Command & Conquer: Red Alert soundtrack

	This article is written from a real world point of view.

The Music ofCommand & Conquer: Red Alert
Soundtrack album by Frank Klepacki
Released	1996
Length	01:12:56
Label	EA Games Soundtrack

This is the complete list of all music tracks from Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Counterstrike, The Aftermath and Retaliation.

Background

Red Alert's original score was composed by Frank Klepacki and was voted the best video game soundtrack of 1996 by PC Gamer and Gameslice magazines. Among his most famous songs from the series is the theme of Red Alert, titled "Hell March", which accents the style of the game with adrenalized riffs of electric guitar, the sounds of marching feet, and synthesizers to a quote that was commonly misinterpreted as German, but was eventually identified as a Canadian drill command saying "Reform line, quick march". Originally intended to be the theme for the Brotherhood of Nod faction in the Covert Operations expansion to the original 1995 Command & Conquer game, the track eventually ended up enlisting itself as a staple in the Red Alert series instead.

“

After C&C came out we wasted no time kicking out Covert Ops. I wrote some more ambient style themes they asked me for, and then I began tinkering with this heavy metal song that I was trying to gear towards Nod for the next big C&C game. Brett Sperry came in my office and said "You got anything I can hear for the new C&C?" I played it for him. He said "What's the name of this one?" I said "Hell March." He said "That's the signature song for our next game." - Frank Klepacki, Senior Composer

”

When playing the single-player campaign, a limited number of tracks are initially available, and more are unlocked as the player progresses through missions. When playing in a multiplayer or "skirmish" game, however, all tracks are available from the start. More tracks were included in the Red Alert expansion packs: Counterstrike, The Aftermath and Retaliation. The music tracks can be listened to on Frank Klepacki's website.

An official soundtrack was released with unique album art designed by Westwood Studios and, like the previous release, featured the official Command & Conquer series logo with the Red Alert series motif below. The album contained fifteen tracks, plus a hidden bonus track. Half a minute after the end of track 15 plays Surf No Mercy. Its melodramatic opening was used in the secret It Came From Red Alert! campaign in Counterstrike, and the track itself is a tribute to Misirlou, using the rhythm of an earlier Command & Conquer music piece, No Mercy.

Two tracks on the disc, "Radio 2" and "Face the Enemy 2", had the numbers at the end removed from the track listing, which could potentially cause confusion, since the original "Radio" track is from the first Command & Conquer game, and "Face The Enemy 1" is a different track in Red Alert.

Track list

Names that differ from the in-game name were provided by Frank Klepacki's website and/or the Red Alert Remaster. Unless specified, the track lengths are based on the in-game playlist. Tracks that normally do not appear in the playlist were enabled through rules.ini to see their length and in-game title.

Soundtrack CD

CD index	Internal name	Name	CD Length	Game Length	Remarks
1	HELL226M	Hell March	06:22	06:15
2	RADIO2	Radio 2	04:02	03:57	Listed on the soundtrack as "Radio".
3	CRUS226M	Crush	03:47	03:42
4	ROLLOUT	Roll Out	03:53	03:47
5	MUD1A	Mud	04:46	04:40
6	TWIN	Twin Cannon	03:54	03:49	Listed in-game as "Twin".
7	FAC2226M	Face the Enemy 2	05:35	05:28	Listed on the soundtrack as "Face the Enemy".
8	RUN1226M	Run for Your Life	05:10	05:12	Listed on the soundtrack as "Run".
9	TERMINAT	Terminate	05:18	05:10
10	BIGF226M	Big Foot	05:14	05:07
11	WORK226M	Workmen	04:34	04:37
12	SCORE	Militant Force	01:49	01:46	The game's score theme. Does not appear in the in-game playlist, but if enabled, shows simply as "Score Theme".
13	DENSE_R	Dense	05:00	04:54
14	VECTOR1A	Vector	04:17	04:12
15	SMSH226M	Smash	04:35	04:32	The soundtrack disc version lasts 08:07, as it is combined with the hidden bonus track "Surf No Mercy" on the same track, with a 20-second pause between the two songs. The German version of the soundtrack has no bonus track, so the track is actually 4:35.
16		Surf No Mercy	03:12		Hidden bonus track; technically part of track 15 on the CD. Does not appear in-game, but its intro is used in the end video of the Giant Ants campaign.

Unlisted tracks

These tracks were not included in the Red Alert soundtrack disc.

