Everyone knows birds are musically gifted. For example, the European wren can even sing up to 700 notes per minute. Brutal! The call of the three-wattled bellbird can be heard from nearly 1 km away. Impressive. Also, is it a coincidence that the Eagles’ album Their Greatest Hits is the highest selling album of all time in the United States? Probably not. Clearly, birds are capable of surprising things when it comes to music.
It follows that the Angry Birds have had their own storied history full of music. From the instantly recognizable theme of their own, to collaborations with artists as varied as Green Day, De La Soul, and Imagine Dragons, let’s take a look at a few of the best musical moments in the 10 years since Angry Birds was launched.
Angry Birds Theme: Pomplemouse, Apocalyptica, and more – 2011-
Ari Pulkkinen’s Angry Birds Theme is a phenomenon in its own right. Its jaunty melody is instantly recognizable and catchy to a dangerous degree – the kind of catchy that allows the tune to move into your head, get comfortable, and the next thing you know it is weeks later, the place is a mess, and you haven’t seen a single rent check. Sometimes the only way to get the song out of your head is to play it, and this has resulted in some fantastic covers popping up on YouTube, such as the one by duo Pomplemousse above, not to mention the London Philharmonic Orchestra, one very talented six year old, and many more.
There have been plenty of renditions of the classic Angry Birds theme in the games themselves also. Keeping it close to home, Angry Birds Seasons released a wintery holiday update in 2014 with a Finnish twist. To score the whole thing, Angry Birds enlisted the bows of Finnish cello shredders, Apocalyptica. What better way to soundtrack the serenity and beauty of Finnish nature than with cello-fueled progressive metal?
Slash plays the Angry Birds Space Theme – 2013
The Angry Birds were flying high in 2013, with the gravity-defying Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Star Wars being released a year previously. It was only fitting that the birds team up with a master of high-flying guitar solos for their next musical collaboration. Tophat sporting guitar hero, and self-confessed Angry Birds fanatic, Slash, lent his axe to the Angry Birds, carving out a rocking rendition of the Angry Birds Space Theme’s majestic melody.
Bad Piggies: Shuffle and Spawn – 2013
Released in 2012, Bad Piggies finally gave the green guys their time in the spotlight. With their penchant for questionable engineering (TNT being one of their primary building materials), the piggies crafted crazy karts to race across obstacle filled levels. When Halloween 2013 came around, composer Ilmari Hakkola introduced a spooky electro house track, “Shuffle and Spawn”, to complement the Halloween update. When the song picked up traction with remixes from Fox and Major Lazer, it became the first single on Bad Piggies own record label, receiving a vinyl release.
Darude: The Mighty League Anthem (Sandstorm Angry Birds remix) – 2016
Released in October 1999, Darude’s high-energy dance track, Sandstorm, has the distinction of being a euro trance hit, an esports anthem, and a meme – truly a cultural phenomenon. Once you hear the swelling cymbals and paced intro, you know something big is about to go down. It was precisely that kind of energy that was needed for the release of a competitive new game mode in the original Angry Birds game in 2016. Darude’s uncanny mashup/remix of the Angry Birds Theme and Sandstorm was the perfect soundtrack for Angry Birds’ Mighty League.
Angry Birds Evolution: Tribute to Iron Maiden – 2017
Halloween went METAL in 2017 when legendary Iron Maiden mascot Eddie, came to Angry Birds Evolution in his birdified new form. Eddie the Bird emerged from a portal to do battle and send the piggies running to the hills. The following year, Eddie came back to Angry Birds Evolution and made an appearance in Angry Birds Friends as well, this time lending a hand to players to defeat The Beast itself. Epic stuff.
This was just a handful of the musical collaborations and explorations the Angry Birds have embarked on over the years. If the past is any indication, you never know what the birds will do next. Only one thing is for sure, their song is far from over. If you are hungry for more anger and/or bird related tunes? Feast your ears on the soundtrack to The Angry Birds Movie 2!