[Album] DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack (CRCP-40137~38)

I figured I should kick this forum (and album) off on the right foot. So here's how it's done.

A quick trip to GMR, and we have the following info:

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DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack [Regular Edition]

Catalogue Number CRCP-40139~40
Publisher Nippon Crown Co., Ltd.
Composition Masashi Hamauzu
Arrangement Masashi Hamauzu
First Printing February 15, 2006
Price ¥3,300

Disc 1
01 Flicker
02 Calm Before the Storm
03 Trigger Situation
04 Prologue of "DIRGE of CERBERUS"
05 Fragment of Memory
06 Fearful Happening
07 WRO March
08 Azul the Cerulean
09 Fight Tune "Arms of Shinra"
10 Abhorrence Whirls
11 Silent Edge
12 Undulation
13 Counteroffensive
14 Ten Year Reunion
15 Fight Tune "Girl Named Shelke"
16 Fight Tune "Killing One Another"
17 Uneasy Feelings
18 Memories with Lucrecia
19 Sneaky Cait Sith
20 Darkness
21 Lifestream
22 Rosso the Crimson
23 Mysterious Ninja
24 Ninja Girl of Wutai
25 Sudden Parting
26 Discovery in Sadness
27 A Proposal
28 High-Spirited
29 Return to the Subject
30 Marching Tune #0

Disc 2
01 Return to the Origin
02 Marching Tune
03 Fight Tune "Crimson Impact"
04 Under a Full Moon
05 Trespasser
06 Transformation into Chaos
07 Splinter of Sadness
08 Deep Darkness of Shinra
09 Lucrecia Crescent
10 Forgotten Tears
11 Fight Tune "Messenger of the Dark"
12 Awakening
13 Fight Tune "The Immaculate"
14 Finally Reborn
15 The Last SND
16 Everyone's Help
17 LONGING
18 Terminus
19 Quickening
20 Death and Rebirth
21 Chaotic End
22 REDEMPTION
23 Hope of the Future

So, what are my thoughts?

I'm a big Hamauzu fan, but this is his most disappointing work so far, IMO. In his effort to make this sound like a film score, he has cast aside the crunchy chords and inventive progression that I've come to expect from him. The only tracks I truly enjoy even seem a bit derivative. I'll see if this album grows on me, but I'm already positive I will consider it one of his lowest points. Nevertheless, orchestral nuts should enjoy this.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'll just re-post my comments from the Serious Business borad:

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I only just finished downloading it, and I've only listened to a few tracks, but I like what I've heard so far. "Calm Before the Storm" is my favorite so far. I could easily fall asleep to this. (In a good way!) So somber and relaxing. So far it all seems delightfully moody.

I'll load the rest onto my iPod and listen to them throughout the day.

Update: I've been listening, and some other nice tracks are (in my opinion), Memories with Lucrecia, Ninja girl of Wutai, and A Proposal. I've noticed that a lot of the tracks are vaguely reminiscent of Unlimited: SaGa, with a slightly more serious/dignified/filmish sound. Certainly not a bad thing.

Update 2: Marching Tune is pretty damn good. I also like Splinter of Sadness and Lucrecia Crescent. All of the "Fight Tune" tracks are pretty good as well.

Overall, I would say that this is a pretty good soundtrack. I don't think that it's truly exceptional, but pretty good nonetheless. I believe that on its own, it is a very good game soundtrack. The problem arises when you start comparing it so Hamauzu's other soundtracks, such as SaGa Frontier II or Unlimited SaGa. You really shouldn't do that. We all knew that this wouldn't be a bouncy-happy soundtrack like the others. So try to keep that in mind when you listen.

If you did have that in mind when you listened and still didn't like it, well, that's fine, not everybody will like it, but I certainly do.

Also "LONGING" kicks ass!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I really enjoyed this soundtrack. My favorites tracks were Ninja girl of Wutai, A Proposal, Fight Tune Girl named Shelke, Fight Tune The Immaculate, and Longing. Redemption was ok, but i prefered the harder sound of longing. I can see where you all are coming from with this not being Hamauzu's best work, but if you listen to this OST without and of his other works in mind, you are sure to at least enjoy it. (like piccolo said)

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

I really thought this was agreat soundtrack. I didn't expect it to be that good, I expected something more akin to Devil May Cry, but it turned out to be just as good as the soundtrack to FFX. I thought the use of live instruments was very good and even when it was mixed with synth it was done convincingly enough and tastefully. I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

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

My post from the other forum:

I received my soundtrack on the 15th, and I must say that I hugely impresed. I've said it many times that Hamauzu has never let me down with any of his scores. Now that Dirge of Cerberus is out, I can honestly said that that sentiment still has not changed. It's solid from top to bottom. I was curious as to how his darker pieces would be but he did a wonderful job with them. Sure, it's not like the music from him that we've come to know, but everyone should have known that this would be a dark album. The premise, main character and pre-release samples were clear indicators. I'm hearing conflicting opinions on the actual game, but as far as I'm concerned, Square-Enix can go ahead and get started on a sequel so Hamauzu can work on it.

