[Album] The Black Mages (SSCX-10080/SQEX-10019)

For many years leading up to The Black Mages' release, I had been totally appalled by the arranged albums Square normally released for their Final Fantasy games. It seems that we can always count on a Piano Collections album that seems more mandatory than anything else, or a half-hearted collection of orchestrated tracks that pay no mind to pieces that would not work best when orchestrated. Recently, the pattern has taken a turn for the worse with compilation albums such as Square Vocal Collection, the two Potion CDs, plus the 20020220 Music from Final Fantasy concert, which is mostly performances of tracks that had already been orchestrated on previous albums. I'm not saying these are bad, but the market can only over-saturate so much before people start to lose their patience. Meanwhile, for people like me, who don't enjoy Piano Collections at all and like the other relaxing styles only marginally so, it can get quite frustrating to see such great compositions go to such a horrible waste in the arrangement department. In contrast, other companies like Falcom and Konami kept a steady flow of both relaxing and exciting arrangements coming throughout the years. The idea of making an arranged album based on the excellent Final Fantasy battle themes is such a no-brainer, it's a wonder it took Squaresoft all these years to FINALLY make their first full rock arrangement. That's exactly what we have here.

10 tracks have been selected from the Final Fantasy game series and have been given the hard-rock treatment with blazing synthesizers and guitars that bring back the old-school glory days of pummeling foes with Fire3's and Atma Weapons far better than any "proper-suited" piano or orchestrated album could. The arrangements were actually done by Kenichiro Fukui (who did the score for Einhänder) and Tsuyoshi Sekito (who has Brave Fencer Musashi and the Final Fantasy II remake under his belt). I was a little disappointed in hearing this, as I was hoping that Uematsu would take a bit more pride in his own battle themes and do the arrangements himself. However, after hearing this effort, I'm more than pleased with the job Fukui and Sekito did in arranging these classic themes. And Uematsu does a fine job alongside them, playing his trusty organ.

The track selection is a healthy one complete with no-brainers selections for rock arrangements and some that are more curiosities than anything else. Chances are if you've played Final Fantasy I, II, V, VI, VII, VIII or X, you have fond memories of the tracks listed. Of course, any true Final Fantasy fan is going to gripe about the tracks that have been (or haven't been) selected and since I'm doing the review, here are mine: I'm happy that parts III and IX aren't represented here, as their battle themes weren't their strongest points, but leaving out IV was a giant mistake. Themes such as the two boss themes, the main battle theme, and the colossal battle with Zeromus are screaming for arrangements (and their fans are screaming along with them). Other glaring omissions is the music from the battle with Atma Weapon in Final Fantays VI and the final encounters in parts VII and VIII, when Uematsu really began to hit his stride with battle themes. On the flip side, there are some tracks that after hearing them really shouldn't be here (I'll deal with these later on). The arrangements themselves fall into three categories: Full-blown arrangement, marginal upgrade, and experimental.

The full-blown arrangements include "Clash on the Big Bridge" (affectionately referred to as Gilgamesh's theme), "Decisive Battle," and "Battle Theme". Simply put, these are the best tracks here, and the fact that they represent their 16-bit counterparts with a good amount of style and intensity makes them the three main reasons to purchase this disc. The guitars get a full workout here, adding solos and extra parts while keeping the overall feel that made the SNES originals so great in the first place. By far, "Clash on the Big Bridge" is my favorite arrangement. At about 20 seconds in, the guitars come bursting out of nowhere along with the cool "dancing synthesizer" effect that is heard in the original. The arrangement is pretty close to perfect, considering the intensity of the original is both powered up with the guitars and expanded on throughout the arrangement. This is the best part about arranging a classic: It doesn't take a small miracle to make it sound great and this one literally hits all of the right notes to make it shine. Final Fantasy VI's "Decisive Battle" is by far the most relentless track on the album, something I wouldn't have figured from the original (which was never a favorite of mine). Three loops with enough power added each time around make this one a classic. Finally, the classic Final Fantasy VI battle theme is slowed down and given a much harder edge than the original piece, which struck me as being a bit too lighthearted for a rock arrangement in the first place. It works better I expected... That's always a compliment when I say that and I simply can't say it enough here.

