Now Listening: Sutra chanting by Keisuke Honryo
Listen to the battle theme for the game Metaphor ReFantazio:
If you think it sounds like a monk rapping, you are not too far from the truth. What you are hearing is Bhuddist sutra chanting by Keisuke Honryo, the Chief Priest of Myojoji Temple. The composer is Shoji Meguro, a veteran of the Shin Megami Tensei/Persona series, and it's one of the most original works of music I've listened to in recent memory.
Researching Honryo, who unsurprusingly for a priest doesn't have a great online presence, I discovered a previous musical project of his: Nam Jazz Experiment
And this clearly explains how Meguro went from the jazz-influenced Persona 5 soundtrack (my personal favourite) to making Honryo's chanting central to the more epic/fantasy sountrack of Metaphor.
One last cool detail: the music in Metaphor ReFantazio is diegetic, the fairy companion to the protagonist makes it magically sound in their ears as motivation. Completely unnecessary but awesome.