Crush 40
Encyclopedia
Crush 40, formerly known as Sons of Angels, is a Japanese-American hard rock
band formed in 1997 that is best known for their contributions to the soundtracks of several video games, predominantly the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The core of the group is the hard rock guitarist and video game composer Jun Senoue
and vocalist Johnny Gioeli
, who is also the vocalist for the bands Hardline
and Axel Rudi Pell
.
Since forming, Crush 40 has released two studio albums, Thrill of the Feel, Crush 40 and recently a compilation, Super Sonic Songs, which includes remastered versions of many of their originals. They have also contributed songs to several video games that do not appear on these albums.
and his employment with Sega
. After graduating from college in 1993, Jun Senoue was employed by Sega to be a music composer for video games. His first project was creating two songs for Sonic the Hedgehog 3
. Later, he worked on other games such as Dark Wizard
, Sonic 3D Blast
(Sega Mega Drive
version), Sega Rally 2
, and Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition
.
In 1997, Senoue contacted the singer from Hardline
, Johnny Gioeli
, and recorded their first song as a group, Open Your Heart. After making the track, which would later be on the video game Sonic Adventure
, the two stayed in contact. Eventually from this relationship spawned a project band to make the soundtrack for another game Senoue worked on, NASCAR Arcade
. The band was formed under the name "Sons of Angels", the same as a song that Senoue performed with Eric Martin on the Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition soundtrack.
The original band included Senoue as the guitarist, Gioeli singing, and Naoto Shibata and Hirotsugu Homma from Anthem
playing the bass and drums, respectively. In 2000, the band released their album Thrill of the Feel through Victor Entertainment
. The album contained all of the tracks which they had written for NASCAR Arcade.
. Naoto Shibata and Hirotsugu Homma could not take part because they were performing with Loudness
and later Anthem
, so Katsuji and Takeshi Taneda were brought in to play the songs for the game. The resulting track was "Live and Learn", the main theme of Sonic Adventure 2.
When the Norwegian band "Sons of Angels" reunited under this alias that they had before, Gioeli and Senoue decided to change their band's name to Crush 40. When Senoue was asked why he picked "Crush 40" as the name, he responded, "When we had to find another good one, we picked up the word we like…“Crush” is one of them, and Johnny added the number on it. Crush is the name of the soda too…that's my favorite!"
Two years after the release of Sonic Adventure 2, the album Crush 40, a European cover version of "Thrill of the Feel", was released by Frontiers Records
. The album contained the same music as their previous album with the same racing theme of the songs written for NASCAR Arcade, but without the previous album's instrumental tracks. Senoue claimed that Crush 40 was the project of himself and Gioeli, which is why the instrumental tracks were removed. There were, however, both prior Sonic theme songs "Open Your Heart" and "Live and Learn", as well as two bonus tracks: "It Doesn't Matter" featuring vocalist Tony Harnell
, and "Escape from the City" featuring Ted Poley
and Tony Harnell. Senoue's rationale for including these two songs was that he wanted to introduce some of his favorite songs featuring other singers to the fans.
label.
In 2003, Sega announced the first multiplatform Sonic
game, Sonic Heroes
, which featured two new Crush 40 songs: the theme tune "Sonic Heroes", a "bright, melodic song", and "What I'm Made Of...", a "distinctly dark hard rock song with metal sensibilities". The music itself was also released on the Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax soundtrack. In the booklet for Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax, Katsuji is credited as the drummer for "Sonic Heroes", but Mark Schulman is credited as the drummer for "What I'm Made Of..."
When Sega announced Shadow the Hedgehog
in 2005, Crush 40 returned to perform the game's theme song, "I Am... All of Me". There is a second song by Crush 40 in the game, the ending theme named "Never Turn Back". Both of these songs also appear on the soundtrack called Lost and Found: Shadow the Hedgehog Vocal Trax. For Crush 40's contributions to this soundtrack, the drumming duties were passed on to Toru Kawamura.
