 | Album Title: Disgaea 5 -Alliance of Vengeance- Arrange Soundtrack |
| Record Label: MissKissDisc | |
| Catalog No.: MKDS-0002 | |
| Release Date: August 15, 2015 | |
| Purchase: Buy at Amazon Japan |
Overview
The Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance Arrange Soundtrack features extended vocal and instrumental themes from the Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance Original Soundtrack with some slight arrangement. Does Tenpei Sato select themes that give a good representation of the soundtrack’s style for those who aren’t able to obtain the original soundtrack? Let’s find out!
Body
As with all arrange albums for Tenpei Sato’s NIS soundtracks, the full versions of all the vocal themes are presented. The opening, “Kill Real,” is the most substantial in this case, expanding its time, adding additional chorus sections and verses while also featuring an extended opening. It’s still an excellent song and one of his best opening themes for the series to date. The other vocal themes vary in terms of additional content. The newer sections of “Moving On” are equally as beautiful as the original, although the extra vocal portions only cement my opinion that the singer was a poor choice. The extended version of “Lieze Rock” is also a highlight. The additional elements and solos take an already strong track and make it stronger. Lastly, “Lieze Love” and “Lieze Lullaby” don’t offer as much in the way of additional material, but are still enjoyable listens.
Similarly, the instrumentals feature a blend of styles, with some offering extensions while others take a more arranged approach. “Groan” features some additional choir sections that help beef up the track while “Invisible Zoon” offers a new section that is quite chaotic, with a hint of progressive rock elements mixed with harsh electronic tones. While interesting, it isn’t the most successful adaptation on the album as sometimes the harsh tones can be a bit overbearing for the piece’s overall atmosphere. “Catch the Rainbow” also features a new section with some great electric guitar and a bit of tension, due to the orchestra. “The Past Hero’s” additional section is a beautiful piano and strings approach, but is quite short and could have been utilized a bit better, but is still quite good overall. The best instrumental on the album is definitely “Scandal” in my opinion. The live violin adds so much life to the original. In addition, its new section is also quite spectacular, featuring organ and a slower tempo that really contrasts quite nicely with the aspects of the original. Another track that benefits from a live violin is “Break Free,” which helps add a beautiful, haunting feeling to the track that works quite well with the tension heard in the rest of the instrumentation.
Summary
In the end, the Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance Arrange Soundtrack features a lot of very strong tracks that are a nice representation of the album. The live instrumentation, when implemented, really helps add to the original incarnations of the pieces while the extended vocals and instrumentals, for the most part, include some really nice new elements that work well with the pieces. For those who aren’t able to get the full soundtrack, this definitely features some of the best pieces from it.
