RALEIGH - MAY 22, 2023 - Metal arranger Ro Panuganti is pleased to present Return to the Wild, an explosive progressive rock journey into the world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The album follows Panuganti's successful 2017 album, The Wild, and encompasses a slew of talented guests across classical, jazz, and metal backgrounds and inspired covers with extended-range guitar, virtuosic guitar solos, somber anthems, and untold works from the breathtaking videogame soundtrack. Featuring 14 arrangements from the original EP and new ballads, battle themes, and town themes across Hyrule, Return to the Wild invites the familiar and new to take another bold step. With special guest voiceover from Joe Zieja (Fire Emblem, Transformers, Advance Wars), notable guests include David Erick Ramos ("Tarrey Town"), Carlos “insaneintherainmusic” Eiene ("Guardian"), Joe Calderone (Arch Echo), ToxicXEternity, and String Player Gamer. Return to the Wild is now available on all digital storefronts and streaming platforms and will be getting a limited physical CD release in 2023:
"Return to the Wild is a comprehensive album, focusing on the diversity of the source game’s soundtrack instead of just working with the upbeat tracks one might associate with metal," comments arranger Ro Panuganti. "The original 2017 EP The Wild was made in 12 days with limited guests and instrumentation, so expanding on that to show the growth of my music and the fan album scene was also important. You can hear incredibly low-tuned guitars in 'Molduga' tributing modern metal, snappier blues rock mixed with ocarina in 'Tarrey Town,' and unique tracks like 'Shrine' with an A Cappella artist lending 40 vocal tracks to create something special. The album is ultimately just as much a tribute to unique guitar playing as it is Zelda and diverse artists working together remotely."
Return to the Wild includes 14 tracks including covers of many fan-favorites, such as "Kass Theme," Rito Village," "Hyrule Castle," and more. The full track listing is as follows:
Awaken
Guardian
Riding Day
Hinox
Kass Theme
Gerudo Town
Tarrey Town
Zora
Korok Forest
Shrine
Molduga
Rito Village
Hyrule Castle
Sheikah Tower
About Ro Panuganti
Ro Panuganti is a progressive rock/metal musician from Raleigh NC, best known for his eclectic proggy albums based on The Legend of Zelda, Undertale, and more as well as producing VFX-heavy music videos. He has a passion for guitar, merging styles of blues, metal, indian fusion, and VGM. His works have been featured on Nickelodeon, smosh, indie games Bacon Man: An Adventure and Super Epic, and he’s produced over 15 of his own videogame cover albums. Ro has managed videogame labels GameLark, Pixel Mixers, Multiplayer Charity, and worked with Materia Collective, GameGrooves, and other music circles to help manage, produce, or master their works. His videography and interest in VFX have led to him editing for Joe Zieja, DiscoCactus, and the virtual VGMTogether convention. His interest in performing live has taken him to MAGFest to perform with GEMANON in 2018, Mariachi Entertainment System in 2020, performing at the MAGFest Jamspace Showcase in 2022, as well as VGMCon and ConBravo. Ro currently balances producing his metal works and Indian folk VGM project GameRaga at home with videography, IT work, and helping produce for his wife Allison Martin and the community.
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