5/5 for me.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This album was flat-out terrible. Certainly Hamauzu's worst...Compared to SaGa Frontier 2 and Unlimited Saga, it doesn't even come close.

It's too orchestral. It's as if Hamauzu forgot what made him such a hit in VGM to begin with. His famous chords and his ingenuity are completely absent, and the result is generic sounding, orchestral garbage. Not to mention that even after repeated listens, most of the songs sound the same.

There are a few good tracks, such as "Ninja Girl" and "Proposal," but in general, this album was a major let down.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I just listen my copy and it's a great music maybe not the best of the composer but very nice.
The orchestre give a strong to the music that a synthetizer can't be.
I love the orchestral music and this one is in the best until the last 2-3 months.

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I agree with Onyx. The album doesn't hold a flame to Hamauzu's other stuff, and it does get repetitive. I usually like orchestral stuff, but this is just so bland.

As for LONGING and REPEMPTION...I'm kind of biased. I stopped listening to Gackt after his 6th Day/7th Night albums...so I don't care much for these his newer music.

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

Some here have compared the soundtrack to Hamauzu's earlier work, I did the same with the original FF7 tunes and well, it didn't quite add up this way for me either. No old themes, too cinematic...
But after re-listening it for a few times, I felt, I wasn't doing this work any justice, because standing for its own it's simply beautiful music and I'd really like to play the game that came with it (though that'd be for other reasons as well, obviously).

As for the Gackt tracks... Let's say he could have done worse (and certainly did over the years). They're not too cheesy and catchy enought that I hope at least one of them will accompany an equally upbeat cut-scene or something.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I was quite disappointed with this album. Also being quite the Hamauzu fan, I wasn't too impressed with this album. All in all, the tracks bored me, and no song gave me and grand sense or feeling of nostalgia that I like with video game music, even if I have yet to play the game. As for the Gackt songs... meh.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Onyx

This album was flat-out terrible. Certainly Hamauzu's worst...Compared to SaGa Frontier 2 and Unlimited Saga, it doesn't even come close.

It's too orchestral. It's as if Hamauzu forgot what made him such a hit in VGM to begin with. His famous chords and his ingenuity are completely absent, and the result is generic sounding, orchestral garbage. Not to mention that even after repeated listens, most of the songs sound the same.

There are a few good tracks, such as "Ninja Girl" and "Proposal," but in general, this album was a major let down.

Maybe he was forced into this format instead of his usual one.

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

I'm very disapointed by this soundtrack.It's orchestral but without talent and it's repetitive.

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This soundtrack is better than Uematsu's original FF7 OST! Why? Because of the fresh orchestrations, the nice ambient tracks, and of course improved themes for Cait Sith and Yuffie! Hamauzu has always been one to impress his listeners, and this soundtrack further exerts that point. It is certainly one of the finer achievements of the year 2006! Most every track was unskippable for me, and right off that tells me that this score is great. His brilliant and creative takes on the themes for Cait Sith and Yuffie were flawless. For Cait Sith, he used a nice syncopated jazz feel to it, and for Yuffie he used a great light oriental melody with some great piano accompaniment. Plus his epic orchestral pieces really hit the spot. Marching Tune is epic and has a sweeping, yet upbeat feel to it. Its colorful orchestration makes it a brilliant listen. I don't see hardly any flaws with this score. If I were to rate it I would give it a 9 out of 10.

I was speaking idiomatically.

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Maybe he was forced into this format instead of his usual one.

I imagine that was the scenario, myself. For a game so widely anticipated, being able to say that "this game has an orchestral soundtrack" is a major bonus during PR. However, look at UNLIMITED SaGa: Hamauzu experimented with live players and ensembles and succeeded in mixing live instruments with synth. Heck, the whole first half of the soundtrack was (kinda) orchestral.

And I agree with some people that it's a bit unfair to judge this soundtrack against Hamauzu's previous works, however, when you have a composer who raises the bar 10 stories with each new outing (even Musashiden 2 was unique), you can't help but compare it to what he's done in the past. His jazzy, catchy, and unique trademark is what we've come to expect from him...and it's pretty jarring to see that trademark absent from this OST.

I pray that Hamauzu's next album is NOTHING like this one.

