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[Captain Darkblade]

Captain Darkblade 445 edits since June 16, 2008

445

User:Captain Darkblade/An Independant Review

From Final Fantasy Wiki

This is a special review about the three Black Mages albums. I downloaded the third one recently, so now I have all of them. I have quite a bit to talk about concerning them, and there’s no better place to talk about them then on here! Please note, this is all personal, so I’m entitled to show my own opinion, but also to listen to others. Feedback would be great. Also, please check out Sorceror Nobody's version of this page, if you want a different opinion.

Right, I’ll get on with it then.

Contents

[edit] The Black Mages (2003)

[edit] Tracklisting

Overall Album Rating- 8/10

[edit] Review

Well, the first album by the Japanese progressive hard rock soundtrackers (or whatever you want to call them), and it shows a lot of promise. The ten tracks on show here are all battle themes, mainly from the generic battles, but a couple of boss battles (Clash On The Big Bridge, J-E-N-O-V-A) really stand out. Personally, I love the Vangelis-style opening of Battle Scene, which soon settles into the band’s trademark style. The version of Force Your Way also shines, but sadly, Battle, Scene II doesn’t, coming across rather generic and incredibly similar to the opening track. The Decisive Battle is one of the more altered arrangements, and works successfully, which may be why it’s preceding track seems a little weak in comparison. Those Who Fight Further actually sounds very similar to the original version, but there was nothing wrong with it in the first place, so it still works.

And all this without mentioning Dancing Mad. Perhaps the best piece here, and arguably shows The Black Mages at their best. The piece follows the original composition very closely, but sounds more powerful, more exciting, more fantastic than ever. Best moment? Approximately 6 minutes in, when the organ break begins, or perhaps 8 minutes through, when the rest of the band start up again. Or even the very 1980’s guitar solo near the end. Either way, it’s brilliant. And because of it’s brilliance, Fight With Seymour seems almost tacked on, and doesn’t end the album fantastically well.

[edit] The Black Mages II- The Skies Above (2006)

[edit] Tracklisting

  • The Rocking Grounds (Final Fantasy III) – 7/10
  • Zeromus (Final Fantasy IV)- 8.5/10
  • Vamo' Alla Flamenco (Final Fantasy IX)- 9/10
  • Hunter's Chance (Final Fantasy IX)- 8.5/10
  • Otherworld (Final Fantasy X)- 7.5/10
  • Matoya's Cave (Final Fantasy)- 9/10
  • The Man with the Machine Gun (Final Fantasy VIII) – 9/10
  • Maybe I'm a Lion (Final Fantasy VIII)- 8.5/10
  • Battle with the Four Fiends (Final Fantasy IV) – 7/10
  • The Skies Above (Final Fantasy X)- 6.5/10
  • Blue Blast - Winning the Rainbow (original composition)- 7/10

'Overall Album Rating-7.5'/10

[edit] Review

Different Album, different tracks, business as usual. This album near enough follows where the last one finished, but braches out a little more, showing development in their signature style. Whereas the first album was dedicated to just the battle scene pieces. This one also has bits of music from other moments in the game series. While the best tracks from the last records where the ones from Final Fantasy VI, it's VIII and IX which contain the finest moments here. Both Vamo’ Alla Flamenco and Hunter’s Chance sound almost Rush-like, with their constantly changing rhythms and solo flourishes, while The Man With The Machine Gun and Maybe I’m A Lion are heavy-metal style, with tight structures and heavy beats. Another strong moment is Matoya’s Cave, a slower piece with a lot of character, totally different from the normal repertoire of the band. This record also feature guest spots on vocals- namely Tomoaki Watanabe on The Skies Above and Kazco Hamano on Otherworld, the two X tracks. The former seems to detach something from the music, sounding forced and even disjointed at times, while the latter, in contrast, shines through excellently, if you can ignore the occasional bit of Engrish on display. The original composition is pretty good, too, but nothing particularly exciting. Overall, this records surpasses the previous one, but only just. The band are developing and advancing their style, which can occasionally weaken some tracks, but make others incredibly good to listen to.

[edit] The Black Mages III- Darkness And Starlight (2008)

[edit] Tracklisting

  • Opening ~ Bombing Mission (Final Fantasy VII)-9/10
  • Neo EXDEATH (Final Fantasy V)- 8.5/10
  • The Extreme (Final Fantasy VIII)- 9/10
  • Assault of the Silver Dragons (Final Fantasy IX)- 8/10
  • KURAYAMINOKUMO/ "Final Battle to the Death" (Final Fantasy III)- 7.5/10
  • Distant Worlds (Final Fantasy XI)- 6/10
  • Premonition (Final Fantasy VIII)- 7.5/10
  • Grand Cross/”Final Battle" (Final Fantasy IX)- 6.5/10
  • Darkness and Starlight (Final Fantasy VI)- 3.5/10
  • Life ~ in memory of KEITEN ~ (original composition)- 7.5/10

