Theme - Jungle Strike (Genesis)

Cyril: You don't need to see the 16-bit graphics to know what era Jungle Strike comes from. With its screaming guitar sounds and aggressive drum beat, it's painfully obvious that this is a product of the early 1990s. You can almost see Motley Crue high-fiving Winger when the song busts into its guitar riff. On one hand, this Jungle Strike theme fits in perfectly with the manly, chest-pounding action movies Hollywood was making at the time. This is a song for the type of action junky who thought the Airwolf theme was too wimpy. This song reeks of hair spray and drips eyeliner all over the new carpet. It's cheesy in the right way, much like "The Tough" by Stan Bush. For better or worse, this theme is a product of its era.

Kevin: Jungle Strike's theme does a great job of building tension. The deep bass and heavy synth sustains make for a powerful intro. A ballistic hi-hat roll comes a few measures in, and an additional, heavier synth creating a 'wall of sound' effect. This is soon followed by a strong riff from the lead guitar sound that carries the rest of the song. I feel like this initial build is a big part of why Jungle Strike found its way into my Genesis again and again as a kid despite that I wasn't very good at it. I absolutely love the build-up. Beyond that build-up though, it gets a little less interesting. The bass and drum patterns become very simple and that lead guitar sound takes over, just riffing over the very basic rock rhythm. While I adore the build, the endless solo following it starts to lose me pretty quickly.