Guilty Gear Isuka Original Soundtrack

	Album Title: Guilty Gear Isuka Original Soundtrack
	Record Label: Team Entertainment
	Catalog No.: KDSD-00036
	Release Date: March 21, 2004
	Purchase: Buy at CDJapan

Overview

Daisuke Ishiwatari, the God of hard rock, comes back to the Guilty Gear scene for the relative new game Guilty Gear Isuka. But this time, there has been a change. Ishiwatari has decided to scrap the character themes and go with stage themes. He also decided to hire new guitarists and arrangers, Yoshihiro Kusano and Tetsuya Ohuchi. How does it compare to other additions to the series? Same Ishiwatari, different style, I’d say.

Body

There has been much contriversy regarding the stage themes with some saying that it was a bad idea and some saying that it was a good idea. As for me, I don’t really mind. I do miss the good old character themes (like “Holy Orders”, “Feel A Fear”, “Keep Yourself Alive”, and more), but it’s nice to have a change. Some pieces on the album sound similar to old character themes. A good example of this would be “The Irony Of Chaste”. The harpsichord intro and the continous religous and Baroque theme sounds similar to “Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)”; very good overall and quite reminiscent of old Ishiwatari.

Time to look at my eight favourites from the soundtrack. “Sheep Will Sleep (if you become fatigued)” is great; I like fast and furious piece and this piece is just that. “Drunkard Does Make Wise Remarks” sounds very similar to Bridget and May’s Guilty Gear XX themes, “Simple Life” and “Blue Water, Blue Sky”. It is upbeat and happy and contains some great guitar riffs. “Riches in Me” is like “Sheep Will Sleep”; it is fast and furious and keeps your blood moving — definitly a highlight on the album. “Lady Fasinaction” is another great piece on the album. It contains some truly awesome guitar work and shows the full talent of the guitarists.

“Kill DOG as a sacrifice to DOG” is the final boss theme. It is louder than “Midnight Carnival”, “Awe of She”, and Meet Again”, previous final boss themes from previous Guilty Gear games. It is definitely up there with the other themes but lacks the “demon effect” that final boss themes need in order to sound, well, evil. The ending theme, “The Cat Attached to the Rust”, is awesome! The accoustic guitar, whistling, and electric guitars just blend so well together that it makes the song the best song on the album. You know what they say — “save the best till last” — and that’s exactly what Ishiwatari did. The rest of pieces on the album are are nothing really special and are mostly short, ranging from 10 seconds to 1 minute.

Summary

I can honestly find only one thing bad about this album and that is its way too short. It only lasts for 42 minutes and I say that’s not long enough! This album is just as good as previous Guilty Gear albums and should be in everybody’s collection. So go on, support the series and buy the Guilty Gear Isuka Original Soundtrack now!

Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!