Overall Album Rating- 6/10

[edit] Review

I have a list. This list is fairly small, but it concerns The Black Mages. The list has a few pieces from the different soundtracks which I would personally like to see on the next Black Mages album. Happily, the list is getting smaller, but after this album, it wasn’t much smaller. Some of the tracks here were indeed on my list, and thankfully, they’ve been done well. Anyway, back to this. Unfornately, this is a downward turn for the band. Which is a shame, as the opening portion of the album is among the strongest yet. The Opening~Bombing Mission reminds me of the Top Gun theme (Plus some Van-Halen-like tapping at 3:17) , while The Extreme and Assault of the Silver Dragons are both particularly good, both keeping with the spirit of the originals. KURAYAMINOKUMO and Premonition are good, too, but seem a little stretched out. Grand Cross is another good example of a track from IX recreated properly, complete with 1 minute 20 seconds or totured spirits, just like in the game!


It’s all going so well, isn’t it? Well, Distant Worlds seems to drag on a bit, and then, possibly the most over-blown, unnecessary thing in the entire Black Mages back catalogue. Darkness and Starlight, also known as the Dream Oath, the opera bit that Celes sings in VI. Well, the original in-game version was just a synthesizer, which was all that could be used at the time. The Grand Finale version is far, FAR better that that, and better than this. This bad attempt at symphonic metal, which is spoilt by the horrifying vocal lines, which just don’t gel with the instruments. When I read that it included operatic-metal vocals, I was expecting something similar to Judas Priest, or the guy from Iron Maiden, not these! Also, it just feels like it’s trying to be Dancing Mad, but the style isn’t quite there. Or the spirit. Overall, there’s some excellent parts to this album, but I would recommend going for one of the first two records first.

[edit] The List/ The Black Mages IV

Again, Sorceror Nobody has done a list similar to this. It's pretty interesting to compare, and (Mr. Uematsu, if you're reading this), an indication of what should be on the next Black Mages album (assuming they'll do another one)

  • The Prelude
  • The Red Wings (Final Fantasy IV)
  • Musica Machina (Final Fantasy V)
  • Prelude To The Void (Final Fantasy V)
  • Shadow's Theme (Final Fantasy VI)
  • Metamorphosis (Final Fantasy VI)
  • Kefka's Tower (Final Fantasy VI)
  • The Chase (Final Fantasy VII)
  • Shinra Inc. OR The Turks (Final Fantasy VII)
  • Jenova Absolute (Final Fantasy VII)
  • Birth Of A God (Final Fantasy VII)
  • Compression Of Time (Final Fantasy VIII)
  • The Castle (Final Fantasy VIII)
  • The Darkness Of Eternity/Dark Messenger (Final Fantasy IX)
  • Master Of Time (Final Fantasy IX)

[edit] The Black Mages Tracks Game-By-Game

I've rated each of the games themselves by the scores from the respective tracks, in order to see which game has been given the most justice:

[edit] Final Fantasy I

  • Battle Scene (7/10)
  • Matoya's Cave (9/10)

Total Average: 8/10

[edit] Final Fantasy II

  • Battle, Scene Two (5.5/10)

Total Average: 5.5/10

[edit] Final Fantasy III

  • The Rocking Grounds (7/10)
  • KURAYAMINOKUMO/ "Final Battle to the Death" (7.5/10)

Total Average: 7.25/10

[edit] Final Fantasy IV

  • Zeromus (7/10)
  • Battle With The Four Fiends (7/10)

Total Average: 7/10

[edit] Final Fantasy V

  • Clash On The Big Bridge (8.5/10)
  • Neo EXDEATH (8.5/10)

Total Average: 8.5/10

[edit] Final Fantasy VI

  • The Decisive Battle (8/10)
  • Dancing Mad (14/10)
  • The Waste Of Time Darkness And Starlight (3.5/10)

Total Average: 8.5/10

[edit] Final Fantasy VII

  • J-E-N-O-V-A (8/10)
  • Those Who Fight Further (7.5/10)
  • Opening~ Bombing Mission (9/10)

Total Average: 8/10

[edit] Final Fantasy VIII

  • Force Your Way (9/10)
  • The Man With The Machine Gun (9/10)
  • Maybe I'm A Lion (8.5/10)
  • The Extreme (9/10)
  • Premonition (7.5/10)

Total Average: 8.5/10

[edit] Final Fantasy IX

  • Vamo' Alla Flamenco (9/10)
  • Hunter's Chance (8.5/10)
  • Assault Of The Silver Dragons (8/10)
  • Grand Cross/"Final Battle" (6.5/10)

Total Average: 8/10

[edit] Final Fantasy X

  • Fight With Seymour (6/10)
  • Otherworld (7.5/10)
  • The Skies Above (6.5/10)

Total Average: 6.5/10

[edit] Final Fantasy XI

  • Distant Worlds (6/10)

Total Average: 6/10

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