Honestly, if you grew up in the 90s, your brain is probably hard-wired to scream "MORTAL KOMBAT!" at the slightest hint of a synthesizer. It’s a reflex. But most people think that iconic yell started with the 1995 movie.
They’re wrong.
The real source of that pulse-pounding energy—and the legendary "Techno Syndrome" track—actually traces back to Mortal Kombat The Album, a bizarre, glorious, and deeply campy piece of history released on May 31, 1994. This wasn't just a soundtrack. It was a full-blown "companion" album released to hype up the home console ports for the Sega CD and Super Nintendo.
And it is absolutely wild.
The Belgian Connection: Lords of Acid and the Tournament
You wouldn’t expect a blood-soaked American arcade game to find its musical soul in Belgium. But that's exactly what happened. The album was the brainchild of The Immortals, which was basically a side project for Maurice Engelen (better known as Praga Khan) and Olivier Adams.
If those names sound familiar, it’s because they were the masterminds behind the industrial-techno outfit Lords of Acid.
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They weren't looking to make high art. They were tasked by Midway and Virgin to create a "Mortal Monday" hype machine. They took the raw, digitized aesthetic of the game and smashed it into the Eurodance and Techno scenes that were exploding across Europe at the time. The result was ten tracks of high-bpm madness that somehow turned into the definitive sound of the franchise.
Every Character Had a "Theme Song" (And They Were Hilarious)
Most people only know the main theme. If you actually sit down with the full version of Mortal Kombat The Album, you’re treated to a tracklist where every single playable character from the original game gets their own musical spotlight.
It’s basically a techno-opera with zero self-awareness.
Take "Sub-Zero (Chinese Ninja Warrior)." The lyrics are legendary for being both Factually Accurate™ and incredibly cheesy. A guy with a gravelly voice yells about him being a "warrior with a... MASK!" while the beat sounds like something you'd hear at a rave in a damp basement in 1993.
Then there’s "Liu Kang (Born in China)." It starts with delicate bells—a classic trope—before launching into a list of his biographical stats. "The youngest, and also the fastest warrior in the tournament." It’s basically a Wikipedia entry set to a 140 BPM beat.
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- Johnny Cage (Prepare Yourself): A track that unironically encourages you to use a "split punch to make 'em cry."
- Sonya (Go Go Go): Features the lyric "I'm the coolest chick in the USA," which is peak 90s girl-power energy.
- Rayden (Eternal Life): Notable because they spelled it with a "y" on the album, reflecting the name change used in the home console versions to avoid legal issues with another game called Raiden.
The standout for sheer weirdness has to be "Goro (The Outworld Prince)." It begins with a spoken-word intro describing Goro as being from a "distant planet." Back then, the lore wasn't as concrete as it is now. The idea of Outworld was still a bit hazy, so they just leaned into the "eight feet tall with four arms of terror" angle. It works.
The "Techno Syndrome" Mystery
We have to talk about Track 5. This is the big one. "Techno Syndrome" is the song that redefined how we think about video game music.
Interestingly, it wasn't even new when the album dropped in '94. It had been released as a single in 1993. When the 1995 movie came around, they didn't need to commission a new theme; they just took the best thing The Immortals had ever made and slapped it over the opening credits.
There’s a long-standing debate about how much "Techno Syndrome" borrowed from 2 Unlimited’s "Twilight Zone." If you listen to them side-by-side, the synth lead is... strikingly similar. But The Immortals added the secret sauce: the "Test Your Might" samples and that iconic scream.
That scream, by the way, came from a 1993 commercial for the game's home release. It was just a guy (an actor named Kyle Wyatt) doing a job. He had no idea his voice would become the most recognizable sound in gaming history.
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Why This Album Still Matters in 2026
You might think an album this dated would be forgotten. But it’s the opposite. The "Mortal Kombat" theme is one of the few pieces of game music that crossed over into general pop culture. It’s played at stadiums. It’s in every trailer for the new films and games.
The 2021 film reboot even had Benjamin Wallfisch do a modern orchestral cover of "Techno Syndrome." Why? Because you can’t have Mortal Kombat without that specific four-note synth riff. It’s DNA.
The album also marked a shift in how gaming companies marketed their products. It was one of the first times a Western game got a dedicated "inspired by" album that wasn't just a collection of midi files from the soundboard. It paved the way for the massive, multi-platinum soundtracks we see today for games like Grand Theft Auto or Cyberpunk 2077.
How to Experience it Now
If you want to dive back into this fever dream, you have a few options. It’s not always the easiest thing to find on major streaming services due to licensing tangles between Virgin, TVT, and the current rights holders, but it’s widely available on YouTube and secondary markets like Discogs.
- Listen for the "Rayden" spelling: It’s a fun piece of trivia to point out to friends who only know the modern "Raiden" spelling.
- Check out the "Hypnotic House" remix: It’s the final track on the album and was used in the Sega CD intro. It’s a slower, moodier version of the main theme that highlights the Lords of Acid influence.
- Appreciate the Goro track: Seriously, the percussion in that song is surprisingly dark and heavy for a 1994 techno record.
Next time you’re playing the latest MK entry, put on "Sub-Zero (Chinese Ninja Warrior)" in the background. It’s the perfect blend of nostalgia and high-octane absurdity that reminds us why we fell in love with this franchise in the first place.