Next up, we have the marginal upgrades, which are "Still More Fighting," "Force Your Way," and "Fight With Seymour" from VII, VIII, and X respectively. Don't get me wrong, I like these just as much as the other three tracks I've mentioned. It's just that, because they are much more complex than the NES/SNES themes, they don't sound like big improvements over their originals. Of course, adding guitars to already-kickass tunes is a surefire formula for success, so I don't have that much to complain about; it depends more on what you expect from an arrangement that anything else. It must be said though, the guitars are a significant increase from the original synth in these.

Of these three, the one that sticks out the most is "Force Your Way." Beginning with an effective ambiance of synths and backbeats, the piece slowly comes out on stage with an extended variation of the opening in the original. This is a great effect that is hard to put in writing, but when the guitars finally "arrive" and the piece takes off, it's so much stronger than both the original and if the track were to start out this way. It continues as one extremely effective loop, even taking timeout for a spectacular clash of solos, as the organ and guitar duke it out before reconvening for the finale. As far as picking CD favorites, I would probably rate this a close second behind Gilgamesh. Not even Final Fantasy VIII's lame junction system can put a damper on this arrangement and that's saying a lot. "Fight With Seymour" was my favorite of Uematsu's contributions to the Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack and I'm glad to see it intact here, right down to the cool banging-effect. Still, the only real difference is an awesome guitar solo about four minutes in. It's woefully unspectacular otherwise. Finally, "Those Who Fight Further" is the only marginally upgraded track that I find myself sometimes getting tired off. It comes exploding out of the gate, but the guitars quickly fade into the background, making this piece a lot less interesting than it should be. Then again, it could just be the fact that I listened to the original so much...

Finally, we have the experimental tracks. These are the tracks where most opinions on the disc will begin to change. For example, "Battle, Scene II" really isn't that great of a track to begin with, and the attempt to slow it down (I suppose to give it more of an epic feel) doesn't help matters. The guitars help its cause, but this really was a poor choice for an arrangement. I found myself getting quite bored with it. On the other hand, "Battle Scene" is a nice version of the original Final Fantasy battle music. Only part of the theme is here, however (the first part, right when the piece starts), and the other parts sound like they've been overlapped onto it. It sounds somewhat messy at times, but is a pretty good piece to start the album with...It's just not that great on its' own.

"J-E-N-O-V-A" seems an odd choice for a rock arrangement. This track could easily have been a disaster. The original is sorta-techno, sorta-something else. Here, the arrangement keeps the original melody, while adding a throbbing techno beat and what seems to be random guitar work. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (sometimes the beat drowns out the melody or the guitar is wailing by itself for no reason) but the end result is incredibly fun to listen to, especially when the guitar gets its act together towards the end. Given that Einhänder was primarily a techno soundtrack, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to find at least one techno arrangement here. Still, I think I find myself preferring the excellent version of "J-E-N-O-V-A" from the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Original Soundtrack to this one.

Now we have the ultimate experiment, a full arrangement of "Dancing Mad," the piece that played during the 4-tier battle up the ominous tower in Final Fantasy VI to reach Kefka. Yes, you heard me right. This isn't just the part where you meet Kefka at the top, this is ALL of "Dancing Mad," literally from the ground up. The arrangers deserve some credit for taking on such a monster, but they do not deserve any credit for the way it was handled. For one thing, the synthesized voices that are used sound terrible. When I say the ones at the second part sound like they are hiccuping, I'm not exaggerating. The ones from the original Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version actually sound better and that was original SNES music. Not to say there is anything wrong with SNES music, but it definitely sounds like computerized chanting that pushed the sound hardware to the limits and it STILL sounds eons better than what's here. Secondly, disregard anything I've said about rehashes on this album. Unlike the other arrangements, this is a carbon copy of the original and I honestly can't say that it sounds much better (some parts, even without the voices, sound worse if you can believe it). The only true arranging comes at the second half of the final part, which roughly gets a three-minute guitar treatment. This section is actually pretty cool, but not worth waiting around eight minutes for it to come up. I wouldn't say this track ruins the album, but it really is a joke. In fact, you could say that I was "feeling sad" after I was "dancing mad"...

