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The Black Mages II ~The Skies Above~ :: Forum Review
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Album Title: | The Black Mages II ~The Skies Above~ |
| Record Label: | Universal Music (1st Edition); Square Enix (Reprint) | |
| Catalog No.: | UPCH-1377; SQEX-10111 | |
| Release Date: | December 22, 2004; March 19, 2008 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Written by Chris
After the success of The Black Mages, Michio Okamiya, Tsuyoshi Sekito, Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui, Keiji Kawamori, and Arata Hanyuda decided to team up once more to bring back hard rock to Final Fantasy. The tracklist was a strong one, despite the absence of any Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII arrangements. In addition, the instrumentalist's performances were to be as strong as ever. However, after the hype the album received from Final Fantasy fans and rock fans alike, one major question is left unanswered: Were the arrangements to be as good as anticipated? This review will let you find out...
Track-by-Track Reviews
1) The Rocking Grounds [Final Fantasy III] (Written by Terraguy)
Of course, The Black Mages do the rock style for this piece. For "The Rocking Grounds," which was aptly named, they start out strong. Most of the arrangement is upbeat, and the arrangement has a sort of lower mood. What I mean by that is the arrangement starts major, but switches to a minor-like tone. Of course, in accordance with the original arrangement, this is good, and it greatly influences the awesomeness of the arrangement. A great start to the beginning of what may be a great album. Rock on! (8/10)
2) Zeromus [Final Fantasy IV] (Written by R-Nasty)
Maybe one of the weaker arrangements on the album. It feels a bit like jumbled random music. As battle music, it does well. The small little melody lines on the guitar helps move the passage along, but, in the middle passage, the echoes are not very well done. Plain and not memorable. The rest of the arrangement does have the nice rock and the solo guitar does well. Compared with the rest of the arrangements, this arrangement isn't too original. I commend it for the different melodies, but not for the same kind of playing pattern that it deploys. (6/10)
3) Vamo' Alla Flamenco [Final Fantasy IX] (Written by Terraguy)
"Vamo' Alla Flamenco" is one very original arrangement. With the solo guitar, and the interesting little melody before the beginning, the arrangement is pure goodness. With the original melody, and how a solo guitar is peppered throughout the piece, it creates both the rock feel and the "Flamenco". The rock part is a bit disappointing, since the arrangement was not technically a rock arrangement. It seemed out of place at some points, but The Black Mages did well. However, when the solo guitar comes in and plays remixes of the melody, I am in awe. A very good arrangement that's tried to be made into a very good metallica arrangement. Let's say they almost succeeded. (8/10)
4) Hunter's Chance [Final Fantasy IX] (Written by R-Nasty)
One of my favorite arrangements from Final Fantasy IX is back on the new album by The Black Mages. While not receiving that much of a facelift, it is a arrangement that I still love to listen to. The entire piece is pretty much the same as the arrangement from the game with the exception of guitars — this alone to me made me like it just a little more than the game. I am a huge rock fan and to hear guitars being put into one of my favorite melodies gave me that good warm feeling inside. People might be suprised to hear a piano around the 4 minute mark and, needless to say, I was too, but the sound to it is awesome. My only gripe with this arrangement is that I wish that they would have tried to mix up the sound a little more than they did. At least make an attempt to add a guitar solo or add something new to the arrangement to keep me off balance a little bit. Overall, however, it is a great arrangement and fans of the original should not miss it. (8/10)
5) Otherworld [Final Fantasy X] (Written by Kuranosuke1962)
I'm somewhat torn about this piece. While the original wasn't a favorite of mine exactly, I could appreciate it for what it was. Unfortunately I don't think this arrangement lives up to the original. The edgy feel, grinding guitars, and half-intelligible vocals are gone replaced by distorted guitars, synths and smoother female vocals. On the other hand, if I were to take this by itself, apart from its source material, I'd have to say I really like it. It's catchy, which is something I wouldn't say about the original, the vocals are well done, the instrumentation is tight, the guitar solo, while perhaps a tad generic, is slick. So what it lacks in raw power it makes up for somewhat with being more listenable. Now if it weren't quite so short. (7/10)
