer and musician DarkNuck is one of those fans who loves the title’s music. So much so that, shortly after the game released, he began releasing cover tracks inspired by his playthrough of it. Nearly a year after Tears of the Kingdom’s release, DarkNuck, whose real name is Nate Nuckols, has compiled those tracks into a complete album that follows the game’s events as he experienced them. He wants to share the joy the he found in the game with others, saying, “I feel truly honored to share my music with other fans of the series, and hope that my songs can help to recapture even a small portion of that magic that the Legend of Zelda has brought us.”
The album is titled Tears of Hyrule — the third full Zelda album released under Nuckols’ DarkNuck moniker, following 2023’s A Memory of Younger Days (Music from The Legend of Zelda) and Goodnight Hyrule (released in January 2024). These prior two albums differ from the Tears of Hyrule by featuring music found throughout the series and not tracks from a single game.
Tears of Hyrule’s tracklist is as follows:
- “Beneath Hyrule Castle”
- “Shrine Theme”
- “Lookout Landing”
- “Snowy Rito Village”
- “Colgera Theme”
- “Tarrey Town”
- “Dragonhead Island”
- “Cave Theme”
- “Saving Zelda”
- “Tears of the Kingdom”
Listening to the album, you might find it difficult to place its music into any one genre. There are elements of hip-hop, rock, electronica, ambient lo-fi that weave in and out of many of the pieces. Nuckols himself acknowledges this, preferring to pull instrumentation and style from a variety of inspiring sources to craft his musical identity.
Fans of DarkNuck will be pleased to learn that he currently has three further Zelda projects in the works, as he’s confirmed to Zelda Dungeon. Beyond that, he’s expressed interest in arranging music from games that don’t fall under the series’ umbrella.
I was unfamiliar with Nuckols’ work before approaching Tears of Hyrule. After listening to it more than a good few times, I’m turning into a fan of what he’s able to create. His take on Tears of the Kingdom’s main theme (the album’s final track) is brilliant. His percussive elements pair with the its bombastic brass incredibly well. And his rendition of the Colgera theme (the original hasn’t clicked for me in the way it has for other Zelda fans) is really letting me hear the full appeal of the piece.
If you like what you’re hearing here, be sure to give DarkNuck a follow on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Aside from YouTube, you can listen to his music on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Pandora.
What do you think of DarkNuck’s treatment of Tears of the Kingdom’s music? Are you enjoying Tears of Hyrule? Have you had a chance to listen to his other albums? Head down to the comments and let us know!
Source: DarkNuck
John’s been a Zelda fan since he was seven years old (which was a good few decades ago). He loves the last three months of the year, analog media, his family, and Tolkien. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild and his favorite game is Night in the Woods.
