Skyrim a Soundtrack of Battle and Peace

When it comes to video games, Skyrim is considered one of the biggest classics of all time.  It is a game that has a lot going for it, from an open world with a ton of things to do, a lot of interesting characters as well as interesting quests.  Critics and audiences alike have a lot of love for this game and the impact it has made on how video games are made going forward. One component of that game though that is sometimes overlooked is the amazing music score this game has, composed by Jeremy Soule, as seen below.

I've listened to a lot of video game soundtracks and there are very few that I like every song on and this is without a doubt one of them.  It has a nice blend of battle ready songs like Dragonborn theme, Tooth and Claw, and Steel On Steel.  It also has nice calm soothing songs like Secunda, Tundra, and Masser.  Every song blends fits the overall sound and theme of the soundtrack and nothing feels out of place. Considering that this soundtrack has a total of 53 songs on it, that is a real accomplishment.

The fact that it has 53 songs is not just amazing because Jeremy Soule was able to compose that many songs for this game and make them blend, but because it also adds to the feeling of exploration when playing the game.  Because there is such a wide range of songs, it keeps the exploration feeling fresh and makes every area feel different even if you have been to an area more then once.  Usually, most games have one designated theme that works for every specific area like The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time soundtrack.  I love that soundtrack but sometimes hearing the same theme over and over, especially in Hyrule Field, would play a part of me getting tired of that area and not want to go back to it for a time.  Jeremy Soule was able to compose songs that work for multiple areas and multiple interactions.  This way the world feels more diverse and you don't get a sense of repetition as you play the game.

I got to give credit for how well put together the Dragonborn Theme is.  The orchestra and choir in this song really work well together to give a really cool Norse Viking feel. Another cool thing about this song is that is written in a language that is based in the game and not in real life.  The lyrics are written in Dragon language and the fact that it is composed in a way that makes people sing along with it even though it is in a language that no one speaks is very amazing.  It was smart for Bethesda to use this song as one of their main selling points.

As much as I love the battle music in this game, I got to say that I actually really love a lot of the softer, more ambience songs in this game.  Songs like Secunda and Tundra, I listen to when I just want to relax and enjoy the scenery around me,  especially when I'm in nature.  Some songs, like The Gathering Storm, have a bit more of an emotional feel to them, when played in certain spots in the game.  I remember hearing The Gathering Storm start playing when I came across a burned down tavern with a bunch of dead people in it that were killed by vampires.  This song actually made me feel a little sad and uneasy as I walked through the burned down tavern.  When you have music that is able to effect your mood while you play a game and not just serve as background music, that is really impressive.

 

I personally consider this to be one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time.  It is in my top 5 easy and I highly recommend you get it.  There are 53 songs on it and I like every single one of them.  It is long but it never gets dull and each song is very enjoyable. You can listen to this soundtrack on Spotify, Deezer, or Apple Music.  If you want to purchase the soundtrack, you can get it on Itunes or purchase a physical copy on Ebay, or get the box set from Barnes and Noble.  Links will be in the description below.

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-original-game-soundtrack/596951310 

Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/i/273795726755?chn=ps

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/the-skyrim-library-volumes-i-ii-iii-bethesda-softworks/1125815481/2677925781

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Aiolin Breathing Review

Among the many bands that are trying to leaven their mark in the visual kei scene, Aiolin is one of the bands that I find to be one of the more interesting bands.  With their unique combination of classical music and rock, they are certainly one of the more stand out bands in the genre currently.  With songs like From Here, Stardust Crystal, and Orpheus, they have proven that they are a very talented band that has a lot to bring to both rock and music in general.  They continue this trend with one of their newest songs, Breathing.

Breathing starts out with a soft acoustic build up through out the first verse and pre chorus that sounds very soothing yet emotional.  The acoustic guitar has a nice easy sound to it while Hikarito's voice gives more of a sad, confused feel to it.  While the music and vocals have different tones to them, they actually blend together nicely to give off an emotional feel that expresses pain but with some hope attached to it.  Then once the first chorus comes, the band turns up the energy.