6) Matoya's Cave [Final Fantasy I] (Written by Gobbler)
I like this piece a lot. An old favourite from Final Fantasy returns, arranged in a rather unique way. The arrangement is based on the old one played at their live concert. Compared to the old one, this is shorter, with less wandering into unrelated themes (I believe the live concert version was there to give the performers some solo parts to play, showcasing their skills), and it feels much more rounded up. It starts slowly with an acoustic guitar playing some unrelated melody. After that the familiar theme is played twice, first time with an acoustic and second time with an electric guitar. Then things get weirder. Nobuo gives us a nice organ solo playing some blues like theme. After that comes another guitar solo, soon backed up with finishing parts of the original theme. Then the main theme is repeated again, starting with a nice synth, and continued with electric guitars. At the end the acoustic guitar returns and plays some ending chords. This piece makes a nice contrast with the rest of the arrangements, with it blues/jazz like feel, instead of hard rock. Overall, this arrangement is one of the best on this album, and I like it a lot. (9/10)
7) The Man with the Machine Gun [Final Fantasy VIII] (Written by Terraguy)
Well, this is probably one of the easiest to arrange into a rock arrangement, as "The Man with the Machine Gun" was meant to be one, and it was one. The Black Mages' remix of the arrangement adds the needed guitar, and the arrangement is very easily catching. With the keyboards belting out the natural melody, and the guitars swaying that rock mood, you can't get much better than that. I loved how it rocked away, and how the guitars added little side-melodies. The only thing I can say is that the keyboards were a bit too quiet, and the ending was not the strong beat I hoped for and expected. In fact, I thought the ending was wimpy. Yet that is minimal. This awesome arrangement has been finally put into its natural place as hard rock. (9/10)
8) Maybe I'm a Lion [Final Fantasy VIII] (Written by R-Nasty)
By far The Black Mages' best arrangement. It is full of hard rock and metal, rather than general rock. They did an excellent job at making it sound very much like the origional. It gets a little different about two thirds into the arrangement, but then it goes back to the normal tune. Actually, the best part of the arrangement is the keyboard and guitar solos, which is the part that is somewhat different. The electric guitar does an unbelievable job with the extra fast stuff being played. All the aspects above and many more are reason enough to give this amazing arrangement. (10/10)
9) Battle with the Four Fiends [Final Fantasy IV] (Written by Djinova)
The original was already a classic of its time. The question was whether the rock arrangement could surpass the original in terms of atmosphere and intensity. It does. From the low passages at the start to the improvised part around 2:14, everything is filled with more tension and energy, easily defeating the original in those aspects. However, I felt that half of the arrangement wasn't that original. Although little creative parts came in between, the first half is pretty straightforward and the melodic structure bears strong resemblance to its original. Only with the second part came new flair. I especially like how oriental elements are integrated into the arrangement. Also, the fact that this arrangement intensifies again towards the end is remarkable. All in all, the perfect beginning plus the improvised part elevates this arrangement to a highly enjoying listening experience. It's just not the perfect listening experience yet. (9/10)
10) The Skies Above [Final Fantasy X] (Written by Terraguy)
Well, when I first heard this, I was like, "Eh?!?!?!" You see, this arrangement does not start out as a regular rock arrangement. Instead, a solo pianist plays the very familiar "To Zanarkand" theme from Final Fantasy X. While I enjoyed the piano playing, as "To Zanarkand" was very peaceful, I was stunned to find no rock. until 1:40. Then, it immediately rolls in the heavy guitars and the drum set. It creates a huge contrast, maybe even a bit too much, from peace to sharp jolts of rock. The clincher is the vocals. When, at 2:12, the man comes in and starts singing lyrics to "To Zanarkand" in English, you'll wonder why this arrangement has been mutilated. In addition, it switches back to the peaceful synthesized flutes at 4:37 with synth strings along and a lone guitar, before we hit 5:11 and the vocals come back in. However, after listening to it a few times, I actually have to say I like it. Very much. The vocals are actually alright, if you can get used to it, and it adds a touch of ethereality. Plus, the rock part isn't all that bad. Kind of surprising it fits in well, actually. What makes this arrangement a whole lot better, in my humble opinion, is actually the usage of both the lone piano and the synth flutes (though real ones would have been nicer) playing the main theme of "To Zanarkand" and how the rock actually does not totally mutiliate the piece, but creates a sort of undulation between moods. All in all, it might take some getting used to, but once you become accustomed, it all falls into place. Nicely. (9/10)
