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Castlevania Order of Ecclesia Music Sampler (US) :: Review by Mac_Tear
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Album Title: | Castlevania Order of Ecclesia Music Sampler (US) |
| Record Label: | Konami Style | |
| Catalog No.: | Promotional | |
| Release Date: | October 23, 2008 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
This is a bonus sampler for US gamers who pre-ordered the game from retailers Amazon, Gamestop, and Gamecrazy. It contains six tracks — five original and one arranged — from the original score. The full soundtrack released two days after with limited edition versions of the game in Japan. How does this sampler fare?
Body
The game's main theme "An Empty Tome" was the first music piece heard from this project when the first trailer appeared and was obviously composed by Michiru Yamane. She uses her repartoire of catchy string melodies together with electronic effects and percussion in similar manner to Lament of Innocence. The track is short, but highly memorable and serves as an good opener for the game. The next track "Edge of the Sky" is a stage theme in typical Castlevania manner. The use of high-pitched strings and Baroque harpsichord passages is an interesting feature here, but sadly the repeating bass line is somewhat irritating. I wouldn't call this piece a favorite of mine because it's rather repetitive, even with acceptable developement, but it's not bad either.
"Sorrow's Distortion" introduces us into the battle music from Order of Ecclesia with a traditional rock styled theme and use of organ and electric guitar. I really like the fast-paced rhythm here together with it's frantic melodies. The use of synth in the middle section reminds me a bit of prog gem Motoi Sakuraba. It's an enjoyable and somewhat refreshing piece of music thus far. The following track "Ebony Wings" is one my favorites from this score. It features a similar style than the previous track, only a bit more focused on an equal-paced rhythm and melody, which is performed mostly by gothic organ and strings. I like the use of electronic effects at the end as this shows the character of experimenting within. A definitely "traditional" piece which fits the gameplay very well.
"Order of the Demon", presumably one of the final battle themes, is one of Yamane's efforts to compose an dramatic battle theme with usual frantic and distorted melodies. However, it falls short a little in my opinion. These kind of tracks were never a strong point of her compositions. It may work during the context of the game, but I wouldn't recommend to listen to this one on the score itself. The last track on the disc is an fully arranged track of another stage theme from the score. "Wandering the Crystal Blue" has a smooth and dreamy melody performed by piano, strings, and bells together with low-key percussion. It reflects the atmosphere of water very well and the arrangement of the strings is nicely done here. My only complaint is that the actual track is much too short with only one loop. Just as the listener gets in the mood, the theme fades out, which is quite a shame. I hope that the official soundtrack features an extended version of this, because it is a really nice track.
Summary
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia's promotional soundtrack features six average tracks with the series' typical rock, orchestra, and electronica use. The overall atmosphere is very reminiscent to the first DS episode Dawn of Sorrow and makes the listener want more from this soundtrack. I'm somewhat satisfied with the tracks and will throw my hands on the album review for the full score once it arrives. Stay tuned.
