Cyber Commando -Shinji Hosoe Works Vol. 5-
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Album Title: Cyber Commando -Shinji Hosoe Works Vol. 5- |
| Record Label: Sweep Record |
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| Catalog No.: SRIN-1124 |
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| Release Date: October 30, 2015 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CD Japan |
Overview
Shinji Hosoe Works Vol. 5 -Cyber Commando- is a re-release under Supersweep of the soundtrack for the 1994 game, Cyber Commando, in addition to featuring music from Cyber Sled, which was never released on CD before, as well as a re-release of the music for Starblade, with some additional content. What can one expect from this album?
Body
The music for Cyber Commando is mostly ambient/atmospheric electronic, but many of the tunes featured also integrate other sounds as well. “East City” offers a militaristic sound while “Civic Park” is more industrial, is a bit more synth focused, and has a tense nature to it as well. “Metal Serpent” is quite tense and industrial in nature, although portions have a somewhat Egyptian-like progression while “Rafflesia” features an intense synth driven melody that is quite engaging. “General-D” also features a militaristic sound ,but is a bit more repetitive than other tracks featured while “Night Mare” is quite sinister in tone. Lastly, “Ending” is bright, upbeat, with a strong melodic focus. The overall music fits the game quite well, but might not be everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to a standalone listen.
The music for Cyber Sled, released for the first time on this soundtrack, is similar in approach to its predecessor, however, there is definitely more of a melodic focus. While “Ground Rhythm” and “Night Command” are fairly repetitive, with the latter being a bit more atmospheric and serene, tracks like “Be warped time,” with its strong melodic focus and ambient accompaniment, and “Unvoidable,” with its industrial, militaristic sound, with, at times, a serene melody, help create some more engaging tracks on the album. “An armed revolution” also features an engaging melody with some nice synth tones utilized. “Last game” features a tense industrial tone with a great melody and some atmospheric elements as well while “The battle of underground” focuses more on ambient synth and industrial tones as opposed to melody.
In addition, the music for Starblade is also presented on the album. “Prologue to Starblade” is a more story driven track rather than music, with a narrative focus and various sound effects. “Engage in Single Combat” features a tense and ominous sound with its atmospheric tones. “Theme of STARBLADE” opens with some heroic brass before moving into a cinematic sci-fi sound thanks to its synth orchestral tones. “Blue Flight” is a bubbly and bright track with adventurous synth and an excellent melody. “Prologue” features a sci-fi, piano driven sound and is one of the most beautiful tracks on the album. There are also some funk sections later on that really give the track and 80s sound. There are also some arranged versions that are featured. “Engage in Single Combat (arrange version)” features some slap bass that adds to the track a bit, but for the most part, isn’t drastically different than the original. Similarly, “Theme of Starblade (arrange version)” features a lusher orchestral sound while “Blue Flight (arrange version)” features a lusher synth sound. Following those tracks, “Character Show” feature a great melody and percussion rhythms and is quite adventurous and celebratory while “Epilogue” has more of a Christmas-y soundscape and a nice melody. In addition, Yousuke Yasui provides mobile adaptations to the music, all of which feature a retro sound.
Summary
The latest entry in the Shinji Hosoe Works series offers some re-releases as well as some never before released music. While not all of the music is the most engaging on a standalone listen, the soundtracks present offer a nice blend of atmospheric and melodic tracks with a sci-fi or futuristic sound. In the end, this might be worth picking up, especially if you are a fan of the game’s music, although not all of the music works as well on a standalone basis.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on November 18, 2015 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on January 19, 2016.
About the Author
Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.
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