Dark Machine soundtrack sets December release with Sugizo score
Sugizo’s first anime score arrives in December with 40 tracks, theme songs and a mecha-led jacket designed by Hidetaka Tenjin.
The original soundtrack for Dark Machine: The Animation will be released on 9 December, bringing together the series’ score by Sugizo, its theme songs and 40 tracks from the near-future e-sports anime. The album will arrive on two CDs and a two-record LP, with digital services following on the same date. 1
Sugizo, known for his work with Luna Sea, X Japan and his own bands, is making his first anime-composition project with Dark Machine. The official announcement describes a dark, weighty sound built with a broad group of collaborators, including MaZDA, Ubar-Tumar, ATOLS, Jiluka guitarist Sena and musicians from Shag and Creature Creature. 1
The two-CD edition includes the soundtrack’s original score alongside TV-sized versions of the opening theme “Sonzai Riyu Kai” by BUCK∞TICK and the ending theme “Galaxy Mode” by Sandaime J Soul Brothers. It also includes “Pitch Black”, performed by the in-universe idol group Stellatus and written by Taku Inoue, with vocals from the characters Aluk, Spica and Denebola. 12
The standard two-CD release, catalogued as VTCL-60711–60712, costs ¥4,400 in Japan. The two-LP edition, VTJL-63–64, costs ¥6,600, while a limited Victor Online Store bundle adds a record bag to the CD and LP sets for ¥13,200. “Pitch Black” is scheduled to reach streaming services on 11 November, ahead of the full album. 1
FlyingDog’s official product page shows the soundtrack jacket: a stark, white-lined mecha illustration by Hidetaka Tenjin, who also serves as Dark Machine’s mecha designer and is known for work on Macross and Gundam. 2 The artwork fits the project’s collision of anime, competitive gaming and industrial science fiction far better than a generic music image would.
Our opinion
This is a more substantial soundtrack announcement than a simple release-date notice. Forty tracks give Sugizo’s first anime score room to establish Dark Machine as a world rather than a backdrop, while the CD-and-LP format makes the release feel deliberately tied to the project’s physical, collector-friendly identity. The useful test will be whether the full album gives the series’ e-sports drama a musical personality that survives outside the show; the track list suggests it has the range to try.
The soundtrack launches on 9 December 2026 across physical and digital formats, with “Pitch Black” arriving earlier on 11 November.
- The soundtrack is scheduled for 9 December 2026.
- Sugizo composed the score.
- The release includes 40 tracks across two CDs, with a two-LP edition also planned.