The first chorus takes the song into a more heavier, powerful direction.  The electric guitar, heavier drum work, and the intensity of Hikarito's vocals really enhances the emotional feel of the song.  This tone is maintained through out most of the song from here on out and I think it sounds very good.  The second verse continues the heavier style that leads into a very cool violin solo.  Hikarito has proven many times in this band's discography that he is great at the violin and he continues to demonstrate that in the solo. The solo doesn't sound fast or very technical, but I think that is a smart move.  When you have a song that is driven by emotion, trying to be fancy with the instruments can end up being out of place and just creates a very strange feel. Instead, you should focus on creating a solo that focus's on emotional feeling and that is exactly what Hikarito does here.  Every note he plays has an emotional feel to it that sounds beautiful and somber.  

I've talked about Hikarito a lot so far, as he is the main songwriter and leader of this band.  However, the other three members deserve recognition as well.  Seiya's drum work is very solid and he is able to match to tone of the song perfectly in every section he plays.  Reis plays some pretty good bass hooks through out the song.  His rhythm playing works very well with the drums and the two instruments do a great job keeping the rhythm in place and together.  You also does a great job on rhythm guitar.  People tend to not think much of rhythm guitar because there's not much glory in that roll since there's not much fancy soloing or room for lead lines.  However, rhythm guitar really helps a band sound more full and fills a void that would be there without it.  You is very on point with his playing and keeps the song flowing very nicely.  

Aiolin is known for their love story style lyrics and they continue that trend with this song.  The lyrics are telling the story of a man who is very closed to the world and is afraid to open up to anyone, even to the one who loves him.  As the song goes on he realizes that he is hurting her by being closed off but is still afraid to open up. Then at the end he finally lets his pain out and finally embraces her and in the pain he finds love.  Considering how many love songs and ballads there are in this world, this is one of more unique ones.  Most love song focus on either the good in a relationship or the bad, but this song is able to do both and in a way that is relatable without feeling cliched.  The lyrics are written very well and convey the story that they are going for very effectively.  

Aiolin is a band that continues to impress me every time I listen and discover new music from them.  The music is solid and the lyrics are great.  All the members are talented and constantly bring it to every song they do and this song is no exception.  It really is a shame that they are not a bigger band but I hope that someday they will reach the same level as other Visual Kei bands such as The Gazette, DIV, and SID.  I give Breathing a 5 out of 5 and I highly recommend getting this song.  

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The Gazette Derangement Review

I have stated many times that I love The Gazette.  I love that  they have a sound that is diverse, yet still has a distinction that lets you know it’s The Gazette.  This really stood out when I saw them at the Wiltern in Los Angeles back in 2016. Every song was unique but all felt like The Gazette.  It is a great quality that not every band has and they use it to their full potential.  One song that always stands out to me is Derangement.

One thing that really stands out about this song is the guitar work of Uruha and Aoi.  The song starts off with strange guitar synth effect that leads into a heavy intro and it sounds amazing.  Their low tuned guitars give a nice deep and heavy sounds that give the song a nice heavy,  intense feel. I really like Uruha’s melodic guitar solo in this song is very cool. It matches the tone of the song and has eerie feel yet a great melodic style to it.  Kai’s Drum work is impressive as well.  He plays very hard throughout out the whole song and his drum beat during the guitar solo is very cool. It is very constant and pretty technical. That’s one of the things that makes Kai such a good drummer.  My only problem with this song musically is the auto tune used while Ruki singing. I get that it is for effect but it doesn’t really feel needed to me and Ruki is such a good singer that I don’t think he needs it.  Aside from the auto tune, the music in this song is awesome!

The lyrics in this song can have a different message depending on who you ask.  Some say the lyrics are about the mind of a serial killer or someone who wants to commit murder. Others say it is about someone with a sex problem. I personally think it’s the former, but I get the feeling that the band wrote it in a way that it could be interpreted more then one way.  Either way, they do convey an uneasy feeling and you know that the lyrics are about someone who is not right in the head.  They do flow well and while they are open to interpretation they are not to vague and you know what tone the band is going for.

This is without a doubt one of my favorite songs from the The Gazette.  The guitar work is amazing and the drumming is awesome.  The intense and heavy sound really carry this song and you can't help but to want to head bang to it.  While the auto tune is a problem, it doesn't plague the whole song and I can still enjoy it.  I give Derangement a 4.5 out of 5.



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Starset My Demons Review

Starset is a band that has certainly made headway in recent years.  With there outer space look and their combination of orchestra, synth, and rock music has certainly stand out from some other modern bands.  While I am not of the fan of the bands look, I can't deny that this is a talented band.  They have made some really good space rock music and they continue to grow in popularity. Many people consider their biggest hit, "My Demons" the why this band has gained so much fame recently.

