Get ready for Black Mages III / Discussion

[Gamemusicfreak]

Anyone else excited for the Black Mages' third album? The release date is 3/19.
You can download a video with some info. on it here:
www.dogearrecords.com/movies/TBM_FINAL.wmv

Seems like they really put their hearts into it:

The title is Darkness and Starlight

The Track List:
1. OPENING-BOMBING MISSION
2. NEO EXDEATH
3. EXTREME,THE
4. ASSAULT OF THE SILVER DRAGONS
5. KURAYAMINOKUMO
6. DISTANT WORLDS
7. PREMONITION
8. GRAND CROSS
9. DARKNESS AND STARLIGHT
10. LIFE-IN MEMORY OF KEITEN-

I am so looking forward to this, especially The Extreme and Neo Ex-Death.

Cocoebiz is sold out of pre-orders, but Play-Asia and CD Japan have some available.

[Lumi]

Do we REALLY need another arrangement of Opening-Bombing Mission? *sigh*

Other than that, some of the other track choices look good. I've not been disappointed with the majority of the stuff the Black Mages do, so I don't foresee that changing with this. ^.^

[Varion]

...well that came out of nowhere. I'm looking forward to it now you've mentioned it!

Can't say I actually recognise a fair few of them, but definitely looking forward to 2 and 3, probably 4 as well.

[FM-77AV]

Never listened, but the other person here just got happy when I mentioned this.

[Gamemusicfreak]

The FF VI Opera scene is supposed to be on here too! I believe it is track 9 on this CD, just renamed.

[Falcom Director of Fanservice]

Is that what that is? Huh.

Also, I am all over Neo Exdeath's theme. But I love me my FFV musics.

[Lumi]

You have fun running counterpoint to me, don't you, wyrdy?

I'll concur with others thus far that the Neo Exdeath theme is much deserving of some Black Mages love.

Also, the cover is colorful and kinda purty. I dig it. XD

[gnosis301]

Mar 17, 2008 15:40:55 GMT -5 Gamemusicfreak said:

2. NEO EXDEATH

Can't say I'm excited about hearing the same 4 notes over and over, to be honest.

[Varion]

Just in case anyone else isn't sure about what they all are:

01. Opening ~ Bombing Mission (from Final Fantasy 7, same name)
02. Neo EXDEATH (From Final Fantasy 5, Final Battle)
03. The Extreme (from Final Fantasy 8, same name)
04. Assault of the Silver Dragons (from Final Fantasy 9, same name)
05. KURAYAMINOKUMO (from Final Fantasy 3, Final Battle)
06. Distant Worlds (From Final Fantasy 11, same name)
07. Premonition (from Final Fantasy 8, same name)
08. Grand Cross (from Final Fantasy 9, same name)
09. Darkness and Starlight (from Final Fantasy 6, opera)
10. Life ~ in memory of KEITEN (Original)

Arranged by:
Kenichiro Fukui - 01, 05, 06, parts 2 and 4 of 09
Michio Okamiya - 02, 03, part 3 of 09
Arata Hanyuda - 04
Tsuyoshi Sekito - 07, part 1 of 09
Keiji Kawamori - 08

Have to say that in the end I didn't like it very much though Which is a shame as I liked the first two albums.

[Varion]

Oops, typo. Fixed.

[FM-77AV]

Why are the song titles in caps?

[Gamemusicfreak]

In the list I posted they are in caps because I just copied and pasted from CD Japan. Unless you're referring to the list on the CD booklet itself, which I haven't seen yet.

Have to say that in the end I didn't like it very much though Which is a shame as I liked the first two albums.

Wow, I am surprised! This probably means that I will love the CD then.

[Varion]

The caps in the booklet are how I typed them.

And yeah, you will still like it, I don't doubt that. It's certainly far from some of the worst stuff I've ever heard anyway. My favourite is probably Premonition, which is no surprise because Sekito arranged it. Bombing Mission has some really cool bits which are slightly ruined by the painful organ part near the end. There's just very little to distinguish the rest from the original pieces, in Exdeath for example it's like they deliberately used cheap synths to keep it as close to the original as possible in most places rather than go out and, well, rock. It's not even that it's a bad album, it's just... background music.