One major complaint I have heard about this album is that sometimes the synthesizers take the full stage of the arrangements over the guitars. It's a legitimate complaint; this album would be a lot better if it would go the route of, say Guilty Gear X: Heavy Rock Tracks, and use all live instruments, but since it doesn't, it has to be taken for what it is. The synths are definitely high quality reminding me a lot of those Motoi Sakuraba uses in his arrangements (a very good compliment, for those not familiar with Sakuraba), but there really isn't anything like a guitar wailing away at a well-known melody, or just flat-out creating its' own mid-piece. Some people will never get over the synthesizers, but in my honest opinion they don't detract enough from the music to lower my high opinion of this album ("Dancing Mad" being the exception). That said, Fukui and Sekito have gotten their feet wet with this style and I will be expecting them to improve on their next effort.

The monotony of endless Squaresoft piano albums has been broken. The Black Mages should be widely available by the time you read this. You can likely find it for around $23-$27. "Feeling sad" after I was "dancing mad"... That's a good one. Maybe I "wasn't glad" that "Dancing Mad" was "acting bad". Or maybe... Ah, never mind!

4/5

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Hey, GFX! Good to see you survived the cataclysmic end of GFF as we knew it.

Despite my avowed dislike of most really hard rock, I find this first Black Mages album to be quite enjoyable. Perhaps it's because most of the tunes were rockish to begin with, and the arrangement amounts in some cases to essentially a sound upgrade, which is really what I'm after with any arranged album. I also appriciate the fact that there aren't many wailing, atonal guitar solos; in these tracks, as in the originals, the guitar is strictly melody line with little showboating.

"Battle on the Big Bridge" is the definite standout, and its high-powered treatment is enough to kick anyone's pulse up a notch. I also have something of a soft spot for J-E-N-O-V-A as well; it's a lot more new agey and very close to the off-kilter spirit of the original. Uematsu must have been fond of it as well, since it's repeated almost note for note on Advent Children.

The only real duds, in my opinion, are "Seymour Battle" and "Dancing Mad." "Seymour" was a rather weak composition to begin with, and at times the BM version seems poorer than the synth one on the OST. "Dancing Mad" was never a rock or even rockish track to begin with, so its arrangement here feels forced and artificial. That's one that an orchestra needs to tackle.

Still, all things considered, the album is a keeper, and a nice break from the endless, often uninspired and dull, piano collections.

4/5

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This album was actually pretty good to listen, and I agree that this album presented a whole new air from those symphonic and piano collections.

The only complaints I had with this album was the FF6 Battle theme, wish it was more fast-life upbeat. Mixing rock with arabic themes where great, but it kinda slow and doesn't have the energy as with the original SNES theme. Rather dissappointing.

My favourite was "Clash on the big bridge". It was more than I expected and it would be really great imagining this with the original event itself. The theme itself was already a fast paced and Black Mages added it with a big bang!

Well.. overall I would give it 4/5 myself.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

The idea of making an arranged album based on the excellent Final Fantasy battle themes is such a no-brainer, it's a wonder it took Squaresoft all these years to FINALLY make their first full rock arrangement.

Actually, the decision was not initiated by Squaresoft, it was Nobuo and Tsuyoshi who came up with the idea.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

This album would be a lot better if it would go the route of, say Guilty Gear X: Heavy Rock Tracks, and use all live instruments, but since it doesn't, it has to be taken for what it is.

Uh, how is a synthesizer not a live instrument? Could you [try to] explain this to me please?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The drums are synthesized, I believe, from drum machines, though this problem was solved in The Black Mages Live and The Black Mages II with the employment of Arata Hanyuda.

How ya doing, buddy?

Arata played drums in TBM I aswell. Just becuase drums are synthesized doesn't mean they don't have a player.. they don't play themselves you know.

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No. Only Tsuyoshi Sekito and Kenichiro Fukui were involved in TBM1 (both were arrangers/synthesizer operators, Sekito was guitarist, and Fukui was keyboardist). Arata Hanyuda, Michio Okamiya, Keiji Kawamori, and Nobuo Uematsu only contributed to The Black Mages Live, not the first album, which was partly synthetic.

