Awesome Music / BIONICLE

"To unite their voice with this music is the duty of all Le-Matoran."

From its promotional commercials to its licensed video games, the BIONICLE franchise has had plenty of awesome music to remember it by.

---

Commercials

• For many BIONICLE fans, "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects, which was used to promote the 2006 Toa Inika sets, is the default theme song to the entire line.
• The Toa Mahri sets in 2007 had their commercials set to "Crashed" by Daughtry, which still remains fondly remembered.

Cryoshell

• "Creeping In My Soul" marks the debut of Cryoshell and makes for a great introduction to the band as it is showcased in the "Creeps From The Deep" music video.

• "Gravity Hurts", used for the 2008 Phantoka series, is so famous that even 13 years later, "Gravity Hurts" is still associated with Bionicle.
• "Closer to the Truth" is heavier and more dramatic than Cryoshell's previous work, fitting the weight of the BIONICLE storyline as it builds to its climax. The soft sections with the piano and tubular bells particularly stand out.
• Despite being a rock song, "Bye Bye Babylon" makes brilliant use of guitar, drums, and orchestral strings to perfectly evoke the desert environment of Bara Magna.

Films

Mask of Light

• Legend of the Bionicle perfectly sets the stage for Nathan Furst's incredible score for the original BIONICLE film trilogy. It introduces the leitmotifs of Mata Nui and Makuta as Turaga Vakama retells the famous legend. And then, the strings start to build... and build... and build... and hold onto a tense and dissonant chord... before finally resolving with the iconic main theme of the BIONICLE films as the title appears. These were cheesy kids' films, sure... but seeing BIONICLE on the television felt like such a big and momentous occasion because this music told us it was big and momentous.

• Unity, Duty, Destiny brings things full circle by ending the film with the triumphant main theme. Then, as the last of the end credits roll, we're treated to a beautiful piano rendition of the Matoran leitmotif that eventually builds into a full orchestra.

Legends of Metru Nui

• Legends of Metru Nui / Toa Stones starts off with the Matoran leitmotif, punctuated by heavy metallic percussion beats. Then, the main theme comes in, now with an added techno layer to musically tell the audience that we're now in the futuristic city of Metru Nui, no longer in the tribal jungles of Mata Nui. As Makuta's leitmotif comes in and the main theme makes one last defiant stand before the story begins, it captures the never-ending struggle between evil and good.

• Bad Things Happen in the Desert starts off with dark and moody desert atmosphere at its finest. When the Kikanalo stampede begins about two minutes in, it's nothing but pure adrenaline rush.
• Follow the Light / Mask of Time was possibly the most-anticipated song of the official soundtrack release. The beginning dramatically builds up to an exciting version of the main theme underscored by a repeating descending nine-note motif. The ending features a chilling and almost melancholic take on Makuta's leitmotif, a heroic snippet of the main theme being interrupted by Makuta's theme, an ominous choir as the Mask of Time is activated... and then that same repeating descending nine-note motif again, but now with all the weight of time itself slowing to a halt, as we're about to be treated to the first permanent on-screen death of a heroic character.
• Lhikan's Death / Vakama's Power Found is a surprisingly powerful piece, featuring a heartbreaking version of Lhikan's theme before shifting to a triumphant variant on Vakama's theme when he discovers his Mask's power of Invisibility.
• Bionicle 2 End Titles, much like the first track, is a remix of the main theme with a new techno flair to fit the different setting. Unlike the intro, it's fast-paced, exciting, and energetic.
• Lhikan Theme Sketch (DVD Menu) makes wonderful use of horns and strings to pay musical tribute to a great hero.

Web of Shadows

• Flying Escape and The Falling Tears feature a progression of the Toa Metru leitmotif introduced in the previous film, changed in such a way that reflects the Toa Metru's change into the Toa Hordika. It sounds rather tragic in "Flying Escape", but "The Falling Tears" makes it sound big and adventurous.
• Web of Shadows, the opening theme of the movie is a dark, almost gothic sounding version of the classic movie theme of before that progressively gets more twisted. It sets up the tone of the film right out of the gate.
• "Caught In A Dream", which plays over the end credits, was done by the same guys who made "Hero" and serves as an awesome send off to the Metru Nui Saga.