The first thing I like about this song is the way it's structured.  It doesn't have much of an intro and pretty much goes straight into the first verse.  The verses in this song are very quiet, with only subtle synth and orchestra music playing while the vocals are also pretty quiet as well.  Then the song goes straight into a big chorus where everybody comes in loud and hard.  After the second chorus, the song goes into a high energy bridge that then the second half of the bridge is back to the quiet subtle sound.  Then the song ends by running through the chorus twice. The band pulls this structure off very well and the way they use the verses as a build up to the chorus really gives this song a good energetic feel when really only half the songs has a lot of energy.  I also really like the way they blend the orchestra and the synth together. It really helps create that space vibe they are going for.  Musically and structurally, this is a solid song.

I like how humbling this song is lyrically.  The whole song talks about feeling trapped and needing help to get through your problems.  The verses talk about feeling that pain and then the chorus is the cry for help.  It feels very authentic and it is a topic that everybody can relate to it.  Everybody goes through tough times and we want someone to help us out of it and this song speaks to that perfectly.

This is a good song and is without a doubt one of the bands best songs. It brings out the best in band and really showcases their talents.  While I don't think they are one of the greatest bands I have every heard, this song demonstrates great talent and if they continue doing good songs like this they will continue to grow.  I give My Demons a 4 out of 5.


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Aiolin From Here Review

Aiolin is a  new visual kei band that has been around for about a year now.  However, in that time they have released a mini album, 2 singles, and are becoming a well known band among the visual kei scene.  The band consist of members of the bands Astel and an:re.  Both bands disbanded and as a result this band was created.  While they are a young band, they already have shown great potential with their first album "Tear In The Rain", Let's see how their follow up single "From Here" does.

Musically, this is one most interesting songs I have ever heard when it comes to violin and rock coming together.  Normally, when you see this combo, the violin tries to work with the rock to capture more of a rock feel as seen in bands like Trans Siberian Orchestra.  However, in this band, the rock works with the classical sounding violin and man does this band pull it off very well.  This song still has a great rock sound to it but the violin has a nice classical sound that  really makes this song unique and not common. Hikarito is a great musician and clearly is the main driving force of this band. He executes the violin very well in this song and his guitar solo is amazing.  The guy is clearly a talented musician and he deserves credit for that.  My only minor criticism of him is his singing.  He is not a bad singer, but his voice is pretty standard in visual kei. He has that high voice that is commonly heard in many visual kei bands such as Mejibray, Vistlip, Arlequin, and Razor.  Aside from that, he does deliver a great vocal melody and I think he is an amazing musician.  The other musicians shouldn't be overlooked though.  Even though You didn't write the guitar parts for this song, he still executes them very well and clearly shows potential as a good guitar player.  Reis does a great job on bass on this song, His flow is great and is able to throw in some nice bass lines though out the song.  Seiya does some really good drum work that gives a good heavy sound and a very good beat for the song.  When it comes to the music, this song is great.  

The lyrics in this song go into the feelings of being in a difficult relationship and wanting to stay with the relationship even through hard times.  While this message is very common, it is well written and comes off as real.  A huge chunk of this song is being sung in English and overall Hikarito does a good job singing English in this song.  He does have an accent but you can tell he is trying his best and for the most part he pulls it off very well.  There are some phrases that could use some work like "your always in my mind" when I think it would of been better if he said "on my mind" instead.  Another line is "I still wanna believe myself",  I think it would of been better if he said "believe in myself".  Having said that, I give Hiarito a lot of credit for wanting to give it a try and he does do it pretty well. 

Overall, this is a very solid song and really shows how much potential this band has.  With the great heavy rock, the great classical violin, and an amazing guitar solo, this is a good song.  While there are some problems when it comes to the songs lyrics, the song still has a good message that comes across well and the music works very well with the music.  I give From Here a 4.5 out of 5.



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Gackt Journey Through The Decade Review

Gackt is without a doubt one of the biggest musicians in Japan.  Many people credit him as the one who made Malice Mizer famous back in the 90's.  Once he left Malice Mizer, he embarked on a solo career that took Japan by storm.  Playing to sold out arenas and stadiums all over Japan, Gackt became one of the biggest celebrities in Japan and has since been a hero to many modern bands and artists in Japan.  His music ranges from pop, rock, and some people even say he has metal thrown into some of his songs as well.  One thing Gackt has done quite a bit of is soundtrack songs.  While many them have gone on to be hits, one that I feel is underrated is "Journey Through The Decade".

