Crush 40 is a hard rock band consisting of Japanese guitarist and composer Jun Senoue and American vocalist Johnny Gioeli. The band produced most soundtracks for the Sonic the Hedgehog series in the 2000s.
Senoue has been employed by Sega as a composer since 1993. While preparing music for Sonic Adventure (1998), he contacted Gioeli to perform the theme song, "Open Your Heart". They also recorded the soundtrack for NASCAR Arcade under the name Sons of Angels, which was released in Japan as the album Thrill of the Feel (2000). Senoue and Gioeli continued recording music for Sonic games and their own projects.
Crush 40 has released two studio albums, two live albums, two compilations, an EP, and individual tracks, mostly under Sega's Wave Master label. Their style of hard rock, considered by some to be a continuation of glam rock, has created a legacy with Sonic fans.
History
Formation, Thrill of the Feel, and Crush 40
After graduating from college, Jun Senoue was hired by Sega in 1993 to compose music for video games. His first project in the Sonic the Hedgehog series was Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994), and he also contributed to Dark Wizard, Sonic 3D Blast, and Sega Rally 2. For Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition, Senoue worked with Eric Martin of Mr. Big to record the main theme, "Sons of Angels". Senoue said he brought a rock music feel to the games he worked on, including the Sonic the Hedgehog series, because he is a "rock guy". According to Gioeli, Senoue was a fan of Gioeli's band Hardline and connected with him via Doug Aldrich, the guitarist for Whitesnake. After making the track, the two stayed in contact,
During the development of Sonic Adventure 2, Senoue and Gioeli reunited to record the title track, "Live & Learn". As Shibata and Homma were busy performing with Loudness and later Anthem, was brought in to play bass, and Katsuji Kirita from Gargoyle and the Cro-Magnons played drums. According to Vice, "Live & Learn" is one of Gioeli's favorite songs. Senoue recorded the intro to the song for the game's trial edition; he worked on the rest of the arrangement later and completed it within one day. He then sent a demo to Gioeli to record his vocals. When asked why he chose "Crush 40", Senoue said, "When we had to pick one, we chose the word we like... 'Crush' is one of them, and Johnny added the number. Crush is the name of the soda too... that's my favorite!" Gioeli added that his inspiration for the title was a desire to "crush" his forties, which he was approaching at the time. The album contained the vocal tracks from NASCAR Arcade, Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
Recordings for Sega and The Best of Crush 40: Super Sonic Songs
In 2003, Crush 40 composed two new songs entitled "Sonic Heroes" and "What I'm Made Of..." for Sega's Sonic Heroes, the first multiplatform Sonic game. For Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005, Crush 40 recorded "I Am... All of Me", as well as "Never Turn Back". Additionally, Crush 40 recorded covers of songs used in 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic Riders and Zero Gravity, and Sonic CD. The band also recorded five original songs and a cover for Sonic and the Black Knight. A year later, Senoue revealed to Famitsu that Crush 40 had two albums in the works, including a best-of album, due for release in September 2009. He also announced the release of future songs that were not written for video games. The Best of Crush 40 – Super Sonic Songs was released on November 18, 2009. In addition to compiling various Crush 40 songs from previous games, the album featured a new song, "Is It You", and a cover of "Fire Woman", a 1989 song by the Cult.
Rise Again, Live!, 2 Nights 2 Remember, and Driving Through Forever
alt=Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue performing live to a crowd|thumb|Crush 40 performing in Tokyo in 2012
After the 2010 release of Sonic Free Riders, Crush 40's contributions to Sonic the Hedgehog decreased. During the next few years, Crush 40 made more live performances and recordings. pays tribute to Crush 40's fans with numerous references to the band's past songs. From this concert, performed with Taneda and Kawamura, Crush 40's first live album Live! was recorded, and was released on October 3, 2012. The band also performed at the St. Louis Sonic Boom Festival in August 2013, and performed additional shows at the Summer of Sonic convention in 2012 and 2016, and San Diego Comic-Con conventions in 2016 and 2017. The concert featured two new songs, as well as a performance of Hardline's "Love Leads the Way".
In 2018, Senoue was named lead composer for the soundtrack for Team Sonic Racing. Crush 40's first Sonic game theme in several years. Senoue expressed his joy at being able to record another game theme with Crush 40, On June 23, 2021, Sega held the Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony with Crush 40 as one of the participating acts.
In February 2024, following the use of its instrumental in a teaser, Gioeli confirmed that "Live & Learn" would be featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He said that how the song is used is ultimately up to producers. The song was ultimately used in the movie's climax and its riffs were used as a leitmotif for the character of Shadow. In December 2024, Gioeli sued Sega of America, claiming ownership of the master recording and co-ownership of the composition of "Live & Learn." Gioeli demanded $1 million in damages and restitution for the song's unauthorized use in more than two dozen subsequent releases, including ports of Sonic Adventure 2 and the Japanese version of the Sonic X anime. On August 28, 2025, the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in favor of Sega. On September 22, 2025, Gioeli publicly revealed the outcome on social media.
Musical style and legacy
According to Allegra Frank and Philip Kollar of Polygon, Crush 40 and Senoue have made "some of the most memorable butt rock tracks from Sonic history (and the history of video games in general)". In Vice, Andy McDonald wrote that Crush 40 helped to keep glam rock alive after grunge had supplanted it as a more popular style of rock music. Senoue has stated that the tempo of each song written for a game is based on how it is planned to be used and what would be suitable, but those songs not for a game are what the duo want to perform.
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Games
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Game
!Song(s)
!
|-
|1998
|Sonic Adventure
|
- "Open Your Heart"
|
|-
|2008
|Super Smash Bros. Brawl
|
- "Open Your Heart"
- "Live & Learn"
- "Sonic Heroes"
|
|-
|2009
|Sonic and the Black Knight
|
- "Knight of the Wind"
- "Live Life"
- "Fight the Knight"
- "Through the Fire"
- "With Me"
- "Seven Rings in Hand"
|
|-
|2010
|Sonic Free Riders
|
- "Free"
|
|-
|2011
|Sonic Generations
|
- "Open Your Heart" (Crush 40 vs. Circuit Freq remix)
|
|-
|2014
|Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
| rowspan="2" |
- "Open Your Heart"
- "Live & Learn"
- "Sonic Heroes"
- "Knight of the Wind"
|
|-
|2018
|Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
|
|-
|2019
|Team Sonic Racing
|
- "Green Light Ride"
|
|-
|2024
|Shadow Generations
|
- "Boss Battle: Metal Overlord (What I'm Made Of...)"
- "Boss Battle: Neo Devil Doom (All Hail Shadow - Symphonic ver.)"
|
|}