When Alpha Gaiden was released back in 2001, it was also the debut of the J-Rock group JAM Project, who would be the official performers for all the future Super Robot games. Considering the fact that some of the band members sang openings for mecha shows long before, and that some even do seiyuu for them, it makes a lot of sense why they were chosen to sing for the series. Their hot-blooded style brings out more intensity to the series as well.
Starting with their opening, “Hagane no Messiah” (Steel Messiah) is far from being one of my favorite songs coming from them, but it is strong nonetheless. Their vocals are still awesome like in many of other songs, though a bit shoddy in some parts here and there. Complementing solid vocals is a solid melody with a primary rock and roll theme with bits of jazz and orchestra meshed in to formulate a powerful song. As an opening song, it is not as intense as some of the openings demonstrated later on, but it gets the job done and it is an enjoyable listen.
Their ending song “POWER” sounds patriotic to me in the way it is done, especially at the beginning. Their ending themes tend to take a much softer side (JAM Project Style) on the contrary to their hardcore openings, something I first noticed when I heard the Alpha 3 ending “Brother in Faith.” The ending song is a very nice listen, once again demonstrating JAM Project’s huge vocal range. It is a bit simple, but I thought it was nicely done overall.
This is just a stepping stone compared to what this awesome band brings to the series in their future works. They may not be some of their best works, but they were still fun listens. JAM Project fans should definitely listen to these songs, and newcomers should still give it a listen.