This song does a good job of mixing mystery and hard rock.  The song starts out relatively slow, soft, with the bass doing some lead work in the verse.  Then when the chorus comes, the song gets a lot more energetic and heavier.  The transition to that heaviness is done very well and doesn't feel out of left field.  The song then continues with the heavy feel from then on and while the rhythm patterns and chord progressions are pretty standard for the most part, the song sounds good and maintains a good heavy energy. 

 One of my favorite elements of this song is the guitar solo.  One problem I have had with some Gackt songs is how repetitive the guitar solos can be.  Some examples that come to mind are the solos in the songs "Redemption" and "Flower".  Basically, the guitar solos in those songs are simply repeating a flow while adding an additional note at each repeat and some times it comes off as very simple and predictable.  However, in this song you get a good melodic solo with some bits of speed tossed in and it sounds really good.  It is not the best guitar solo I have ever heard, but it is good and considering the guitar solos in some of Gackt's other songs, it feels refreshing.  

Lyrically, this song is about going on a journey of discovering who you are and realizing your potential.  Very fitting for the show "Kamen Rider Decade" that this song is the theme for.  The message is very uplifting and good to take in when you are not in a good mood, or just need a good mental boost.  While I do like the message, I must admit that it is very generic and is super common in Japan.  I also get a sense that Gackt made it more for the Kamen show rather then have it coming from a personal and authentic place in his soul. Having said that, the lyrics still flow well and this is a message I would rather listen to all day then songs about sex and partying. Overall, pretty good lyrics.

This is a good song and in my opinion one of Gackt's best songs.  The music is good, Gackt sounds good, and the message is good.  The instrument work is good in this song and is very refreshing compared to some other songs by Gackt.  I give "Journey Through the Decade" a 4 out of 5.  

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Comatose The Breakthrough Album for Skillet

Skillet is considered by many to be the biggest Christian Rock and Metal band in modern music.  With so many hits ranging from "Monster" to "Not Gonna Die", this band certainly has created one heck of a catalog.  While these songs are some of the bands biggest hits, many people consider Comatose as the album that broke the band to big time success. 

Before Comatose, Skillet sounded like many other alternative metal/rock bands of the late 90's and early 2000's such as Three Days Grace, Seether, and Breaking Benjamin.  It got the band a good cult following, but it didn't separate from all the other bands of their genre.  Skillet knew they had to do something different and when they brought that mentality to Comatose, they delivered.

The opening song, "Rebirthing", showcases a very cool orchestra and metal sound that is very deep and more mysterious compared to their previous music.  This is a style the band also used on other songs on the album such as "Comatose".  In addition to the orchestra they use used a combination of melodic and heavy guitar work that really stands out in songs like " Whispers In The Dark" and Falling Inside The Black".  both songs have real heavy sounding guitar, but you combine that with the melodic lead guitar and you got some real solid songs.

Another noticeable addition to this album is how the bands uses ballads on it.  Song like "The Older I Get", "Yours To Hold", and "Those Nights" really show not just a soft side to the band, but authenticity.  Some rockers and metal heads say that ballads are bad and are signs of selling out.  I don't that is a fair criticism.  Ballads can be a good way for rockers to express their emotional side as long as it is authentic,  which all these songs are.  Not only are they authentic but they are very relatable. The song "Those Nights" is about how the problems and difficulties of life can make us better and improve us as people.  Everybody has troubles in life and most people use those trouble to learn and grow from them.  Then there are the ballads that can interpreted in more than one way.  For Example, "Yours To Hold", can be interpreted as God longing to be with the people on Earth.  However, it can also be interpreted as a relationship song, saying that you either long to be with somebody, or you are willing to be with you someone and comfort them in their darkest hours.  Both messages make sense and go well with the feel of the song.

  This album is great at appealing to both a Christian and Secular audience.  The music is great and would be used as inspirations for more of the bands songs going forward.  The  orchestra and rock combo would be used again on songs like "Awake and Alive" and "Not Gonna Die", while the ballads would inspire other songs like "One Day Too Late".  The authenticity of the album is one of the best aspects to me.  I get a real sense of authenticity and really no sense of any sell outs or cash grabs which why this album got has such a great appeal. With great music and true authenticity, I highly recommend checking this album out.   


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