 | Album Title: Caravan Stories Original Soundtrack Vol. 7 |
| Record Label: Basiscape Records | |
| Catalog No.: BSPE-1077 | |
| Release Date: December 28, 2018 | |
| Purchase: Buy at iTunes |
Overview
Caravan Stories is a mobile/PC MMORPG released by Aiming in 2017 and features the talents of Basiscape helming the music. The Caravan Stories Original Soundtrack Vol. 7 is the seventh of eight planned releases that will span through January 2019. Featuring music from Basiscape veterans Yoshimi Kudo and Mitsuhiro Kaneda, in addition to relative newcomers Kazuki Higashihara — who shares the majority of the composition duty with Yoshimi Kudo — and Rikako Watanabe, this volume focuses on the lizard areas of the game. What type of sound can be heard on this volume?
Body
The album opens with Higashihara’s “Hugo Cauldron,” a tense orchestral tune with metallic percussion and drums, a haunting, dark, and ominous sound with a hint of exoticism, and a beautiful melody that starts things off strong. One of Higashihara’s battle themes, “Burning Blade,” has a heroic sound with a focus on strings and brass and some tense sections, but doesn’t live up to some of the stronger compositions on the album. Speaking of which, “Scales of Sandstone,” another action-oriented piece, uses a sitar or similar instrument, giving an exotic flair to the tune while also incorporating some Japanese instrumentation, making for a fun piece with a great melody and, at times, tense moments. Less successful is “Bloody Memory,” a contemplative harp-and-strings piece with a dark, sinister sound, but it comes off as rather clichéd.
There are also a few more battle themes Higashihara is responsible for. The first is a trio, “Power Struggle -Equilibrium-,” “Power Struggle -Inferiority-,” and “Power Struggle -Superiority-.” In the “Equilibrium” version, the result is a dark orchestral piece with frenetic strings and distorted electronic accompaniment. It’s a very tense and dramatic tune, balancing the aspect of advantage/disadvantage. The “Inferiority” and “Superiority” versions keep the same framework as “Equilibrium,” but the former is a bit less tense and has a more industrial feel, while the latter is faster-paced and really gives a sense of strength. The other two action-oriented themes, “Battle with Head of Warrior” and “Hero’s Trial,” are both very Basiscape in their approach. The former is dramatic and tense and has a particularly beautiful string melody that helps carry the piece, while the latter is, aptly, heroic in nature with a sweeping sound in the strings work. Both pieces are nice, but also sound like they’ve been done before.
The other main contributor to this volume is Yoshimi Kudo. Responsible for two area themes, “Bunwaii Desert” and “Kinsfolk Fractured Zone,” each brings some defining features of the lizard areas, much like earlier volumes had specific instrumentation related to the various races of the game. “Bunwaii Desert” features a pulsing electronic beat underneath a blend of fantasy orchestra mixed with Middle Eastern instrumentation, giving it a somewhat clichéd approach, although not stereotypically so; the catchy melody and airy flute provide charm. Its night counterpart, “Bunwaii Desert -Night Watch-,” features a slower tempo and retains the electronic component of the day version. The atmosphere is much more dramatic in this rendition with woodwinds and plucked strings, giving it a very tense feeling. However, the addition of distorted vocals gives a very alien-like feel. “Kinsfolk Fractured Zone” is an upbeat tune with a fast electronic beat over a strings-focused melody. It’s an invigorating tune with fantastic energy and feels like it comes straight from Raiden V. The “Night Watch” version is more dramatic, due to its slower tempo and more sinister feel.
“Lloyd=Hann” is another tune that incorporates this sense of electronic and orchestral fusion, a woodwind-focused orchestral piece full of drama. It’s a powerful piece, and although the addition of bagpipes is a very strange choice, it works very well within the composition. Kudo was also responsible for a battle theme, “Invaders of Chaos.” It’s a frenetic, strings-driven piece with distorted electronics, but it has a very typical Basiscape sound and doesn’t particularly stand out. Rikako Watanabe and Mitsuhiro Kaneda each contribute an action-oriented theme centered on chaos. Watanabe’s “Voracity of Chaos” is a chaotic strings-and-woodwinds piece atop distorted electronica. It’s an intense tune with a wonderful melody, and the inclusion of slap bass and mallet percussion, along with some Japanese instrumentation, makes for an exciting listen. Kaneda’s “Tyrant of Chaos” keeps the same basic influence as Watanabe’s tune — orchestra over electronic distortion — resulting in an ominous sound with tense strings, powerful brass, and a frenetic energy. The end result is also quite enjoyable.
Kudo’s music for a Halloween-themed event, however, is perhaps some of his best work on this particular volume. “Caravan Trip -Festival of the Dead-” opens with a brief nod to the main theme with a slightly mischievous sound before moving into a more dramatic and mischievous motif with choir and strings. However, once the male operatic vocals come in, the piece truly shines with its wonderful melody and classical air. In some ways, it is reminiscent of Tenpei Sato and his approach to Disgaea music. Two other related themes, “Mansion from the Depths” and “Dance of the Dead Kings,” keep this feeling. With “Mansion from the Depths,” a mysterious and mischievous tune, complete with more operatic vocals, gives way to a waltz-like sound with ghostly synths, classically inspired strings, and a wonderful melody with an exquisite piano section that provides a softer image to the piece. “Dance of the Dead Kings,” presumably a battle theme of sorts, is a memorable tune that features dramatic choir and organ alongside orchestra, with the return of operatic vocals. The end result is intense and excellent. Lastly, the album ends with another event theme, “Caravan Trip -New Year-,” a rendition full of Japanese aesthetics in its instrumentation and atmosphere. The end result is quite beautiful with its bright and uplifting woodwinds.
Summary
The Caravan Stories Original Soundtrack Vol. 7 is another great entry in the series of soundtracks being released dedicated to the music of Caravan Stories. The lizard-related themes are quite thrilling overall and help give a new identity to the game’s atmosphere with the addition of more, in this fantasy world, alien-like sounds such as electronic distortion. While Higashihara and Kudo helped to define the lizard areas of the game, the major battle themes for the game come off as a bit less inspired than many of the more regularly used battle themes heard throughout the various soundtracks. However, the holiday event themes are quite strong and help balance things out in the end. Fans of the series so far will certainly find music to enjoy on this entry.
