A new tribute album from Ro Panuganti appears.

Guitarist and video game cover artist Ro Panuganti has just released another tribute album, this time the music from the Pokémon Red and Blue role-playing games have been reinterpreted with a progressive metal approach.

Metal Trainer comprises nine tracks of Pokémon covers – ranging from high-tempo thrashers such as “A Wild Encounter” and “Pokémon Mansion” to the slower and more melodic tracks like “Pokémon Hospital” and “Cerulean”.

“Metal Trainer was started as a simpler, more traditional rock album that people could enjoy hearing live and playing on the go, or working out,” explained Panuganti via a press release. “I quickly got pulled in the nostalgia of those first Pokémon games, and realised that I had to keep things more progressive rock and metal to properly capture that epic journey.”

The album is available for purchase from digital outlets such as Bandcamp, Google Play, and iTunes. Metal Trainer can also be streamed from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Napster, Spotify, and TIDAL.

“Some of my proudest arranging happened for ‘Lavender,’ where most of my ideas came when I just had my guitar in a room with no computer,” the composer said. “I played with how that song should go in a story, and eventually wrote some of my proudest, spookiest music yet.

“I hope that [listeners] feel that innocent charm of Pokémon’s city anthems, that fire in your belly from wanting to beat the intimidating gym leaders, and those ghostly chills that came from traversing Lavender Town.”

Panuganti’s other works include The Temples: Music from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Wild: Music from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, two tribute albums inspired by The Legend of Zelda games released in 2018 and 2017, respectively.