The Kickstarter campaign for Peter Connelly’s The Dark Angel Symphony has now launched. “I have the cash, but I don’t deal with the monkey.” Actually, I’m still deciding which tier I’m going to support. Hmm. I like the idea of attending a studio recording…

Anyway, for those of you who haven’t heard about The Dark Angel, the aim of the project is to re-record the music from three of the classic Tomb Raider games, namely The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness. It’s been initiated by composer Peter Connelly, together with the passionate support of fans, and the Kickstarter is looking to raise £180,000 to make the project a reality. If this goal is achieved, it’s hoped that the completed soundtrack will be available as of September 2019.

Fortunately, as with any good Kickstarter, there are tiers of support that will appeal to wallets of all sizes. (You can even pledge a chosen amount without reward, if you prefer.) But basically, the pledges start at £5 – with the promise of a personalised thank you email from Peter Connelly – and progress upwards to an eye-watering £3,500+, which offers just about everything in the world ever, including the original handwritten Angel of Darkness notes from writer Murti Schofield. Nice. I hope there are some juicy insights into the missing Germany levels 😉

Alas, that tier has already been taken, but there is an intriguing £500 tier which includes the aforementioned studio visit, which might be more doable for some…

Of course, the project is a huge undertaking for Peter Connelly and his team, but it’s a challenge that they all seem happy to rise to. As the Kickstarter page says:

“Our main challenge is keeping costs down without sacrificing quality. Using the finest musicians and personnel in this industry comes at a premium cost, but the result is undeniably worth it. If we reach our targets it will truly be an epic, cinematic-sounding soundtrack, and a real game-changer event in videogame musical history…

“All of the fans involved in this project are professionals in their various fields, and have brought both their skills and passion to Tomb Raider: The Dark Angel Symphony to ensure it meets the highest possible standards in all areas (for example, in editing, art, filming and audio production, project management and communications, and graphic design.)”

Anyone who’s ever played TR4, TR5 or AOD will know what a moody and mysterious soundtrack those games contained, and I remember The Angel of Darkness sounding particularly epic as it was partly recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra. So this is a great opportunity to hear some iconic pieces re-imagined using all the latest techniques and technologies of 2018.

“And I never expected that. Not after Egypt…”

• Click here to head over to the Kickstarter page and see all the pledge rewards.
• Click here to read my interview with Peter Connelly.