11) Blue Blast - Winning the Rainbow (Written by R-Nasty)
Well, when I first heard this, I was like, "Eh?!?!?!" You see, this arrangement does not start out as a regular rock arrangement. Instead, a solo pianist plays the very familiar "To Zanarkand" theme from Final Fantasy X. While I enjoyed the piano playing, as "To Zanarkand" was very peaceful, I was stunned to find no rock. until 1:40. Then, it immediately rolls in the heavy guitars and the drum set. It creates a huge contrast, maybe even a bit too much, from peace to sharp jolts of rock. The clincher is the vocals. When, at 2:12, the man comes in and starts singing lyrics to "To Zanarkand" in English, you'll wonder why this arrangement has been mutilated. In addition, it switches back to the peaceful synthesized flutes at 4:37 with synth strings along and a lone guitar, before we hit 5:11 and the vocals come back in. However, after listening to it a few times, I actually have to say I like it. Very much. The vocals are actually alright, if you can get used to it, and it adds a touch of ethereality. Plus, the rock part isn't all that bad. Kind of surprising it fits in well, actually. What makes this arrangement a whole lot better, in my humble opinion, is actually the usage of both the lone piano and the synth flutes (though real ones would have been nicer) playing the main theme of "To Zanarkand" and how the rock actually does not totally mutiliate the piece, but creates a sort of undulation between moods. All in all, it might take some getting used to, but once you become accustomed, it all falls into place. Nicely. (10/10)
Summaries
Written by Calaver
This album sounds much cleaner and more put-together than the first. The replacement of the digital drums with an accoustic set, and studio amping the guitar and bass (microphones on the cabinets instead of direct to the board) gives the band a fuller, more flavored sound. All the instruments stand out beautifully, accoustic and synth, and the overall mix was more balanced. All of the melodies and themes are instantly recognizable, and some of the arrangements give nice, heavy nods to their American-rock influences. In my opinion, none of the arrangements are bad, but some of them have their shortcomings. However, the two that stand out the most to me are "Maybe I'm a Lion" and "Zeromus." These are easily my two favorites of the album. (8/10)
Written by R-Nasty
The second album by The Black Mages turned out to be quite an amazing feat. The first album I loved and I wondered if the new album would reach my expectations. In fact, it became that and much more, every arrangement on the album i thoroughly enjoyed and never become tired of listening too. The most memorable arrangements would be "Maybe I'm a Lion" and "Vamo' alla Flamenco." Every arrangement is a joy to listen to and everything meshes very well together. The guitar solo's are amazing, the keyboard solo's are triumphant, and even the vocals add some distinct originality to the arrangements. Overall the album is wonderful — I enjoyed every aspect of it. Only faulty arrangement on the entire album is "Zeromus," but it isn't that bad at all. Keep up the amazing work — I look forward to the next The Black Mages album. (9/10)
Written by Terraguy
What the first album failed to do, the second album has mostly done. Just like The Black Mages, rock is in essence, and it's not bad either. Most arrangements are enjoyable and pleasing to the ear. Each arrangement, while keeping up the basic guitar and keyboard techniques and the melody of the original piece, has taken that piece into a new and different. Such arrangements like "Maybe I'm a Lion," "Vamo' Alla Flamenco," and "The Man with the Machine Gun" use great remixes and enjoyable guitaring and keyboarding. This, with a new element, also known as vocals, arrangements such as "Otherworld" and "The Skies Above" have truly taken a new direction. The Black Mages ~ The Skies Above is indeed one that did well in the transition from regular instrumentals to vocal and rock. Unfortunately, they continue using similar, and repetitive riffs, and Nobuo and company just might be getting too hard-rockish for my tastes, that is, a bit unsmooth, such as "Zeromus." All in all, however, this is a pretty remarkable album, and an improvement over the first. Hardcore rockers of Final Fantasy, here's your album. (8/10)
