Here’s How a Priest Ended up Singing Songs for Metaphor: ReFantazio

In a recent Famitsu interview, Metaphor: ReFantazio Composer Shoji Meguro talked about having an active Buddhist priest sing some of the songs for the game. Chief Priest of Myojoji Temple Keisuke Honryo provided the sutra-like vocals for the battle music found in the game and certain moments. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Honryo appeared as a special guest during the “Road to Metaphor” event prior to the release of the game to perform the main battle theme. Composer Shoji Meguro revealed that, in addition to being a Buddhist priest, Honyo is also a member of the experimental jazz ensemble Nam Jazz Experiment. He performs the sutra vocals for the band.

Meguro said that he approached Honryo after seeing one of the videos where the priest performed with the band. At first, Meguro shared a link of his singing with developers at Atlus, but the team concluded that the best thing to do would be to ask Chief Priest Honryo himself if he could perform some songs for the soundtrack of Metaphor: ReFantazio.

The vocals that Honryo performs are a mix of Esperanto and the language of the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio. Meguro added that he asked Honryo to perform the lyrics of the songs out loud in a rap-like tempo for the recordings. Meguro also prepared a placeholder version of the songs using a synthesizer that could imitate singing prior to recording.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is readily available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. A demo of the game is also available.