Internal name	Name	Length	Remarks
AWAIT	Await	04:19	Not used in the base game due to being misnamed as "AWAIT_R.AUD", but appears properly in Counterstrike and The Aftermath. In the Red Alert remaster, the track's name was changed to "Awaiting".
CREDITS	End Credits Theme	02:43	The game's end credits theme. Does not appear in the in-game playlist. It is called "Reload Fire" on Frank Klepacki's website and in the Remaster.
FAC1226M	Face the Enemy 1	04:31
FOGGER1A	Fogger	04:57
INTRO	Intro Theme	03:25	The theme played on the game's main menu. Does not appear in the in-game playlist.
MAP	Map Selection	01:03	The theme played on the game's mission selection map. Does not appear in the in-game playlist.
SNAKE	Snake	04:37
TREN226M	Trenches	05:12

Counterstrike tracks

Some of these were available as CD audio tracks on the Counterstrike game disc. Note that there is no CD audio track 1; the first track is the game data.

Due to some error, all Counterstrike tracks were listed in the in-game jukebox using their internal name. The real names were provided by Frank Klepacki's website.

CD index	Internal name	Name	Length	Remarks
	2ND_HAND	The Second Hand	04:28
	ARAZOID	Arazoid	04:17	Unused in-game due to the file being misnamed as "ARAZIOD.AUD".
6	BACKSTAB	Backstab	04:38
4	CHAOS2	Chaos	04:10
3	SHUT_IT	Shut It	04:21
	TWINMIX1	Twin Cannon Remix	03:42
	UNDER3	Underlying Thoughts	04:06
5	VR2	Voice Rhythm 2	04:15	There is an error in this track (both the CD and in-game versions) at 3:47. A corrected version appeared on Frank Klepacki's website, and later in the Remastered Collection.
2		Radio 2 Remix	03:35	Appears as CD audio track on the CD, but does not exist in-game. It appeared later in Sole Survivor and Red Alert: Retaliation.

Aftermath tracks

None of the tracks from The Aftermath appear as CD audio tracks on the Aftermath game disc, due to the disc (most likely accidentally) containing the same CD audio tracks as Counterstrike.

Internal name	Name	Length	Remarks
BOG	Bog	03:32
FLOAT_V2	Floating	04:34
GLOOM	Gloom	03:56
GRNDWIRE	Groundwire	03:48
RPT	Running Through Pipes	04:35	Listed in-game as "Mech Man 2", probably due to it using the "I am a mechanical man" clip from the C&C1 track. Peculiarly, the filename has the order of the acronym wrong; it should be "RTP".
SEARCH	The Search	04:36	Listed in-game as "Search"
TRACTION	Traction	03:57
WASTELND	Wasteland	04:02

Retaliation tracks

The Red Alert: Retaliation soundtrack consists of a mix of standard tracks from Red Alert and its expansions, and some new remixes that also appeared in Sole Survivor. The tracks did not have names in the Retaliation release, just numbers from 1 to 13. Somehow, a lot of the tracks in this release were given incorrect names by fans, and those names kept circulating in the fandom. The origin of these names is unknown, but since the game itself contains only numbers, they are irrelevant and not mentioned here.

Track Number	Name	Length	PC appearance	Remarks
	Hell March Remix	03:29	Sole Survivor	Acts as main menu and mission selection map theme.
	Militant Force	01:48	Red Alert	Acts as credits theme.
	Radio 2 Remix	03:30	Sole Survivor	Acts as score theme. Also appears as CD audio track on the Counterstrike CD.
01	The Second Hand	04:37	Counterstrike
02	Backstab	04:47	Counterstrike
03	Chaos	04:13	Counterstrike
04	Crush Remix	03:40	Sole Survivor
05	No Mercy Remix	03:30	Sole Survivor
06	Mud Remix	04:45	Sole Survivor
07	Running Through Pipes	04:36	The Aftermath
08	The Search	04:37	The Aftermath
09	Shut It	04:27	Counterstrike
10	Traction	03:58	The Aftermath
11	Voice Rhythm 2	04:20	Counterstrike	This track has the same error at 3:47 as the PC version. A corrected version appeared on Frank Klepacki's website, and later in the Remastered Collection.
12	Wasteland	04:03	The Aftermath
13	Workmen Remix	03:25	Sole Survivor

Cut tracks

Most of these tracks are only known to exist thanks to the Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Remastered bonus gallery. All of them were included in the Remaster release, and on its soundtrack.