The Legend Reborn

• Watched the end credits of The Legend Reborn lately? It ends the movie with an epic piece by Presence known as "Ride".

Online Media

Mata Nui Online Game

The soundtrack of the Mata Nui Online Game is often praised as the definitive BIONICLE soundtrack, and for a good reason. The game's original soundtrack pieces were composed by Justin Lutcher, along with music from Paul Hardcastle, one cover of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries," and some stock music cues.

• The BIONICLE Music may have originated from the Power Pack, but it's the Mata Nui Online Game that made it so iconic for the franchise. Keeping with the franchise's strange juxtaposition of biomechanical lifeforms in a tribal setting, this song combines heavy-hitting techno beats with tribal chanting. The BIONICLE Music was written by Paul Hardcastle as "Killing Machines." The other Power Pack songs are other tracks from his album Extreme Global Hardcore that are renamed to fit the Bionicle theme.
• The Telescope is one of the most atmospheric and haunting themes ever composed for the franchise. The low droning choir and quiet echoing melodic notes give a great sense of mystery to the Red Star and the prophecies it reveals.
• Highway to Le-Koro has a flute melody that's beautiful, even a little somber, and the percussion perfectly evokes the image of miners working.
• Le-Wahi is a great example of using short loops to their fullest advantage. Even though it consists entirely of 12-second loops of five different instruments, it plays around with their dynamics to create a sense of progression over 13 minutes long. Instruments fade in and out over the course of the song, beginning with a catchy drum rhythm and finally ending with a mournful choir chant. It perfectly reflects how Taipu's excitement and desire to explore this beautiful jungle eventually gives way to the tragedy of Le-Koro's fate at the hands of the Nui-Rama swarm. It's a shame that most players won't hear more than a minute of this song in the game proper.
• The Chronicler's Company has a single melody that builds up as more and more instruments are added, much like the company of Matoran making progress in their journey to Kini-Nui as they work together and put their individual skills to use.
• The End closes out the game with a track that is simultaneously triumphant and melancholy.

Wall of History

• Le-Koro Liberated starts off with a soft and playful xylophone rhythm. Then, a beautiful but somber flute melody comes in, highlighting the tragedy of Le-Koro's fate at the hands of the Bohrok. Given that these were characters and locations that we've learned to know and love from Mata Nui Online Game, it hits extra hard seeing what the Bohrok have done.
• Disaster in Ga-Koro gives the Pahrak swarm a simple leitmotif that gradually grows more and more aggressive as their attack on Ga-Koro continues. By the time Takua is making his last stand, the leitmotif is nearly overpowering with its heavy-hitting bass drums.
• Out of Their Elements is the soundtrack used in the episode portraying the Toa Nuva at their most vulnerable. It starts with a somber and mournful theme, transitions to the mysterious percussion of Le-Wahi, and then reprises the previous theme as a determined march. And then someone on YouTube made the Lewa Grounded remix by mashing together the first two themes to wonderful effect.
• Defeat of the Bohrok Kal feels like a perfect swan song for Templar Studios' work with LEGO. Okay, sure, they did Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle and the Vahki propaganda animations after this, but the soundtrack here feels like the end of an era. The nostalgic cues of the beach chant, the telescope theme, and the Legend of Mata Nui theme, mixed with the mournful choir and determined march of "Out of Their Elements", throw in a couple big timpani drumrolls, and it keeps building and building until it at last resolves on a major chord. A perfect ending.

Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle

• The Final Chronicle largely reused music tracks from the first game and Wall of History, but the Year 2 Theme is a brand new composition that does a fantastic job immersing new players into the everyday life of a Ga-Matoran.

Other

• BIONICLE Year Two features a unique theme that is very dark and menacing, lending extra weight and drama to the Bohrok storyline.
• "Hero" by the Danish rock band Dial Zero (working under the pseudonym All Insane Kids) was used in an official music video to celebrate the franchise up until 2005 and serves as a great tribute.
• Isle of Heroes, used on the BIONICLE Heroes website, may have been recycled from an entirely different game, but it is a wonderfully atmospheric tribal theme fitting into the BIONICLE setting so well that many BIONICLE fans mistook it for an unused Heroes track.

