Snake Eater is special. And as much as I love Cold War Metal Gear, I'm not talking about the game. I'm talking about the song. From the first drum hits and horn blasts, the Snake Eater theme, sung by vocalist Cynthia Harrell, is in perfect alignment with the game it's introducing.
It's bombastic; it's espionage-smooth; it's goofy when it tells you you'll feed on a tree frog and it's unflinchingly earnest when it gives its life—not for honor, but for you. Like Metal Gear itself, it manages to lean into the corniness so hard that it circles back around to being cool. And when Harrell hits you with the final "Snake Eater," it can even make the world's longest ladder climb feel like a moment of cinematic pathos.
So when I saw a Eurogamer headline saying Konami had re-recorded the Snake Eater theme for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta remaster, I instinctively reached for my pitchfork. As a rule I try to avoid indulging in internet outrage, but if I'm going to bat for anything, it's Cynthia Harrell singing about a hypercompetent weirdo's tactical reptile lunch.
