|
|
Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII: Redemption - Gackt :: Review by Totz
OverviewPretty much every big Square Enix game of the past few years has had a theme song. Final Fantasy VIII had Faye Wong's "Eyes on Me," Final Fantasy IX had Emiko Shiratori's "Melodies of Life," Final Fantasy X had Rikki's "Suteki Da Ne," and so on, so forth with the Kingdom Hearts series, Grandia III, and much more all following the trend. So it would be impossible for Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII, perhaps the biggest game in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series not to have some sort of theme song. In fact, not only does it have one, but it has TWO, although since the single is named after one of them, that should be the important one. Anyway, the artist chosen for the job was Gackt, Japan's favourite almost 500-year old vampire. He has had a somewhat long history of rock songs, so it's no wonder both are written in that style. BodyI'll review the other way around because that's just who I am. Crazy like a vampire, but cunning like a fox! Track two, "LONGING," is the weirdest of the two, with the use of strange electronic noises to accompany the band and Gackt's vocal line, superb as usual. Speaking of which, his singing sounds like it's being muffled by something, except on the chorus. But if you thought that was as weird as it gets, you're wrong. Towards the 2:25 mark, all the rocking takes a backseat to an organ, strings and even female shouts! Creativity ran rampart on this one, it seems. In my twenty years of existence, never have I thought an organ would come to mind when I think about a longing feeling. Never, ever. Also, I thought the guitar riffs were awesome, so kudos to his band as well. "REDEMPTION," however, is more my kind of music. It's, well, more 'normal' than "LONGING," but that's what not makes the song better in my opinion. It's a very good example of how less is more: instead of having crazy sections like the ones in the previous composition, it sticks to being a regular rock track, which is not a bad thing at all. It's straight up J-Rock, which could be what you were expecting from Gackt. That's what I had in mind, and my expectations were fulfilled, that's for sure. The other two tracks of the album are simply karaoke versions of "REDEMPTION" and "LONGING," so you can faux-sing or try to imitate Gackt, or whatever. Some people like it, some don't. I don't, but that's because singing isn't really my forte, so to speak. To be honest, speaking isn't that a strong trait of mine, because people are alwayscomplainingIspeaktoofastandtheycan'tunderstandme. SummaryVampire boy did a wonderful job with both songs, each exploring a different side (maybe even feeling) of Vincent's quest to redeem himself after what happened to his love, Lucrecia, way back when, even before the happenings of Final Fantasy VII. Still, I wish I was a bit more familiarized with his works (both his Malice Mizer and GacktJOB eras) as to compare them with these two songs. Nevertheless, this single is fantastic, but it's very short. With only 2 original tracks, I'm not sure I could recommend this as a purchase for the casual fan. But chances are if you were mildly interested in this album, you're not Joe VGM Buyer. Percentage Overall Score: 90% |
|||||||||||||||
 |