Crush 40 also made contributions to Sonic the Hedgehog 2006
. The band created its own rendition of "All Hail Shadow", previously performed by Magna-Fi
in the game Shadow the Hedgehog
. Crush 40 also recorded a version of "His World", the main theme of Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006. The latter of these two did not appear in the game, but both of these songs are on this game's soundtrack, Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills
. Kawamura was also the drummer for this soundtrack.
The band also contributed several of its songs, including "Live and Learn", to the video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl
. The song was also featured in an episode of the Japanese version of Sonic X
.
In 2008, the album True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog
was released in Japan, and featured Crush 40's cover of the Sonic and the Secret Rings
theme "Seven Rings in Hand", originally performed by Steve Conte
. Also included on the album are Crush 40 songs "Live and Learn" (2007 Remastered Version)", "What I'm Made Of..." (2007 Remastered Version), "Sonic Heroes", two versions of "Open Your Heart", two versions of "It Doesn't Matter" (with Tony Harnell), and "Escape from the City" (with Ted Poley and Tony Harnell). The band record several songs for Sonic and the Black Knight
, including the game's main theme, Knight of the Wind.
In 2010, Johnny Gioeli confirmed that Crush 40 was collaborating with Sega
once again for the upcoming Sonic Generations
, due for release in 2011 to coincide with the series 20th Anniversary. One of the confirmed tracks is a 'Classic' rendition of "Escape from the City".
and Johnny Gioeli
performed their first ever live concert, at the Tokyo Game Show
. The songs they performed included shortened versions of "I Am... All Of Me", "His World", "Sonic Heroes", "What I'm Made of" and "Knight of the Wind" and the full version of "Live and Learn". A live recording of this concert has been uploaded on Youtube and is linked from Crush 40's website.
In November 2009 the band released a compilation album, The Best of Crush 40 – Super Sonic Songs
, covering the band's 11-year history. It featured a new Crush 40 song, "Is It You", and two new cover songs: "Fire Woman
" (originally by The Cult
) and "Un-gravitify" (originally from Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
).
In August 2010, Crush 40 performed live at the third Summer of Sonic
convention, held at the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion in London
. It was the band's first ever concert outside of Japan, and also their first full-length concert. Senoue and Gioeli also hosted a live Q&A session at the event, where they answered fan questions from the audience and questions submitted online.
At the Summer of Sonic Q&A session, Jun Senoue confirmed that Crush 40's second studio album of new material is currently being worked on, with an aim to possibly release it before the end of 2011. Johnny Gioeli also announced that Crush 40 are planning a tour of Japan in 2011. This was supposed to happen on April 2, 2011, but has been postponed to July 30 and 31, due to the recent earthquake and tsunami.
On June 8, Crush 40 appeared at Sonic Boom, alongside Alex Mahklouf of the band Cash Cash
to perform a Sonic the Hedgehog 4
medley, Green Hill Zone, "Open Your Heart", "His World", "Sonic Heroes", "What I'm Made Of...", "Free", "Speak With Your Heart", a new mix of "Escape from the City", a new mix of "Super Sonic Racing", and a new mix of "Sonic Boom", the last of which has been confirmed to appear on their next studio album, and lastly "Live & Learn".
For the first time, Crush 40 performed live with bass player Takeshi Taneda and drummer Toru Kawamura on July 30st and 31st in Tokyo. They performed "Sonic Boom", "Free", "I Am...All of Me", "With Me", "Seven Rings in Hand", "Un-gravitify", "Love Leads the Way" (by Johnny's band Hardline), "Revvin' Up", "Fire Woman", "Song of Hope" (a new Crush 40 composition), "Everything" (Hardline), "All Hail Shadow", "Never Turn Back", "Into the Wind", "Watch Me Fly", "Open Your Heart", "Sonic Heroes", "His World", "Knight of the Wind", "Hot Cherie" (Hardline), "What I'm Made Of", and "Live & Learn".
In late 2011, most of the band's material was released on iTunes. These included The Best of Crush 40 - Super Sonic Songs and the charity single "Song of Hope."
and Burning Rain
" by Bjørnar Bevolden of ProgressiveWorld.net. Among the songs of this album is "Live and Learn", a "cool in your face rocker", according to Michael of RevelationZ Magazine. However, Crush 40 has also experimented with other forms of rock music
. For example, "I Am (All of Me)" is a darker song with elements similar to heavy metal
.
