 | Album Title: Caligula Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Sweep Record | |
| Catalog No.: SRIN-1145 | |
| Release Date: December 3, 2016 | |
| Purchase: Buy at CD Japan |
Overview
The Caligula Original Soundtrack accompanies the game and is broken up into mainly two categories: vocal tunes, composed by a variety of artists, and background music, composed primarily by Tsukasa Masuko, known for his work on the Shin Megami Tensei series. How does this combination work out in the end?
Body
The first disc contains all of the vocal music on the album, used as battle music for the game’s various dungeons, and remixes thereof, which are used as boss battle music—except for the first track, which is the opening theme of the game. “idolatry” is an electronic rock tune composed by Seima Iwahashi. The melody itself is catchy, with vocals that, while fitting the style, leave a bit to be desired. They complement the choral elements, sharp synth tones, and slap bass heard throughout the tune. “Peter Pan Syndrome,” composed by 40mP, is a catchy j-pop tune that is fairly by-the-books but has an infectious chorus section and a fun guitar solo that makes for an enjoyable piece of music. Its remix takes the piece in a more upbeat j-rock direction, adding some dance-like elements as well. “Exciting * Reverie” is an accordion-forward pop tune composed by OSTER project. It’s bubbly and bright, features a catchy melody, and has a bit of a French air due to the instrumentation. The overall piece is quite beautiful, but the vocals certainly won’t be for everyone. The remix, on the other hand, is a dark and dramatic twist with a rock focus and brash electronic elements incorporated. Next up is Polyphonic Branch’s “Creativity Incident” with its electronic rock approach that gives off an intense driving force. The vocals fit the tune quite well, but might not be for everyone. The guitar work is great and the overall tone of the tune is a bit on the darker side. Its remix adds a bit of retro flair with some FM-style tones and a much darker approach overall. Sparse piano, electronic distortion, vocal processing, and a more electronic arrangement give it a tense atmosphere.
“Sadistic Queen,” by CyoucyoP, is a catchy tune blending jazzy piano with strings and rock to create a fun piece of music with vocals that fit the music very well and a decent performance. The remix is more electronic/rock oriented in its approach, giving it a bit more intensity compared to the original. In addition, the album includes a bonus tune in the original arrangement, which blends the other two versions but is more synth-forward. “Angel’s Song” is a J-rock tune by asa. It’s a fairly standard-sounding tune with nothing particularly standing out, but the vocals fit the style of the music and the melody and chorus are fairly catchy. Its remix doesn’t really add much to the mix aside from going for a heavier rock approach. Another heavy rock tune is “sin,” composed by 164. There’s an interesting juxtaposition of this heavy rock sound and orchestral tones mixed with wispy and beautiful vocals that help create an intriguing listen due to both its style and its infectiously catchy vocal tune. Its remix is an absolute favorite of mine, dropping the rock for a completely orchestral approach that is dramatic and dark, with hints of romance and heroism. There’s even a change in how the vocals are performed, not something every tune does in its remix.
Another ho-hum tune is “Cosmodancer” by YM. Both it and its remix are fairly standard J-rock tunes, with the latter adding some additional electronic elements, and nothing of note particularly standing out. Fortunately, “Distorted Happiness,” by cosMo@bousouP, dials up the creativity with haunting synths, piano, and raspy/wispy vocals, some of which are processed. The end result is an invigorating tune with heavier rock/electronic elements mixed with more upbeat pop vocals, especially in the chorus, creating an abrasive yet delicate piece of music, though not necessarily at the same time. Its remix takes the same tune and applies an extremely hardcore electronic treatment to it, reminiscent of Supersweep’s style. Last of the vocal tunes is “Orbit,” composed by mikitoP. It’s an unabashed J-pop tune done in a pop rock ballad style but features a catchy melody and a decent vocal performance. Its remix is much more orchestral in nature, giving off heroic tones with bold brass.
As mentioned in the overview, Tsukasa Masuko was responsible for the background music. However, that comprises only story-related music, as all of the dungeon themes are instrumental versions of the aforementioned tunes (non-remixed) with lead instruments replacing the vocals when not in battle—seamlessly changing back and forth, might I add—all of which appear at the end of the second disc. As for Masuko’s contributions, there are certainly plenty of styles featured; however, much of the music itself doesn’t really stand out. Tunes like “Foreigner” get multiple renditions, some angelic and ethereal, some more melancholy in approach, as with “Foreigner ~sadly~,” or invigorating, as with “Foreigner ~change my world~,” which combines ethereal roots with rock and orchestral tones. Some other tunes, such as “Horoscope” and “Aria’s Theme,” feature upbeat melodies, with the former being a bit jazzy and modern, reminiscent of Persona soundtracks, and the latter being a bubbly, synth-driven affair. However, most of the non-recurring tunes aren’t as memorable. Tunes like “Tension” and “Raid Action” provide the appropriate atmosphere but do so rather generically and don’t particularly stand out. Other tracks, like “Lost Road,” blend elements of dubstep, piano, and choral work in a strange combination that comes off as fairly disjointed, while others are pure atmosphere, like “Chaos.” Outside of the game, these tunes don’t nearly hold up as well, given their contextual importance.
Summary
The Caligula Original Soundtrack is certainly a mixed bag. Despite his extensive catalog, his work here is rather plain and largely background music, which might work in the context of the game but, as a standalone listen, falls short for the most part. The meat of the soundtrack, even in-game, comes in the form of the variations on the vocal themes present. These range from fairly creative to straightforward, but share melodies that do manage to be memorable in one way or another; the instrumental versions fare best, given that some singers deliver questionable performances on the soundtrack. In the end, the soundtrack is buoyed by these tunes, but at the same time might be a bit too commercialized to be appreciated by everyone.