Synthetic drums and pre-recorded performances from the drum kit are very different. Goldfish's point was clear and quite accurate.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Mr. Maul

No. Only Tsuyoshi Sekito and Kenichiro Fukui were involved in TBM1 (both were arrangers/synthesizer operators, Sekito was guitarist, and Fukui was keyboardist). Arata Hanyuda, Michio Okamiya, Keiji Kawamori, and Nobuo Uematsu only contributed to The Black Mages Live, not the first album, which was partly synthetic.

That is blatently false. Before TBM was even started, Sekito approached Uematsu with the idea, and all 6 of the members were in for the first album.

Originally Posted by Mr. Maul

Synthetic drums and pre-recorded performances from the drum kit are very different. Goldfish's point was clear and quite accurate.

I think you're thinking of sequenced drums, which are quit different than synthetic drums. A synthetic drum set requires a drummer, where as sequenced drums do not.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Free.User

That is blatently false. Before TBM was even started, Sekito approached Uematsu with the idea, and all 6 of the members were in for the first album.


I think you're thinking of sequenced drums, which are quit different than synthetic drums. A synthetic drum set requires a drummer, where as sequenced drums do not.

100% true, I'm afraid, though not many realize it, as official confirmation of this was only provided relatively recently. Confirmations of this can be provided here, here, here, and in the liner notes, all reliable sources. Sekito covered Okamiya's ground, Fukui covered Uematsu's ground, and the drums were sequenced.

But, yes, Nobuo Uematsu was aware that the album was taking place.

I'm no drum expert, so I'll give you the second one. Thanks for pointing this out, though you are wrong about the other point.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Mr. Maul

100% true, I'm afraid, though not many realize it, as official confirmation of this was only provided relatively recently. Confirmations of this can be provided here, here, here, and in the liner notes, all reliable sources. Sekito covered Okamiya's ground, Fukui covered Uematsu's ground, and the drums were sequenced.

But, yes, Nobuo Uematsu was aware that the album was taking place.

I'm no drum expert, so I'll give you the second one. Thanks for pointing this out, though you are wrong about the other point.

Wow... Touche. If those sources are infact true, than I stand corrected. However, the 2nd soucre proves nothing, and I don't see any liner notes on the others. The reason I thought they all worked on it was becuase I read it on a site with official references, but it was in a different language and thus, I had to translate it poorly. (It may even have been Nobuo's blog)..

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I am pretty damn sure the TBM website had bios of all 6 members before the album (TBM I) came out.

And I stand by what I said earlier. Synths are real live instruments, and you'll have a hard time proving me wrong.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Free.User

And I stand by what I said earlier. Synths are real live instruments, and you'll have a hard time proving me wrong.

Explanation: At the time of this album's release, about everyone and their mothers were whining about so much of the album being done with synthesizers and how it wasn't able to compare to albums like the Guilty Gear ones and the Dracula Battle CD's because of it. That's why I chose to word the part that way, because I was actually getting a tad annoyed with the feedback the album was getting and I wanted to assure people who might have avoided the album for fear of the synths being "inferior" that the album was still good. I didn't find out about the drums until someone mentioned BM2 would have live drums, whereas BM1 didn't. Ironically, Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks (the album I was comparing BM1 to) also had sequenced drums, which surprised me, and some usage of synthesizers (though far less than what is present on BM1).

I have no interest in proving you wrong (I'd probably call the synthesizer my favorite instrument, after electric guitar). On the same hand, the usage of synths vs guitars should have been obvious from context and that I was referring moreso to "live guitars". Nothing that can't be fixed with a quick edit, in any case.

Quote:

Actually, the decision was not initiated by Squaresoft, it was Nobuo and Tsuyoshi who came up with the idea.

Technicalities...Nobuo and Tsuyoshi were part of Squaresoft at the time. Hence, "Squaresoft" came up with the idea. :lolsign: And since it was a Square release, it was them who actually "made" the album. The point was I was both relieved it finally happened and disappointed it took that long, considering how companies like Konami, Falcom and SNK made such huge strides in coming out with quality rock arrangers earlier.

I do remember reading at the time that Uematsu wanted to do some rock experiments (hence, the creation of "Otherworld"), so I was glad to see those ideas bear fruit. I didn't know Sekito or Fukui were involved until the album release.

Thanks for the backstory on this album, in any case.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

First of all, I have no idea why anyone would type that much.