When interviewed about his style and that of the band, Jun Senoue said, "I know what my style is, and I know what my favourite genres of music are. I listen to a lot of metal music, as well as other genres of music, and my inspiration is always there. The style of the music in the game does change, and it gives a great sense of progression... When we got together to write stuff for Shadow
, we found that our fresh ideas were a lot different to the songs we’d written back in 2002 – our sound had changed."
. This album was released by Victor Entertainment
and was released for the Japanese market. "Into the Wind" was later used on the soundrack for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
on Nintendo DS, while "Watch Me Fly" was performed by the band at Summer of Sonic on August 7, 2010.
. The album contains all the same vocal tracks as Thrill of the Feel, but does not contain any instrumental tracks. Added to the track listing are "Live and Learn" and the bonus tracks "It Doesn't Matter" featuring Tony Harnell and "Escape from the City" featuring Ted Poley
and Tony Harnell
.
compilation.)
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band formed in 1997 that is best known for their contributions to the soundtracks of several video games, predominantly the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The core of the group is the hard rock guitarist and video game composer Jun Senoue
Jun Senoue
is a video game composer and musician from Wave Master, well known for some of his contributions in many Sonic the Hedgehog games. He is also the guitarist for the band Crush 40, which also contributes to many Sonic the Hedgehog games.-Biography:...
and vocalist Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli is an American hard rock singer. Originally lead singer of the band Hardline, he is also currently the vocalist of Crush 40 and German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's band...
, who is also the vocalist for the bands Hardline
Hardline (band)
Hardline is an American hard rock band. Originally formed in 1991 by brothers Johnny Gioeli and Joey Gioeli, the band consisted of 5 members, Johnny Gioeli, Joey Gioeli, Neal Schon, Todd Jensen and Deen Castronovo. The bands' most recent album release is the 2009 Leaving the End Open which featured...
and Axel Rudi Pell
Axel Rudi Pell
Axel Rudi Pell is a German guitar player, playing melodic heavy metal. He started off with the band Steeler before leaving to start his solo career in 1989 with the eponymous band Axel Rudi Pell...
.
Since forming, Crush 40 has released two studio albums, Thrill of the Feel, Crush 40 and recently a compilation, Super Sonic Songs, which includes remastered versions of many of their originals. They have also contributed songs to several video games that do not appear on these albums.
Formation and Thrill of the Feel
Crush 40's origin began with guitarist Jun SenoueJun Senoue
is a video game composer and musician from Wave Master, well known for some of his contributions in many Sonic the Hedgehog games. He is also the guitarist for the band Crush 40, which also contributes to many Sonic the Hedgehog games.-Biography:...
and his employment with Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. After graduating from college in 1993, Jun Senoue was employed by Sega to be a music composer for video games. His first project was creating two songs for Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States by members of Sonic Team working at Sega Technical Institute, and was published by Sega, debuting worldwide in the first half of 1994...
. Later, he worked on other games such as Dark Wizard
Dark Wizard
Dark Wizard was an RPG developed for the Sega CD system that featured long anime-based cutscenes to develop the story. The gameplay took place on a hex-map, and featured turn-based tactical battle scenes...
, Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic 3D is an isometric platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed in the United Kingdom by Traveller's Tales and published by Sega. The Japanese version was also Sega Saturn exclusive...
(Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
version), Sega Rally 2
Sega Rally 2
is a sequel to Sega Rally and is an arcade game developed and released by Sega in 1998 for the Sega Model 3 arcade board. It was ported in the following year to the Dreamcast console and later to PC systems.-Gameplay:...
, and Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition
Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition
Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition is a racing arcade game by Sega, specifically designed for the Sega Saturn. Released in 1996, it is a reworked and extended version of the original Daytona USA, developed by Sega-AM3, the second-party developer that oversaw the mostly arcade-perfect Saturn...
.
