Super Robot Wars Vocal Collection Heroes
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Album Title: Super Robot Wars Vocal Collection Heroes |
| Record Label: First Smile Entertainment |
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| Catalog No.: FSCA-10064 |
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| Release Date: December 18, 1998 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
In 1998, First Smile Entertainment released a vocal image album to commemorate Super Robot Wars F. It portrayed the lead characters of the game with a series of brand new vocal themes sung by a diverse cast of singers. The album falls down for a number of reasons…
Body
The opening track “Grungust Slice!!” makes very clear that this vocal album is set within the Super Robot Wars universe. The instrumentals here offer a very distinctive blend of retro jazz and rock influences that entirely fits the rest of the series’ music. The vocals provided by the Metal Brothers add to the extravagance with their passionate performance inspired by Hironobu Kageyama. They don’t interpret the most exciting or memorable melodies, but still offer quite a lively performance.
One of the most interesting tracks stylistically is “Night of the Egoist”. It reflects the flirtatious attitude of Irmgard Kazahara fairly well with its flamboyant instrumentals and seductive lyrics. The rhythms are particularly compelling here, almost having a hip-hop vibe, while the electro dubs are a refreshing change from the generic J-Rock. That said, the vocals sound rather unbalanced with the instrumentals, except in the more sentimental interludes, making the track rather unfulfilling overall. Indeed, the production values of this entire album feel quite low and dated, especially for the late 90s.
For the most part, the album has a very youthful sound. The sweet-hearted nature of Grace Urigin is reflected with naive, somewhat annoying, vocals and unobtrusive pop backing. Her counterpoint Arwynn Dorstein is represented by a similarly tacky theme that could easily fit in a high school musical. Yet more sentimentality is heard in the duet “Era of Valor”, while “The Future Is Now!” takes first place for the most annoying vocal theme of the series with its screechy female vocals that fail to reflect any of the depth and mystery surrounded the featured character.
Summary
This isn’t a particularly enjoyable image album: the stylings are consistently derivative, the melodies are generally bland, the production values are often crude, the performances can be abrasive, and some tracks don’t even fit the vocalists. It’s not a complete train wreck, but pretty much everyone can safely skip it. Only those with a massive affinity for Super Robot Wars F should consider purchasing it.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
2.5
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Chris Greening. Last modified on August 1, 2012.
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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