Video Games

The Legend of Mata Nui

• Gali Ambience delivers the soothing ambience that its name promises.
• Kopaka Theme is one of the most chilling and sinister tracks in the game, serving as great build-up to the fight against the Ice Elemental.
• Lewa Ambience evokes more tribal themes than most of this techno-based soundtrack, with a melody that sounds beautiful and mysterious once it gets going.
• Makuta Theme provides some great heavy-hitting techno beats as the Toa Kaita curb-stomp the Manas.

Matoran Adventures

• Le-Wahi is dark and atmospheric, but also has a beautiful piano melody.
• Ta-Wahi is fantastic music to help motivate the player during That One Level, with an upbeat and catchy melody.
• Ko-Wahi plays around with a simple repeating riff in different keys, while using percussion to evoke the icy ambience.
• Onu-Wahi takes a cue from Mata Nui Online Game and uses a mournful pan flute to give weight to the final level of the game, building up to the final boss fight against the Bahrag.

BIONICLE: The Game

• Main Theme sets the stage for the game's soundtrack with a beautiful and heroic blend of full orchestra and tribal influences.
• Bohrok Chase is especially worth noting for its ending, where the somber french horn gives it a rather dramatic and tragic sound. Rather fittingly, a variation of that cue is used for the Non-Standard Game Over where Kopaka is given a Bolivian Army Ending.
• Ga-Wahi Exploration and Le-Wahi Treetops were good enough to be reused in the Voya Nui Online Game soundtrack.
• Bohrok-Kal is relentlessly intense, with rising and falling strings accented by a brass melody. It becomes especially climatic in the second half when the tribal chanting comes in.
• Onu-Wahi Exploration is upbeat and catchy, invoking the Boisterous Bruiser personality that Onua had in Mask of Light. It then receives a fitting Dark Reprise as the Onu-Wahi Beguiled Rahi theme.
• Le-Wahi Gliding is simply beautiful, making great use of violin and strings to build atmosphere and mystery as the player explores the jungles of Le-Wahi.

BIONICLE Heroes

• Main Theme has it all: heroic horns, energetic electric guitar, and dramatic tribal drumbeats.
• Rahkshi Battle has a surprisingly gothic flavor for a BIONICLE game, with its choir and bells. Although they are melodically different, it even evokes the Rahkshi leitmotif that Nathan Furst had composed for Mask of Light.
• Vezon's Awakening is a Boss Remix of the "Main Theme", taking the heroic song and making it sound relentlessly dark and ominous.
• Ian Stocker, the composer of the Nintendo DS version's soundtrack, shared remastered music tracks on his YouTube channel. Of particular note are the unused themes and variations beginning at 26:03.
• Buried Machine has a very mysterious, almost desert-like vibe to its droning melody.
• Stone Stronghold combines heavy-hitting percussion and ambient high-pitched piano notes.
• Voya Nui Bay has simply sublime atmosphere.
• Ancient Reservoir in particular calls back to the franchise's roots with its blend of tribal xylophone melody and techno beats.
• Avak's Battle is all but unanimously agreed to be one hell of a rocking banger.

Other

Promotional CDs

• Missing, a stock song that plays on the Bohrok Swarms Promo CD's 2001 storyline summary, is a simple yet effective three-note motif that starts off quiet, mysterious, and atmospheric, and gradually builds up to dramatic and heroic.

Unofficial/Tribute

• As Above, So Below is a collaboration between Cryoshell and electronic artist/longtime BIONICLE fan Essenger, released in commemoration of 2023's 810nicle Day (August 10). The whole track plays out like a missing BIONICLE song from the late-2000s, while mixing in classic elements such as the iconic tribal chant from Mata Nui Online Game, and going for a somewhat heavier sound that makes it feel like BIONICLE's sound has grown up with its fanbase. Interestingly enough, the lyrics somewhat line up with the events of the Reign of Shadows/Journey's End arcs, serving to close out the Generation 1 storyline with one final song. To top things off, the official music video opens with narration from Christopher Gaze, who voiced Turaga Vakama in all three films, a powerful testament to the dedication of the BIONICLE community as a whole.

---