In 1997, Senoue contacted the singer from Hardline
Hardline (band)
Hardline is an American hard rock band. Originally formed in 1991 by brothers Johnny Gioeli and Joey Gioeli, the band consisted of 5 members, Johnny Gioeli, Joey Gioeli, Neal Schon, Todd Jensen and Deen Castronovo. The bands' most recent album release is the 2009 Leaving the End Open which featured...
, Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli is an American hard rock singer. Originally lead singer of the band Hardline, he is also currently the vocalist of Crush 40 and German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's band...
, and recorded their first song as a group, Open Your Heart. After making the track, which would later be on the video game Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
is a 1999 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG...
, the two stayed in contact. Eventually from this relationship spawned a project band to make the soundtrack for another game Senoue worked on, NASCAR Arcade
NASCAR Arcade
NASCAR Arcade is a racing video game that was released in 2000 for the arcade....
. The band was formed under the name "Sons of Angels", the same as a song that Senoue performed with Eric Martin on the Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition soundtrack.
The original band included Senoue as the guitarist, Gioeli singing, and Naoto Shibata and Hirotsugu Homma from Anthem
Anthem (band)
is a Japanese heavy metal band that was formed during the early 1980s in Tokyo. They are among the handful of heavy metal bands founded in Japan during that time and are considered to be one of the most successful and influential, alongside Loudness and Earthshaker.-Early years :Anthem was founded...
playing the bass and drums, respectively. In 2000, the band released their album Thrill of the Feel through Victor Entertainment
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
. The album contained all of the tracks which they had written for NASCAR Arcade.
Several changes and Crush 40
The band resurfaced during the development of Sonic Adventure 2Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast video game console. It was released in North America on June 19, 2001 and in Japan on June 23, 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It is the sequel...
. Naoto Shibata and Hirotsugu Homma could not take part because they were performing with Loudness
Loudness (band)
is a Japan-based heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese heavy metal act signed to a major label in the United States, releasing twenty-three studio albums...
and later Anthem
Anthem (band)
is a Japanese heavy metal band that was formed during the early 1980s in Tokyo. They are among the handful of heavy metal bands founded in Japan during that time and are considered to be one of the most successful and influential, alongside Loudness and Earthshaker.-Early years :Anthem was founded...
, so Katsuji and Takeshi Taneda were brought in to play the songs for the game. The resulting track was "Live and Learn", the main theme of Sonic Adventure 2.
When the Norwegian band "Sons of Angels" reunited under this alias that they had before, Gioeli and Senoue decided to change their band's name to Crush 40. When Senoue was asked why he picked "Crush 40" as the name, he responded, "When we had to find another good one, we picked up the word we like…“Crush” is one of them, and Johnny added the number on it. Crush is the name of the soda too…that's my favorite!"
Two years after the release of Sonic Adventure 2, the album Crush 40, a European cover version of "Thrill of the Feel", was released by Frontiers Records
Frontiers Records
Frontiers Records is an Italian record label, predominantly producing melodic rock. It was formed in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples, Italy.-History:...
. The album contained the same music as their previous album with the same racing theme of the songs written for NASCAR Arcade, but without the previous album's instrumental tracks. Senoue claimed that Crush 40 was the project of himself and Gioeli, which is why the instrumental tracks were removed. There were, however, both prior Sonic theme songs "Open Your Heart" and "Live and Learn", as well as two bonus tracks: "It Doesn't Matter" featuring vocalist Tony Harnell
Tony Harnell
Antony "Tony" Harnell is an American hard rock singer, best known for his work with the Norwegian hard rock band TNT....
, and "Escape from the City" featuring Ted Poley
Ted Poley
Ted Harris Poley is a rock singer and drummer most famous for being in the band Danger Danger.-Biography:...
and Tony Harnell. Senoue's rationale for including these two songs was that he wanted to introduce some of his favorite songs featuring other singers to the fans.
Continued work with Sega
Crush 40 did not release any new albums between 2003 and 2009, instead, the band wrote and recorded original music for several video games. The songs the band performed for these games were released on the soundtracks of each game, under Sega's Wave Master EntertainmentWave Master
Wave Master Inc. is a research and development team for Sega, focusing on the soundtracks for various games...
label.
