Deluge Dirge

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Splatoon "S" icon.svg
Splatoon 2 "2" icon.svg
Splatoon 3 "3" icon.svg

Surge & Submerge
S3 Band ω-3.png
Artist ω-3
Game Splatoon 2
Splatoon 3
Heard in
Splatoon 2
Salmon Run tutorial
Heard in
Splatoon 3
Salmon Run Next Wave tutorial
Album Splatune 2
Splatune 3
Track list no. 27 (Splatune 2 Disc 1)
22 (Splatune 3 Disc 1)
Audio file

Deluge Dirge
S3 Band ω-3.png
Artist ω-3
Composer Ryo Nagamatsu
The cellist (in-game)
Cello Seigen Tokuzawa
The cellist (in-game)
Timpani The timpani player
DJ The DJ
Game Splatoon 2
Splatoon 3
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Heard in
Splatoon 2
Standard Salmon Run waves
Squid Beatz 2
Heard in
Splatoon 3
Standard Salmon Run waves
Jukebox
Album Splatune 2
Splatune 3
Track list no. 32 (Squid Beatz 2)
28 (Splatune 2 Disc 1)
23 (Splatune 3 Disc 1)
Genre Experimental war march
BPM 142
Key signature D Minor
Time signature 7/8
Length 2:58
Audio file
Now to introduce "Deluge Dirge," a familiar song in Salmon Run.

Listening to it, I somehow feel like I have to go clock in. It's making me nervous...

— Squid Research Lab[1]

Deluge Dirge is a song performed by ω-3.

Description

Deluge Dirge utilises cellos, timpanis and electronic production for a war march-like anthem. The different instruments all follow separate rhythms. It is the standard battle music for Salmon Run matches, replaced only by Frantic Aspic during wildcard rotations or Fishing Frenzy and Frothy Waters during Known Occurrences. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz 2 after first hearing it in a Salmon Run shift, with a maximum score of 117 and 339 in Normal and Hard modes, respectively.

The song starts with a timpani following a war march rhythm, shortly followed by an intense cello's frantic playing of a repeated melody; this melody is in turn followed by various sound effects alongside a separate electronic percussion pattern. After the intro, the cello plays a different melody wherein its bowing has been altered electronically. In the post-intermission verse the instrumentation from the intro is repeated, this time accompanied by an additional layer of electronic instrumentation. The cello peaks with high notes, leading into the chorus, which begins with drawn out blares from an electronic instrument alongside a filtered, lower-pitch variant of the cello's melody. The chorus picks up with additional harmonies added to the electronic instrument, which now simulates a warning siren or horn. After the chorus, the intro melody is repeated, now with added harmonic layers of additional cellos, timpanis, and further electronic percussion, creating a very chaotic atmosphere. After this intense verse, the song loops from the start.

See also: Deluge Dirge

This song is also featured as an unlockable track in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It has a chance of playing on Moray Towers, and can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Remixes and covers

Surge & Submerge

A version of the track serves as the tutorial music for Salmon Run in both Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3. It features no timpani instrumentation whatsoever, while the cello melody is plucked rather than bowed, although the electronically made production remains mostly the same. This version appeared as a separate song in Splatune 2 under the name 膏肓 (Kōkō) before it received a localized English name in 2022.

This version of the song lacks the initial timpani intro, instead beginning with a plucked cello playing the central melody. The same electronic percussion present in the original follows as usual, though the associated layer of odd sound effects is absent. In the post-intro intermission verse the cello plucking notably skips a few notes, and the chorus lacks the horn-like instrument. The progression of the song is otherwise the exact same; The lack of timpani and altered cello instrumentation makes the song notably laxer, but its odd rhythm and ominous nature remain. Between loops, the cello melody adds a few improvised notes.

Artists

Etymology

Deluge Dirge

'Deluge' refers to a severe flood, referencing both the flooding of the stages in Salmon Run, and also the large waves of Salmonids could be seen as a flood. 'Dirge' is a solemn song or poem associated with mourning, often connected to traditions carried out at funerals; this could refer to the mass defeat of Salmonids in Salmon Run matches.

Surge & Submerge

Similarly, 'Surge' can also refer to flooding or simply the swells and heaves of the sea, and 'Submerge' (to sink or plunge, especially into liquid) could refer to the aquatic nature of Salmonids or the ink-swimming nature of the Inklings and Octolings combating them. The title Surge & Submerge also rhymes with Deluge Dirge, partially echoing a similar convention with the Japanese track names (see below).

Names in other languages

Deluge Dirge
Language Name Meaning
Japan Japanese 囂々
Gōgō
Clamor
Surge & Submerge
Language Name Meaning
Japan Japanese 膏肓
Kōkō
Vital organs[a]

Translation notes

  1. 病膏肓に入る Yamai kōkō ni hairu is an idiom meaning "a disease that metastasized to vital organs" and "hopelessly addicted or enslaved". May also be a phonetic play on the voiceless K and voiced G, as the tutorial theme is the unvoiced or muted version of Deluge Dirge.

References