When Link first entered the Dark World in A Link to the Past, it must have been quite the shock. Not only was he now sporting a very cute bunny body, but the very air and atmosphere of the Dark World was oppressive. Any warmth, any goodness, any sweetness of the Sacred Realm had been eradicated by Ganon’s cruelty as he twisted the whole land to fit his sinister vision. The silver lining to this sad tale is that it gave Zelda fans what is one of the greatest musical bops in the series: the “Dark World Theme”. Through his use of an unusual instrument, the theremin, Austin Lim takes a familiar theme and adds an immense feeling of sadness at a sacred space’s corruption.
Let’s take a second to get acquainted with what the heck a theremin is. A theremin is one of the more bizarre looking musical instruments. It’s played by moving your hands through the electromagnetic fields created by two antennas. A straight vertical antenna controls the pitch of the notes while a horizontal, often looped, antenna controls the volume. Through the use of small finger and hand movements, a musician versed in the theremin can make beautiful music while also looking vaguely like they’re conducting using the Wind Waker.
While the “Dark World Theme” often features loud drums and an oppressive beat, Austin Lim’s use of the theremin’s quiet notes to play the melody fills it with sorrow. The theremin contributes an almost spectral sound to the song. It’s as if the spirits of those stuck in the Sacred Realm are crying out.
Some of the greedy, arrogant souls who sought the Triforce and found their bodies monstrously twisted by the power of the realm probably reveled in their newfound power. Others may have cried out for mercy. They regret their greed and wish to return to Hyrule, but they are just as stuck in this newly evil land as Ganon is. Their mournful sounds add to the cries of the Golden Land itself. Once said to have beautiful golden skies, it is now a wasteland whose beauty and sacred status has been warped by the mind and heart of its new ruler.
The dichotomy of these two groups is captured through the contrast of the familiar beats of the “Dark World Theme” and the theremin. While the iconic bass keeps time in the background, like the sound of Ganon’s minions going to war, the theremin-drenched melody sounds like the sorrowful wailing of the poor, unfortunate, repentant souls who regret their past choices. Alongside the deathly moaning of the corrupted land, the theremin notes devastate our heart with its soft cries.
Austin Lim’s use of the theremin to remix a usually bombastic track, evokes a sadness we often neglect to think of when we consider the Dark World. It’s not only a realm of devilish puzzles and devastating monsters, it’s a realm corrupted and a beautiful golden land tarnished and rusted by the evil heart of the demonic king that now sits on its throne.