In 2003, Sega announced the first multiplatform Sonic
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
game, Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes
is a 2004 platforming single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in...
, which featured two new Crush 40 songs: the theme tune "Sonic Heroes", a "bright, melodic song", and "What I'm Made Of...", a "distinctly dark hard rock song with metal sensibilities". The music itself was also released on the Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax soundtrack. In the booklet for Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax, Katsuji is credited as the drummer for "Sonic Heroes", but Mark Schulman is credited as the drummer for "What I'm Made Of..."
When Sega announced Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game inauguration of...
in 2005, Crush 40 returned to perform the game's theme song, "I Am... All of Me". There is a second song by Crush 40 in the game, the ending theme named "Never Turn Back". Both of these songs also appear on the soundtrack called Lost and Found: Shadow the Hedgehog Vocal Trax. For Crush 40's contributions to this soundtrack, the drumming duties were passed on to Toru Kawamura.
Crush 40 also made contributions to Sonic the Hedgehog 2006
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game)
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2006 platform video game for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 that was made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise...
. The band created its own rendition of "All Hail Shadow", previously performed by Magna-Fi
Magna-Fi
-VerseChorusKillMe:VerseChorusKillMe is the second album of Magna-Fi.-Singles:*Where Did We Go Wrong*Down In It*Who I Am*Kiss It Away*Breaking Up*Save Me*Me The Enemy*Hey, Loser!*Hearts and Minds-Gameography:...
in the game Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game inauguration of...
. Crush 40 also recorded a version of "His World", the main theme of Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006. The latter of these two did not appear in the game, but both of these songs are on this game's soundtrack, Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills
Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills
is the official vocal songs soundtrack for the video game Sonic The Hedgehog released on November 14, 2006.- Album Information :It features four vocal tracks that were featured in the game and three bonus tracks exclusive to this release...
. Kawamura was also the drummer for this soundtrack.
The band also contributed several of its songs, including "Live and Learn", to the video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
. The song was also featured in an episode of the Japanese version of Sonic X
Sonic X
is an anime series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. It was produced in Japan by TMS Entertainment with the partnership of Sega and was created by Sonic Team and Sonic Project. In the United States, 4Kids currently owns and manages copyright and branding of the series.- Series 1 ...
.
In 2008, the album True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog
True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog
True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog is a compilation album of various songs from the Sonic the Hedgehog gaming franchise. Its sequel is True Colors: The Best of Sonic The Hedgehog Part 2. It was released by Wave Master Entertainment on January 23, 2008, in Japan only.- Album information :This...
was released in Japan, and featured Crush 40's cover of the Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic and the Secret Rings
is a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released exclusively for the Wii on February 20, 2007 in North America; March 2 in Europe; and March 15 in Japan. It is the first Sonic game for the console, released in place of an...
theme "Seven Rings in Hand", originally performed by Steve Conte
Steve Conte
Steve Conte is an American singer and rock musician and lead singer of the band The Contes, along with his brother John Conte, both formerly members of the band Crown Jewels. He is perhaps more popularly known for his collaborations with composer Yoko Kanno, as well as being former lead guitarist...
. Also included on the album are Crush 40 songs "Live and Learn" (2007 Remastered Version)", "What I'm Made Of..." (2007 Remastered Version), "Sonic Heroes", two versions of "Open Your Heart", two versions of "It Doesn't Matter" (with Tony Harnell), and "Escape from the City" (with Ted Poley and Tony Harnell). The band record several songs for Sonic and the Black Knight
Sonic and the Black Knight
is a title within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is directed by Tetsu Katano, who was the lead programmer of the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes...
, including the game's main theme, Knight of the Wind.
In 2010, Johnny Gioeli confirmed that Crush 40 was collaborating with Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
once again for the upcoming Sonic Generations
Sonic Generations
is a 2011 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, produced by Sonic Team for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 3DS...
, due for release in 2011 to coincide with the series 20th Anniversary. One of the confirmed tracks is a 'Classic' rendition of "Escape from the City".
