‘Return to the Wild’ is a Metal Music Tribute to Zelda

Return to the Wild - Ro Panuganti

Fancy some Zelda music with a twist? The series is known for its fantastic orchestral score and melodies we can never forget, but guitarist Ro Panuganti has used the series as inspiration for something altogether a little different. Introducing ‘Return to the Wild’, a prog-metal tribute to the Zelda series.

Return to the Wild has been arranged by Ro Panuganti, a progressive metal guitarist and producer, but plenty of other musicians feature on the album. Expect talented guests from multiple genres including jazz, classical and metal, making this a truly eclectic celebration of music from the Zelda series.

This isn’t the first album from Ro Panuganti inspired by The Legend of Zelda, either. It’s in fact a follow-up to his successful 2017 album ‘The Wild’, which featured five metal covers of songs from Breath of the Wild. This time, rather than being covers, ‘Return to the Wild’ is better described as a ‘diverse arrangement album’. It’s also much larger, with 14 tracks in total.

The full tracklist is as follows:

  1. Awaken
  2. Guardian
  3. Riding Day
  4. Hinox
  5. Kass
  6. Gerudo Town
  7. Tarrey Town
  8. Zora
  9. Korok Forest
  10. Shrine
  11. Molduga
  12. Rito
  13. Hyrule Castle
  14. Sheikah Tower

Return to the Wild is out today, and the album is available both digitally and physically. A physical CD will cost you $12, while the digital album is available for $8. Return to the Wild a listen, and purchase the album on bandcamp.com.

Kim's been into video games since playing Dizzy on her brother's Commodore 64 as a wee nipper. She'll give just about anything a go, but she's got a soft spot for story-driven adventures and open world escapades. If she's not gaming, she's probably cooing over pictures of baby animals or watching re-runs of Friends for the 137th time.