Ambient

Game Music, Reviews

The Soundtrack Of Our (Undead, Communist) Lives: You Are Empty Original Soundtrack (Review)

February 20, 2009 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Here at OSV, and at many VGM-centric sites in this vast Internet, the most focus is put on American and Japanese composers. After all, the majority of games come from these two places. But it’s important to remember that games, and their soundtracks, can come from anywhere. And, sometimes, we are pleasantly surprised by what we find.

Such is the case for the soundtrack to the Russian-developed FPS You Are Empty, composed by Dimitriy Dyachenko. Though the critical reception for the game itself was quite poor, the potential of the plot and concept was most definitely met through Dyachenko’s eerie and effective score.

After the jump, our full review of the You Are Empty Original Soundtrack. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Under a Dark Halo: The Brooding Sounds Of The Halo Wars Original Soundtrack (Review)

February 16, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Get ready for something different. The Halo series thus far has seen somewhat of an evolution in its aural landscape from the rock-oriented Halo 2 soundtrack to the beautiful orchestral/ambient masterpiece that was the Halo 3 soundtrack. However, just as Halo Wars intends to take the franchise in a new direction with its real-time strategy gameplay, Halo Wars composer Stephen Rippy intends to do the same with the title’s music.

While the previously mentioned orchestral music is not entirely absent (the FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague are featured), you’re going to find the majority of the score is centered on an electronic ambient style, and I’ll tell you right now that it sounds absolutely amazing. This doesn’t mean you won’t hear some familiar themes weaved throughout the score though. Along with the single-disc soundtrack, there’s also a bonus DVD packed with extras, so make sure you don’t miss out.

Read our detailed impressions of the Halo Wars Original Soundtrack after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Silent Hill Homecoming Soundtrack Review and Contest: We Were Right!

January 23, 2009 | J.P. Arevalo | 8 Comments Share this

Frequent readers of OSV might remember our Silent Hill: Homecoming interview with Akira Yamaoka and our question about a possible soundtrack release. Since Yamaoka had mentioned that the soundtrack would be out along with the game in September in the United States, and since the game came and went with no word on a soundtrack release, we thought we might have had a misinterpretation on our hands.

But!

At the end of November, Gamestop stores around the country started receiving boxes of the soundtrack as a promotional bonus. A little late, but still very welcome! So, if you bought Silent Hill: Homecoming in the past, you may want to go bug your local game retailer for a copy before they end up as eBay fodder a year down the line.

This is, of course, great news for any Silent Hill or Akira Yamaoka fans. To celebrate the fact that we were right all along while you called us liars and slung mud at our faces, OSV is giving away its spare copy the promotional soundtrack!

Hit the jump for details on how to enter and to read our brief review. (more…)
Game Music

Interview with Moon Composer Gareth Vilday, A Man With Great Taste And A Cool Name

January 8, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 6 Comments Share this

You likely haven’t heard of Gareth Vilday, but hopefully that will change with the release of Moon on the DS. We’ve posted about the music featured in the title’s trailers, and the blend of ambient and 80s synth pop really impressed me. Even more? Vilday is a Jean Michel-Jarre fan, so he’s automatically cool in my book.

With Moon due out this month, and approximatley 45 minutes of music to be heard, we’ll know soon if the rest of the score lives up to what we heard in the trailers. Until then, check out our interview with Gareth Vilday about his inspirations and newfound career in game music. Sounds like he’s found himself in a pretty sweet situation if you ask me!

Hit the jump for our interview from the moon. (more…)
Demoscene

Sylvanwood EP: Generic Forest Music Released On Mephtik Netlabel

January 6, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Yes, it’s that time again. Mephtik Netlabel has put out its sixth release, and to even further the shameless self-promotion of my netlabel, this one comes from me (with love)! Titled Sylvanwood EP, and released under my Arcubalis alias, the EP is a 4-track collection of tunes from the last few years that sort of fit together with a loose “forest” theme.

The first track is actually co-written by my fellow Italian and friend Matthew “Blisaed” Centonze, who’s an amazing ambient artist. He wrote the first thirty seconds or so and I expanded upon it to its full length. “Shadow’s End Glade” is my (poor) stab at Yasunori Mitsuda’s style, which you may notice from the track’s title, which refers to “Shadow’s End Forest” from Chrono Cross. “Tree of Holy White Light” is a brooding track with an epic melody, and “Sunlit Vista” is an attempt to write some serious ambient music. As always, it’s downloadable for free, so why not? I’d love to hear what you guys think!

Oh, and I guess I should mention the artwork that I borrowed from weiweihua on deviantART. While I tried to secure permission to use it via his (her?) email and blog, I never got a response. Hope this link makes up for it. The full piece, titled “the Forest church 2,” is a really beautiful image.

Have you been downloading any of the music I’ve been pushing on you from Mephtik Netlabel? Do you have a favorite release so far?
Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 01/2009: King’s Field original besttrack

January 5, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 6 Comments Share this

Oops, off to a bad start for the New Year. Completely forgot about Soundtrack of the Month! Well, sorry to those of you who expect consistency out of a group of unorganized slackers. I figured I’d pull out one of my favorite albums this month, and it’s an obscure one. Interestingly, I’ve always been a fan of this cult hit series, and when a soundtrack was released, I was unable to import it because I didn’t have a credit card (I was 16 years old)! Fortunately, Carl Larson came to my rescue and bought it for me after I mailed him cash. Good times!

So, the music. Koji Endo at Soundkids is credited as the composer, and he’s even still around as a jazz guitarist and film composer. You’d never know it, as the music for King’s Field is all new age and Baroque in approach, but it’s damn good. Another interesting story is that this is the first album I ever reviewed! If you’re feeling particularly bored, you can head over to Chudah’s Corner and read my first review which won me second place in a review-writing contest.

But if you have to pick one, I recommend reading my new-and-improved Soundtrack of the Month write-up after the jump! (more…)
Demoscene, Reviews

Apeginine Recordings’ Pillow drifts: More Free Holiday Music From The Demoscene (Review)

December 25, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Apeginine Recordings’ Pillow drifts: More Free Holiday Music From The Demoscene (Review) Share this

But it’s not what you’d expect. These tunes aren’t the holly jolly Christmas songs that are one of my favorite things about the holidays, but rather are more in line with Robert Halvarsson’s recent winter demoscene recommendations. This free download release from Apeginine Recordings is still an interesting offering, featuring some chilling winter atmospheres across 24 minutes of music.

The artists featured include Apeginine Reocrdings owner and founder Vincent “Muhr” Fugère, Emanuele Errante from Italy, and a friend of my own Mephtik Netlabel, ambient extraordinaire Shiftless. While this release may not brighten up your holiday, the music is amazingly well produced, so be sure to check out our impressions below.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Hit the jump for our thoughts on Pillow drifts from Apeginine Recordings. (more…)