Recent releases and appearances
On October 12, 2008, Jun SenoueJun Senoue
is a video game composer and musician from Wave Master, well known for some of his contributions in many Sonic the Hedgehog games. He is also the guitarist for the band Crush 40, which also contributes to many Sonic the Hedgehog games.-Biography:...
and Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli is an American hard rock singer. Originally lead singer of the band Hardline, he is also currently the vocalist of Crush 40 and German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's band...
performed their first ever live concert, at the Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
. The songs they performed included shortened versions of "I Am... All Of Me", "His World", "Sonic Heroes", "What I'm Made of" and "Knight of the Wind" and the full version of "Live and Learn". A live recording of this concert has been uploaded on Youtube and is linked from Crush 40's website.
In November 2009 the band released a compilation album, The Best of Crush 40 – Super Sonic Songs
The Best of Crush 40 – Super Sonic Songs
The songs "I Am... All Of Me," "Knight of the Wind," "His World," and "Open Your Heart" were all newly remixed for this album.The song "Un-gravitify" is a cover song and the main theme of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity....
, covering the band's 11-year history. It featured a new Crush 40 song, "Is It You", and two new cover songs: "Fire Woman
Fire Woman
"Fire Woman" is a rock song by the band The Cult, written by singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy. It was the first single released from their fourth studio album Sonic Temple, and was subsequently featured on all of The Cult's compilation/ greatest hits albums, as well as being a steady...
" (originally by The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
) and "Un-gravitify" (originally from Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity released in Japan as , is a hoverboard racing video game published by Sega and developed by Sonic Team in cooperation with NowPro. It is the fifth racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, following Sonic Drift, Sonic Drift 2, Sonic R and its predecessor, Sonic Riders...
).
In August 2010, Crush 40 performed live at the third Summer of Sonic
Summer of Sonic
The Summer of Sonic is an annual convention focusing on all aspects relating to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The event was created in 2006 by computer game journalist and Sonic fan site owner Svend Joscelyne , as the collaborative creation during July and August of a celebratory website in...
convention, held at the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was the band's first ever concert outside of Japan, and also their first full-length concert. Senoue and Gioeli also hosted a live Q&A session at the event, where they answered fan questions from the audience and questions submitted online.
At the Summer of Sonic Q&A session, Jun Senoue confirmed that Crush 40's second studio album of new material is currently being worked on, with an aim to possibly release it before the end of 2011. Johnny Gioeli also announced that Crush 40 are planning a tour of Japan in 2011. This was supposed to happen on April 2, 2011, but has been postponed to July 30 and 31, due to the recent earthquake and tsunami.
On June 8, Crush 40 appeared at Sonic Boom, alongside Alex Mahklouf of the band Cash Cash
Cash Cash
Cash Cash is an American band from Roseland, New Jersey.Cash Cash consists of Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alexander Luke Makhlouf, Sam Frisch, and Anthony Villacari.-History:...
to perform a Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Sonic the Hedgehog 4
is an episodic platform video game and a sequel in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game was developed by Dimps alongside members of Sonic Team and is intended to be inspired by and similar to the original Sonic the Hedgehog titles on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.Episode I was released in October...
medley, Green Hill Zone, "Open Your Heart", "His World", "Sonic Heroes", "What I'm Made Of...", "Free", "Speak With Your Heart", a new mix of "Escape from the City", a new mix of "Super Sonic Racing", and a new mix of "Sonic Boom", the last of which has been confirmed to appear on their next studio album, and lastly "Live & Learn".
For the first time, Crush 40 performed live with bass player Takeshi Taneda and drummer Toru Kawamura on July 30st and 31st in Tokyo. They performed "Sonic Boom", "Free", "I Am...All of Me", "With Me", "Seven Rings in Hand", "Un-gravitify", "Love Leads the Way" (by Johnny's band Hardline), "Revvin' Up", "Fire Woman", "Song of Hope" (a new Crush 40 composition), "Everything" (Hardline), "All Hail Shadow", "Never Turn Back", "Into the Wind", "Watch Me Fly", "Open Your Heart", "Sonic Heroes", "His World", "Knight of the Wind", "Hot Cherie" (Hardline), "What I'm Made Of", and "Live & Learn".
