“Vandalize” by ONE OK ROCK

As we have noted in the past, some videogame soundtracks are such that they utilize mainstream songs or tracks that have a general applicability. Put simply, they don’t speak to the game per se. 

“Vandalize”, which was made for Sega’s Sonic Frontiers, kinda falls into both of the above categories.

Said game appears to be along the lines of your standard Sonic fare, i.e. the main character running really fast, jumping, fighting robots, etc. And since One OK Rock did apparently work directly with Sega in fashioning this song, we would presume that maybe its lyrics were perhaps inspired by the game’s storyline.

That said, the lyrics do not have anything to do with running, jumping or fighting.

But in any event, it’s not like you’re going to hear this song, and the first thing that comes to mind is Sonic the Hedgehog (unless maybe you play the aforementioned game). For example, there’s nothing like proper nouns present except, in the Japanese version of “Vandelize”, a reference to the famous “Mona Lisa” painting. What the featured narrative revolves around, most simply put, is something like the vocalist chastising a toxic associate – that being the addressee. The vocalist chastises them for ‘vandalizing his heart’ and also that of others. 

What that means in context is that said addressee presented himself along the lines of being a friend and savior of the vocalist. But now in the present he is doing the opposite. He is actually ‘tearing the vocalist down’. And as far as the chastisement goes, in the bridge, Taka proceeds to depict this individual as a “f**king crazy” person. This person is described as someone who takes some kind of sick, unjustifiable pleasure in destroying the vocalist’s life.

Takeaway

With the above said, it should be pointed out that “Vandalize” is also featured on a One OK Rock studio album, which is not directly videogame related. So Sonic Frontiers and all aside, this is a serious piece we’re dealing with here. It is a song that speaks to an issue we actually come across quite regularly in song. The said issue involves a person believing that a friend was genuine, only for this friend to ultimately prove themselves otherwise.

One OK Rock

One OK Rock is a very famous rock band from Tokyo.

FYI, rock music is quite huge in Japan (and in such instance may be referred to as J-rock). 

One OK Rock has proven enduringly popular in their homeland and of late have also been making a wave or two stateside. 

The act has long been held down by four musicians:

• Taka Moriuchi
• Toru Yamashita
• Ryota Kohama
• Tomo Kanki

“Vandalize”

“Vandalize” was released on 7 September 2022. It is part of the playlist of a project titled “Luxury Disease”.

The aforenoted project is a Fueled by Ramen-backed One OK Rock studio album that came out in 2022. 5 other singles were birthed by this project:

• “Renegades”
• “Broken Heart of Gold”
• “Wonder”
• “Save Yourself”
• “Let Me Let You Go”

To note, “Vandalize” is strongly associated with Sonic Frontiers. Sonic Frontiers is the 2022 installment in Sega’s never-ending Sonic videogame series. It actually serves as the ending theme song.

And for this particular track, One OK Rock reportedly worked directly with Sega. Sega is the company behind Sonic.