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Brandish The Dark Revenant Original Soundtrack :: Review by Bryan
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Album Title: | Brandish The Dark Revenant Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: | Nihon Falcom | |
| Catalog No.: | NW10102800 | |
| Release Date: | March 19, 2009 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
Brandish is a series I don't have a whole lot of experience with, other than a few listens to an old SPC set. So when I obtained the newly arranged soundtrack to the original game, I didn't really know what to expect. There isn't an easy way to describe this one, as the album varies so much. I'll get to that later on though. The biggest thing to note here is how Falcom Sound Team J.D.K. seems to intermix all of their past styles here making this perhaps the most diverse work from them to date. Read on for the details!
Body
If the first two tracks are any indication of what is to come, everyone should be very pleased. The first piece, "Tradition", is an epic orchestration of the main theme mixed with violin solos and bombast brass sections. The next track, the short version of the opening theme, throws everything established in the first track out the back door. This piece focuses heavily on a screaming rock motif with the violin being the only instrument tying the two tracks together. Many will find it comparable to Ys Origin's acclaimed "Genesis Beyond the Beginning". It may sound like a huge clash in style, but it is made up for in substance. Both pieces fit together great!
I don't want to talk about every track in order, but I do need to mention the next two tracks as well. "Ruins" seems to take from their Zwei style, as it sounds identical to something heard from Yasunori Mitsuda. It has a very ethereal sound, with a tribal beat holding consistant throughout the entire piece. A very inspired arrangement of a classic theme. The arrangement of "Shop" could fit the same bill. It focuses mostly on the piano melody, with the same ethereal synth covering the harmony. We do get a section of celtic flute, which only further enhances my beliefs that this album is a collective representation of the majority of Falcom's more recent works.
My favorite track on the album, which also happens to be the final boss theme, brings back the full orchestra and some really cool sounding acoustic guitar segments. "Gadobistelle" sounds like its coming straight from a concert hall. The xylophone normally isn't associated with intensity, but here they do a marvelous job incorporating it and making it the focus even when it shouldn't be. Another track worthy of the favorite title is also one of the strangest tracks on here. "Dora Doron" is a creepy jazz piano track, which for some reason came as a shock to me. After all the intensity in the other themes I didn't expect a boss theme to be all piano jazz. Compositionally there isn't anything special about it, but it it a lot of fun!
One thing we don't get to hear enough of from JDK is their electronic side. We do get several pieces here that focus heavily on electronic beats. "Fortress", for examle, doesn't sound much like a fortress at all. What we get is an exciting techno beat with the strings taking care of most of the melody. We get a nice guitar solo as well, changing what seems to be an easygoing pice into something with a bit more intensity. Intensity is a good word to use, as it flows very well into the next boss theme I am going to discuss. "Lobster" Has a much more hectic electronic beat, adding in some crazy progressions and electric guitar. We do need to hear more music like this from Falcom, as they do a very good job of it.
Summary
This album is somewhat difficult to take in. While it isn't the best Falcom album available, it does an amazing job of showing all the styles this long standing music group is capable of. I can't recomend it to everyone though and is an especially imaginative revamp of the classic score. While the tracks I mentioned are very well on their own merits, the unmentioned tracks can be pretty hollow or just plain boring. You might find something I missed though. It's still worth checking out, as the sound team and arranger Yukihiro Jindo still stand very high in my eyes. However, be aware that the album is exclusive with the PSP release of the game in Japan so may never make it overseas.