In late 2011, most of the band's material was released on iTunes. These included The Best of Crush 40 - Super Sonic Songs and the charity single "Song of Hope."
Musical style
In a review of their self-titled album, the band's style was referred to as "melodic hard rock, somewhere between XYZXYZ (metal band)
XYZ is a hard rock band, formed in the late 1980s. XYZ started off as the unofficial house band of "The Whiskey", a nightclub in Los Angeles. The original members were, Terry Ilous , Bobby Pieper , Patt Fontaine and Joey Pafumi...
and Burning Rain
Burning Rain
Burning Rain is a band formed by guitarist Doug Aldrich and singer Keith St. John in 1998. Joining the group were drummer Alex Makarovich and Ian Mayo on bass...
" by Bjørnar Bevolden of ProgressiveWorld.net. Among the songs of this album is "Live and Learn", a "cool in your face rocker", according to Michael of RevelationZ Magazine. However, Crush 40 has also experimented with other forms of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. For example, "I Am (All of Me)" is a darker song with elements similar to heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
.
When interviewed about his style and that of the band, Jun Senoue said, "I know what my style is, and I know what my favourite genres of music are. I listen to a lot of metal music, as well as other genres of music, and my inspiration is always there. The style of the music in the game does change, and it gives a great sense of progression... When we got together to write stuff for Shadow
Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game inauguration of...
, we found that our fresh ideas were a lot different to the songs we’d written back in 2002 – our sound had changed."
Discography
Crush 40 has released three independent albums, as well as individual tracks for a number of video games.Thrill of the Feel
Thrill of the Feel is the first album by Crush 40. It is the only album released under their original name, Sons of Angels. The album contains all of the tracks that the band recorded for NASCAR ArcadeNASCAR Arcade
NASCAR Arcade is a racing video game that was released in 2000 for the arcade....
. This album was released by Victor Entertainment
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
and was released for the Japanese market. "Into the Wind" was later used on the soundrack for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a racing game in the Sega Superstars series produced for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows, featuring characters from many Sega franchises. It is being published by Sega and developed by Sumo Digital...
on Nintendo DS, while "Watch Me Fly" was performed by the band at Summer of Sonic on August 7, 2010.
Crush 40
Crush 40 is the self-titled second album of Crush 40, released in Europe by Frontiers RecordsFrontiers Records
Frontiers Records is an Italian record label, predominantly producing melodic rock. It was formed in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples, Italy.-History:...
. The album contains all the same vocal tracks as Thrill of the Feel, but does not contain any instrumental tracks. Added to the track listing are "Live and Learn" and the bonus tracks "It Doesn't Matter" featuring Tony Harnell and "Escape from the City" featuring Ted Poley
Ted Poley
Ted Harris Poley is a rock singer and drummer most famous for being in the band Danger Danger.-Biography:...
and Tony Harnell
Tony Harnell
Antony "Tony" Harnell is an American hard rock singer, best known for his work with the Norwegian hard rock band TNT....
.
The Best of Crush 40 – Super Sonic Songs
The Best of Crush 40 – Super Sonic Songs is the third album by Crush 40, and is also their first compilation album. The album contains songs from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, from their past albums, and some newly recorded songs. A couple of the songs have also been given brand new mixes (although those of "Live & Learn" and "What I'm Made Of..." had been previously included on the True BlueTrue Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog
True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog is a compilation album of various songs from the Sonic the Hedgehog gaming franchise. Its sequel is True Colors: The Best of Sonic The Hedgehog Part 2. It was released by Wave Master Entertainment on January 23, 2008, in Japan only.- Album information :This...
compilation.)