Secondly, was The Black Mages Live ever released on CD.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It's because he has no editing skills.

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Originally Posted by Megalith

First of all, I have no idea why anyone would type that much.

Secondly, was The Black Mages Live ever released on CD.

1. Groundbreaking album (for the FF franchise) at the time and a controversial one as well...Lot to say about it.

2. No, but there is a rip of the tracks from the DVD floating around.

Originally Posted by Cal

It's because he has no editing skills.

Keep on watching that animow.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

One major complaint I have heard about this album is that sometimes the synthesizers take the full stage of the arrangements over the guitars. It's a legitimate complaint; this album would be a lot better if it would go the route of, say Guilty Gear X: Heavy Rock Tracks, and use all live instruments

Originally Posted by Free.User

Uh, how is a synthesizer not a live instrument? Could you [try to] explain this to me please?

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

Explanation: At the time of this album's release, about everyone and their mothers were whining about so much of the album being done with synthesizers and how it wasn't able to compare to albums like the Guilty Gear ones and the Dracula Battle CD's because of it. That's why I chose to word the part that way, because I was actually getting a tad annoyed with the feedback the album was getting and I wanted to assure people who might have avoided the album for fear of the synths being "inferior" that the album was still good. I didn't find out about the drums until someone mentioned BM2 would have live drums, whereas BM1 didn't. Ironically, Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks (the album I was comparing BM1 to) also had sequenced drums, which surprised me, and some usage of synthesizers (though far less than what is present on BM1).

You still didn't explain it to me.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Free.User

You still didn't explain it to me.

You didn't quote the right text:

"I have no interest in proving you wrong (I'd probably call the synthesizer my favorite instrument, after electric guitar). On the same hand, the usage of synths vs guitars should have been obvious from context and that I was referring moreso to "live guitars". Nothing that can't be fixed with a quick edit, in any case."

In other words, I owe you a coke.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Free.User

Wow... Touche. If those sources are infact true, than I stand corrected. However, the 2nd soucre proves nothing, and I don't see any liner notes on the others. The reason I thought they all worked on it was becuase I read it on a site with official references, but it was in a different language and thus, I had to translate it poorly. (It may even have been Nobuo's blog)..

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I am pretty damn sure the TBM website had bios of all 6 members before the album (TBM I) came out.

And I stand by what I said earlier. Synths are real live instruments, and you'll have a hard time proving me wrong.

The second source proves a lot in that the site's owner would include Performance Credits like he did for TBM2 if all six band members were involved.

As for the website, that's quite possible. The formation of The Black Mages as a true band may have happened before the first album was released, but after it was finalised.

Like I said, not many people are aware that TBM1 doesn't feature all six band members and SE probably misled. Even I only received official confirmation of this a few weeks ago, so, yeah, don't worry about it...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

You didn't quote the right text:

"I have no interest in proving you wrong (I'd probably call the synthesizer my favorite instrument, after electric guitar). On the same hand, the usage of synths vs guitars should have been obvious from context and that I was referring moreso to "live guitars". Nothing that can't be fixed with a quick edit, in any case."

In other words, I owe you a coke.

Ah, alright. I just can't stand it when people referr to synths as fake instruments. I always ask them what the difference is when I either pluck a string, causing a vibration to be picked up by a magnet; or when I press a key, closing a circut, and causing an elecric charge to travel down a wire. Also, Synths don't neccesarily replicate already existing instruments, rather they create new ones (saw lead) that are impossible on any other instrument.

Forget about the coke, haha.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Mr. Maul

The second source proves a lot in that the site's owner would include Performance Credits like he did for TBM2 if all six band members were involved.

But that source only includes composition and arrangement, not performance.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Free.User

Ah, alright. I just can't stand it when people referr to synths as fake instruments. I always ask them what the difference is when I either pluck a string, causing a vibration to be picked up by a magnet; or when I press a key, closing a circut, and causing an elecric charge to travel down a wire. Also, Synths don't neccesarily replicate already existing instruments, rather they create new ones (saw lead) that are impossible on any other instrument.

You raise a point, as far as synths allowing for new types of instruments, but it's almost undeniable that when the majority of synths do attempt to replicate other instruments, they fail miserably.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

They are getting pretty transparent, though. Ever play Morrowind? That was all synth.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?