Guardians of Graxia Original Soundtrack
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Album Title: Guardians of Graxia Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Sumthing Else Music Works |
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| Catalog No.: SE-3165-2 |
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| Release Date: January 7, 2016 |
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| Purchase: Download at Amazon MP3 |
Overview
Guardians of Graxia is a digital card/board game in which players guide armies into battle using four Guardians. As with all of developer Petroglyph Games’ titles, Command & Conquer’s Frank Klepacki handled the soundtrack. The game itself proved to be a commercial and critical flop, but its soundtrack was eventually made available in 2016 through Sumthing Else Music Works’ representation of Klepacki.
Body
Guardians of Graxia won’t provide much special for seasoned soundtrack listeners, but it is still a mostly enjoyable listen thanks to the polish of its composition and recording. The orchestration adheres to the typical clichés of military orchestral soundtracks with its march-like rhythms and heavy brass focus, but also often impresses in places for its intricacy. For example, the stiff military introduction of the “Main Theme” gives way to a well-orchestrated core coloured with some intricate countermelodies. Similarly, “Conflict in the Sky” transcends the typical punchy action cue between its excellent brass writing, propulsive rhythms, and choral climax, while “Orc Battle” provides a welcome break with its focus on primitive percussion rhythms. These compositions are hardly incredible, but they’re mostly pleasant and fitting.
“Band Together” and “Position of Advantage” provide some of the most emotional tracks on the scores. Both tracks much more tender orchestrations and richly-phrased melodies than other tracks on the score in an attempt to bring some emotional depth to Guardians of Graxia‘s gameplay. Both are also impressively developed: the former incorporating a mystical choral interlude, the latter building from a sorrowful introduction into a motivating march. However, much of the compositions are still highly conventional in their scoring approaches and predictable in their progressions. “The Reveal” follows in similar vein, capturing a sense of endurance through the contrast of its growing melody lines above the stiff military bass. It’s another fitting if unexceptional track.
Much of the score features recurring melodies and chord progressions introduced in the “Main Theme”. While they’re not particularly meaningful in their own right, they provide a sense of unity to the score and progression in the game through their reuse. They also prove highly flexible, adapted in everything from the hopeful march “The Beginning” to the moody cue “Sorrowful”. The nine track score concludes with “Uplifting”, another composition blending hopeful orchestration and militaristic undertones that rises above mediocrity thanks to its gorgeous wind lead.
Summary
Overall, Guardians of Graxia is a decent soundtrack from Frank Klepacki. It stands out for its solid orchestration and implementation, fitting approaches and styles, and charming thematic developments. However, it is a little too conventional to fully stand out among similar scores. Note its 8 USD pricetag is a little steep for a nine-track, 28-minute score and it might be better simply to stream it through Spotify instead. His follow-up soundtrack Rise of Immortals: Battle for Graxia provides a significantly more elaborate and varied soundtrack inspired by the same world.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on April 30, 2016 by Chris Greening. Last modified on May 1, 2016.
About the Author
Chris Greening I've contributed to websites related to game audio since 2002. In this time, I've reviewed over a thousand albums and interviewed hundreds of musicians across the world. As the founder and webmaster of VGMO -Video Game Music Online-, I hope to create a cutting-edge, journalistic resource for all those soundtrack enthusiasts out there. In the process, I would love to further cultivate my passion for music, writing, and generally building things. Please enjoy the site and don't hesitate to say hello!
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