Other tracks
| Song title | Soundtrack | Video game | Version | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Seven Rings in Hand" | True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog is a compilation album of various songs from the Sonic the Hedgehog gaming franchise. Its sequel is True Colors: The Best of Sonic The Hedgehog Part 2. It was released by Wave Master Entertainment on January 23, 2008, in Japan only.- Album information :This... |
Sonic and the Secret Rings Sonic and the Secret Rings is a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released exclusively for the Wii on February 20, 2007 in North America; March 2 in Europe; and March 15 in Japan. It is the first Sonic game for the console, released in place of an... |
Cover | 2008 |
| "Through the Fire" | Face to Faith | Sonic and the Black Knight Sonic and the Black Knight is a title within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is directed by Tetsu Katano, who was the lead programmer of the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes... |
Original | 2009 |
| "Fight the Knight" | Face to Faith | Sonic and the Black Knight Sonic and the Black Knight is a title within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is directed by Tetsu Katano, who was the lead programmer of the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes... |
Original | 2009 |
| "With Me (Massive Power Mix)" | Face to Faith | Sonic and the Black Knight Sonic and the Black Knight is a title within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is directed by Tetsu Katano, who was the lead programmer of the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes... |
Cover | 2009 |
| "Free" | Break Free | Sonic Free Riders Sonic Free Riders is a motion controlled racing video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is the third installment in the Sonic Riders series, following Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. The game utilizes Microsoft's Kinect peripheral... |
Cover | 2010 |
| "Song Of Hope" | None, charity single | None | Original | 2011 |
| "Sonic Boom" | Sonic the Hedgehog CD Original Soundtrack - 20th Anniversary Edition | Sonic the Hedgehog CD Sonic the Hedgehog CD , or Sonic CD, is a critically acclaimed 1993 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team for the Mega-CD/Sega CD. It marked the first official appearance of the characters Metal Sonic and Amy Rose... |
Cover | 2011 |
Gameography
Many of Crush 40's songs have been included in video games.| Game | Console | Developer | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic Adventure Sonic Adventure is a 1999 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG... |
Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... , PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
1998 |
| NASCAR Arcade NASCAR Arcade NASCAR Arcade is a racing video game that was released in 2000 for the arcade.... |
Arcade Arcade game An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers... |
Sega-AM3 | 2000 |
| Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast video game console. It was released in North America on June 19, 2001 and in Japan on June 23, 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It is the sequel... |
Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
2001 |
| Sonic Heroes Sonic Heroes is a 2004 platforming single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in... |
Nintendo GameCube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... , Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... , PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... , PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
2003 |
| Shadow the Hedgehog | Nintendo GameCube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... , Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... , PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
2005 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game) Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2006 platform video game for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 that was made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise... |
Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
2006 |
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by... |
Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... |
Sora Ltd. Sora Ltd. Sora Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer founded by former HAL Laboratory employee Masahiro Sakurai. It was formed in the years following Sakurai's resignation from his position at HAL Laboratory.... |
2008 |
| Sonic and the Black Knight Sonic and the Black Knight is a title within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is directed by Tetsu Katano, who was the lead programmer of the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes... |
Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
2009 |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is a 2009 sports video game developed by Sega. It was published by Nintendo for Japan and by Sega for North America and Europe. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee through exclusive license International Sports Multimedia... |
Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... , Nintendo DS Nintendo DS The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP... |
Sega Sega , usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world... Japan |
2009 |
| Sonic Generations Sonic Generations is a 2011 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, produced by Sonic Team for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 3DS... |
Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , Nintendo 3DS Nintendo 3DS The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software... , PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... |
Sonic Team Sonic Team is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based... |
2011 |
Current lineup
- Johnny GioeliJohnny GioeliJohnny Gioeli is an American hard rock singer. Originally lead singer of the band Hardline, he is also currently the vocalist of Crush 40 and German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's band...
– vocals (1998–present) - Jun SenoueJun Senoueis a video game composer and musician from Wave Master, well known for some of his contributions in many Sonic the Hedgehog games. He is also the guitarist for the band Crush 40, which also contributes to many Sonic the Hedgehog games.-Biography:...
– guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1998–present) - Takeshi Taneda – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2001–present) - Toru Kawamura – drums (2005–present)
Previous members
- Naoto Shibata – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1998–2000) - Hirotsugu Homma – drums (1998–2000)
- Katsuji – drums (2001–2003)
- Mark Schulman – drums (2003–2004)