V.D. -Vanishment Day- Soundtrack
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Album Title: V.D. -Vanishment Day- Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Sweep Record |
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| Catalog No.: SRIN-1134 |
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| Release Date: February 29, 2016 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
The V.D. -Vanishment Day- Soundtrack accompanies a web-based/mobile game. While I don’t know too much information about the game itself, it does feature the music of Yoko Shimomura. How does this short album, consisting primarily of battle themes, turn out as a whole?
Body
The soundtrack itself is comprised primarily of non-battle themes and battle themes. The former range in styles, from “Departure,” an orchestral tune featuring heroic brass and militaristic percussion, to the atmospheric “Built a Fire,” which gives a subdued preparative sound. There is also the fairly standard “Instability,” which gives off an ominous air, and “Our Truth,” which is a basic victory ditty, but doesn’t really stand out. “Sortie” is a woodwind based theme with a militaristic sound and virtuostic piano, but it isn’t the most engaging theme, while “No One Knows the Answer” is a melancholy piano and strings theme with a wonderful melody and one that is quite beautiful as well.
The heart of the soundtrack lies in the seven battle themes, four of which are boss themes. As for the regular battle themes, “Rock on the Heaven” is an engaging and beautiful theme with violin and piano that gives off a dark, Kingdom Hearts style tone. “con fuoco” is a militaristic and tense tune with a strong focus on strings and piano with a dramatic sound. It features a great B section that is dominated by piano. “Nervous Vision” is a more electronically tinged tune with violin and some rock elements and some excellent piano accents. As for the boss themes, “Just Beat That Which Lies Ahead of the Road” is a dark and dramatic tune with a slower tempo that helps boost tension, but doesn’t really offer anything exciting.
My personal favorite of the album, “At Night Scarlet Flowers Bloom” is an example of a slower tempo that really manages to excel. Strings and piano are the highlights of the tune and I particularly enjoy the extremely moving B section. “The Tempest” is, perhaps, the tune most reminiscent of Kingdom Hearts tune of the bunch, but features a darker atmosphere. There is a focus on the violin lead with a beautiful piano interlude that helps give a sense of a calm in the storm. It is enjoyable, but like many of the battle themes on the album, is rather safe. The last boss theme, “The Brave Force,” is a dark, virtuostic piano focused tune with orchestral accompaniment. There are some great harmonies featured throughout the piece but of particular note is the violin interlude in all its beauty.
Summary
Yoko Shimomura’s V.D. -Vanishment Day- Soundtrack is a short album, featuring only a handful of truly substantial themes. Of these themes, while the battle themes are the most enjoyable, they do tend to play it safe, resembling many of Yoko Shimomura’s recent compositions in terms of style. While there might be a hint of what’s to come with Final Fantasy XV due to some of the darker nature of the pieces, there is nothing that, to me, sounds like the caliber exhibited on the limited music that is available for her upcoming major project. Fans of Yoko Shimomura’s work will certainly find pieces to enjoy, but I wouldn’t consider this an essential album, but a decent listen nonetheless.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on April 20, 2016 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on April 23, 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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