Many people will probably disagree. Which is fine

[Lumi]

Mar 19, 2008 8:17:54 GMT -5 Varion said:

My favourite is probably Premonition, which is no surprise because Sekito arranged it. Bombing Mission has some really cool bits which are slightly ruined by the painful organ part near the end. There's just very little to distinguish the rest from the original pieces, in Exdeath for example it's like they deliberately used cheap synths to keep it as close to the original as possible in most places rather than go out and, well, rock. It's not even that it's a bad album, it's just... background music.

Many people will probably disagree. Which is fine

Or some will agree, as I have to say I do. More Sekito arrangements might have made me happy.

Also: Why the hell did they have to have vocals in a rocked up version of the opera? Just the music would have been nice, thanks. The Black Mages just need to avoid putting vocals into their stuff. Really.

[Incog Neato]

Mar 17, 2008 15:47:02 GMT -5 Lumi said:

Do we REALLY need another arrangement of Opening-Bombing Mission? *sigh*

Hey, better this than the umpteenth One-Winged Angel arrangement!!!!!

[Lumi]

You have a point, nunuu.

Frankly, I just wish they'd quit rearranging the same tunes from the same two games. It's entirely personal bias here, but FF7 never did much for me on a musical angle barring one or two tracks which have never been touched. And I mostly try to forget FF8 exists. The only good thing that game gave me was the chocobo pet in Legend of Mana.

And now I'll probably get lambasted for that little rant, but hey. =P

[Grave]

Lots of Sekito fans up in here! Always good to hear... that's really the only reason I'm looking forward to The Last Remnant. The BFM soundtrack is still one of my favorite things ever.

HOWEVER... I rarely look forward to anything related to the Black Mages, because those stupid cheesy keyboards ruin almost everything they do. I sincerely hope that this isn't the case this time, but I'm probably going to be disappointed.

[Gamemusicfreak]

I got the CD yesterday, and have listened to the whole thing at least four times. I think it's pretty awseome! I like this one slightly better than Black Mages 2.
I give it an 8.5 out of 10, but there are some things I would like to see done differently.

1. Bombing Mission

This is a little toned down from what I was expecting from the opening track, but it still has a nice covert feel to it. I have listened to this track a lot, and I would like to hear it faster with more guitar, though I don't have a problem with the synth. Compared to the other tracks on the album, I think this one could be more unleashed.

2. Neo EXDEATH

One of my favorites on the album, I think there is a great balance of guitar and keyboard.

3. The Extreme

This is a great version, it gets really fast and that's what I was hoping for. The drums and a few other additions make this sound a lot more battle oriented than the original in my opinion, and I love the way it ends!

4. Assault of the Silver Dragons

Being a big FF IX fan, I hoped this would be good, and I'm not disappointed at all, this might be my favorite track on the CD! It's really inspiring. This morning I was running home from work listening to it, even though I had my bicycle.

5. KURAYAMINOKUMO

If you bought the FF III DS soundtrack , then you have already heard this, as it was a bonus track on that CD.
I'm glad they included it here, since others might not have gotten to hear it. This is another one of my favorites on the album.

6. Distant Worlds

A great rendition! It's calm and atmospheric. I need fast music most of the time, so I haven't listened to this song as often as the others, but it's still pretty cool.


7. Premonition

This is awesome! I get the same uneasy feeling as when I hear the original.

8. Grand Cross

Sounds very similar to the game version, especially at the beginning, but the added arrangement really livens it up for me.

9. Darkness and Starlight

This is the one I would really love to see done differently. I can't say it's a bad musical performance, but it just feels interrupted and out of place compared to the rest of the CD, and the narration is not necessary. The FF VI music arranged this way is still fun to listen to, but I don't feel like listening to this as often as the other songs.

The opera singers here are pretty good, but for the female part I think Sarah Brightman could do an awesome job with this song.

If you are familiar with the FF III arranged CD that has narration, (Legend of Eternal Wind) this would be cool for a FF VI CD like that.

10. LIFE ~ in memory of Keiten ~

Nice piano piece to close out the CD. I think they did an excellent job overall, I am really enjoying it!