 | Album Title: IDOL DEATH GAME TV ~DREAM★SONGS~ |
| Record Label: Sweep Record | |
| Catalog No.: SRIN-1146 | |
| Release Date: February 22, 2017 | |
| Purchase: Buy at CD Japan |
Overview
IDOL DEATH GAME TV ~DREAM★SONGS~ is the soundtrack release to the music featured in the D3 Publisher-published game Idol Death Game TV. Similar in style to a game like Danganronpa, it features a competition of idols all around Tokyo competing to be the best — with death for those who fail. As such the music of the game is broken down into vocal tunes sung by the idols, composed by a variety of composers (Mitsuhiro Tabata, Rodriguez Nobu, Daisuke Nakajima, and Shinpei Nozaki), and background music by Nobuko Miyauchi. How does the overall effort turn out?
Body
The album opens with “Absolute☆Positive Value,” a tune that certainly captures the idol environment with its J-pop leanings and rock vibes. The melody itself is quite catchy, but the vocals are a bit too kawaii for my tastes. There are also several versions featuring the various seiyuus singing the tune. There are also two instrumental arrangements of this tune: the former being a more dramatic orchestral rendition, while the second is playful, like the original, with a focus on strings. “VIVA! Otome☆” also suffers a bit from the vocal performance, but does feature a fairly catchy melody, especially in the chorus, with a more pop rock vibe. “Rainbow Colored Date” features a more tolerable vocal performance that works well with the jazzy pop melody and upbeat nature of the piece as a whole. A more electronically oriented tune is “Ring Ring HAPPY,” which combines rock, electronica, and even some retro flair to give it a bit of character, but the vocals certainly do it no favors.
Another vocal performance that comes off as more tolerable is that for “Gleam Wing,” a pop tune with a catchy melody that has some rock and orchestral influence and gives off a bit of a mysterious vibe. “Shizuku ni saku hana Karasuma Satoru-to” is more of a pop rock ballad featuring a catchy, warm, and beautiful melody and another decent vocal performance. “Merry Go Round” is a more energetic synth rock tune with a bit of a punk influence in approach, and also features vocals that don’t detract from the tune. Lastly, “Snow lily” is a very Falcom-esque vocal with a pop rock vibe and a focus on a lead violin melody that is also fairly catchy.
The background music for the game offers a variety of styles as well. “Title Idol Version” is an upbeat, peppy synth tune with piano and drum pads that works well for the game’s environment, although it is a bit saccharine in tone. “Floor 1” is a much more chill tune with a drum-pad focus. The tune itself is melodic, yet atmospheric, with its violin; while the tune is enjoyable, it is a bit unmemorable. “Floor 2” is more mysterious in tone and has a calming effect with the addition of strings, but also leans more towards the forgettable side. “Floor 3” is more upbeat in approach with an acoustic rock feel to it. The synth tones in the melody also add an interesting musical texture. It’s certainly one of the more enjoyable floor themes. “Floor 4” is another enjoyable tune that adds a mysterious and ethereal feel to it thanks to the use of Rhodes keyboards and a tense string accompaniment.
Funk makes an appearance with “Bac Royal!”, although it is a bit unmemorable, in addition to its big band brass leanings. “Review Menu” is a decent tune with a funky vibe as well with tons of slap bass that also has an eclectic feel to it. “D.o.D Opening” combines funk with glitchy electronic tones to create a somewhat haphazard sound that seems to fit with the D.o.D related themes. There are also some darker tunes on the soundtrack. “Event With a Horror Touch” is a short tune with a tense, piano-driven motif that comes off as a bit cliché, while “Event It Starts?” also has horror-esque leanings with some industrial electronic tones that comes off as a much better listen. Another tense tune is “Event Anxiety Space,” which brings a lot of atmosphere and has a very Shin Megami Tensei feeling to it.
There are also other D.o.D related tunes as well. “Title D.o.D Version” is mysterious, has a retro flair to it, and incorporates lots of dark synthesizer tones as well. The others are all related to various floors. “D.o.D Editing Floor 1” features a beautiful piano melody with strings in the accompaniment. It has a very determined sound and reminds me in many ways of modern Persona soundtracks. “D.o.D Editing Floors 2 & 3” are more mysterious in nature, featuring a dark and tense industrial-like atmosphere with its heavy percussion focus while also sporting a decent melody. Lastly, “D.o.D Editing Floor 4” has an uplifting melody with a focus on piano and acoustic elements, while still retaining a bit of mystery in its atmosphere. The end result is one that is enjoyable and stands out more so than other themes.
Summary
In the end, IDOL DEATH GAME TV ~DREAM★SONGS~ does the job it is meant to do. While the background music isn’t nearly as strong as others in the genre, it all works, but tends to lean on the forgettable side. As for the vocals, the mileage also varies, but every tune fits within the scope of the game’s inspiration. Fans of the game’s music while playing might enjoy this soundtrack more than others, but it isn’t the strongest soundtrack either.