Name	Length	Cut from	First public appearance	Remaster bonus gallery info
Concrete	03:58	The Aftermath	Red Alert - Remastered	This is a previously unreleased track never heard before, which was written during development of the Red Alert expansion Aftermath. Likely not considered as strong as the others that made the cut, but still has a funky edge along with those classic 90s sounds.
Hell March (Original Demo)	03:38	Red Alert	A shortened version of this track was used in trailers of the game.	Previously unreleased, this is in fact the historic original first demo that Frank created for the song Hell March. While pretty complete, the biggest difference is in the guitar tone, which is very similar to previous C&C songs like Demolition. This dates the track to before Frank acquired the Paul Reed Smith/Mesa Boogie guitar tone he would use for the rest of Westwood’s titles moving forward. But this version was only heard in one of the earliest Red Alert trailers before getting replaced with the updated guitar tone and better mix.
Journey	03:41	Counterstrike	Jukebox on Frank Klepacki's website	A moody gem that Frank unearthed a while ago, which was written during development of the Red Alert expansion, Counterstrike. An atmospheric track that was very much in line with others like it in the series, either it was rejected, or there wasn’t room on the disc.
The Plan	03:16	The Aftermath	Red Alert - Remastered	This is a previously unreleased track never heard before, which was written during development of the Red Alert expansion Aftermath. Likely not considered as strong as the others that made the cut, but still grooves with a bit of that 90’s euro style thrown in.
The Truth Is A Lie	03:32	Red Alert	Red Alert - Remastered	This is a previously unreleased track never heard before, which was another early demo for Red Alert before a final music direction was decided. Continuing in Frank’s experiments with 1950’s era sci-fi b-movie soundtracks, the idea was to put that kind of sound to a hip-hop beat and bassline. Frank composed the orchestra piece first, and then recorded the mix through a low-fi filter effect to make it sound like it was an old recording. The beat and bassline was added afterward.

Disc releases

The original Red Alert tracks were released on a CD in 1996, bundled with the Collector's Pack in Europe and the Domination Pack in North America. It was also available for purchase through the Westwood.com store.

Second soundtrack disc (Germany only)

In the German equivalent of the Special Edition, the soundtrack was released as two discs. The first disc is identical to the normal game soundtrack, with the exception that the bonus track is missing from the end of the Smash track. The second soundtrack disc is a compilation of commercial songs by various artists. Cobalt 60 released a special single called Crush, which itself was a remix of the track Crush from the game, and distributed 1000 copies among local DJs.

Crush track by Cobalt 60

The tracks include:

1. Cobalt 60 – Crush (Command & Conquer Mix)
2. Revolter – Full Screen Horror
3. 16 Volt – Two Wires Thin
4. Laibach – God is God
5. OOMPH! – I.N.R.I. vs. Jahwe
6. Project Pitchfork – 2069 AD
7. The Prodigy – Breathe
8. Machines of Loving Grace – Richest Junkie Still Alive
9. Ugly Mustard – Twist and Shake
10. Strapping Young Lad – Spirituality
11. Girls Under Glass – Burning Eyes
12. Psykosonik – Ride
13. Violent Vision – Pleasure of Sin (Remix)

Remastered Soundtrack

In the large physical box edition of the Remastered Collection, discs 3, 4 and 5 were labelled as being the Red Alert soundtrack. In the files on the tiberium crystal shaped usb flash drive included in both physical releases, they are called "Command & Conquer Red Alert (Original Soundtrack) [Remastered] Disc 1" to "Disc 3".

These discs contain all tracks made for the game, including the Retaliation remixes and the other cut tracks listed above.

The full overview of these discs can be found at Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection soundtrack#Command & Conquer: Red Alert

References

Command & Conquer music

OST lists Command & Conquer (1995) Red Alert Tiberian Sun Red Alert 2 Renegade Generals Tiberium Wars Red Alert 3 TIBERIUM (unreleased) Tiberian Twilight Command & Conquer (2013) (unreleased) Rivals Remastered Collection Composers Bill Brown Jason Graves James Hannigan Steve Jablonsky Frank Klepacki Jarrid Mendelson Trevor Morris Mikael Sandgren Timothy Michael Wynn Other Hell March Destructible Times Two Tribes Soviet March Yuriko's Theme All the soundtrack lists include tracks that were excluded from official OST discs and expansion-only tracks