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I think the whole soundtrack it's wonderfull but i only misss one track, the version of Trigger Situation that sounds in the official website

FELIPE NO

I wished that the music featured in the Beta Samples were in the OST. The battle music in that was well written, and reminded me of FFX a bit.

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

I downloaded it and deleted it soon afterwards. Wasnt my cup of tea and came off kinda boring to be honest. I'm relatively new to this guys work so what has Hamauza done besides this? Wasnt much of a good first impression. =\

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It depends on what you like. If you like orchestral stuff, try Unlimited SaGa. The first disc is all real instruments, but it is much more upbeat and melodic than DoG. The second disc is mostly darker-sounding techno.

Then there's SaGa frontier II, which is all wonderfully melodic techno. There isn't a single track I don't like. My favorite thing about the soundtrack is the use of game's main themes for every track (such as the main theme and then Feldschlact theme).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Techno is too broad a term to describe Hamauzu's music. It has a lot of jazz, classical, and ethnic influences, too, moreso than techno.

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

Wait - he did Saga Frontier 2?

I LOVE Saga Frontier 2. Yet I just cant get into Dirge of Cerberus....How odd that one person could produce something so different in style and execution. **shrugs**

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

From a technical and musical standpoint, this soundtrack is pretty near perfect. The use of instrumentation is often incredible, the integration and fusion of a variety of styles (Impressionism, hints of Rock and Electronica, Jazz, etc.) is flawlessly executed, and the development of each theme is always compehensive. I love it and would rate it very highly.

However, again the issue comes down to accessibility. Unlike Hamauzu's other soundtracks, there isn't as much thematic or stylistic variety expressed, but variety of a more subtle sort. Without direct flauntations of creativity and the integration of a trademark Hamauzu main theme, the soundtrack loses its appeal to many and becomes 'generic'. This is unfortunately, but ultimately a reflection on the level of attentiveness of the average listener's ears and how a melodic basis is considered very important for game music.

So, bottom line: I like it a lot, but many won't and I entirely empathise. 5/5 for me, but 2/5 in terms of general accessibility!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Onyx

Techno is too broad a term to describe Hamauzu's music. It has a lot of jazz, classical, and ethnic influences, too, moreso than techno.

In this context, I was just using "techno" as an all-encompassing term for electronically created music. Some people would also classify Sonic CD JP's soundtrack as "techno", even though it contains much jazz, pop, and swing influence.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Mr. Maul

From a technical and musical standpoint, this soundtrack is pretty near perfect.

Pretty much what he said. It took several lessons to appreciate but I think this is Hamauzu's finest work from a thematic standpoint. So far, I've observed two themes interwoven throughout the score, very closely related to each other. One is heroic and the other tender.

Both can be heard in the best track, "Hope of the Future" (2:40 for the heroic and 0:18 for the tender).

The work is skillfully orchestrated, with real and synth instruments melding seamlessly. This is the way I'd prefer game scores to be done in the future, if they can't afford to have real players all the way through.

The cinematic tracks are beautifully written but it's pretty clear that they're written to accompany visuals and hence, there isn't much room for musical development (especially considering they're often quite short).

In the end, it probably works beautifully in the game and that's where it's meant to be appreciated. Having the soundtrack be so good outside of its intended medium is a nice bonus. However, as noted, the material is treated very much like a film score and that isn't to everyone's tastes.

FELIPE NO

As a certified orchestra and film score whore, I can assure you that my disappointment with this album has nothing to do with it being too orchestral or too much like a film score; it's far less so than many other pieces of VGM.

The OST is filled with mood pieces that don't incorporate much in the way of melody or theme. While the tracks are generally good at conveying a general feeling (sadness, darkness, night--they tend to be pretty dark), they fade from memory the instant they're done. The lack of thematic cohesion, and the atmospheric nature of the tracks, is what really torpedoes the album.

I've never found Hamauzu to be particularly melodic--lack of melody is one of the biggest beefs that I have with his SaGa work--but it's particularly damning here, where there were strong themes established for several of the characters. Other than a brief allusion to Uematsu's Shinra theme, none of the earlier melodies are reprised. Combined with Hamauzu's sensibilities and the probably-studio-dictated instrumentation and orchestration, interpretation of the existing themes might have made the album.

I'm sure it'll work fine in-game, but this album is dirgelike indeed for me. And the less said about those J-Rock tunes, the better.

2/5

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

Lack of melody? I can remember many good melodies from Hamauzu's previous works. There were only 2 or 3 main melodies in SFII, but each reprisal was unique and interesting. US, on the other hand, has plenty of good melodies. I could play them all back on a piano without even thinking. There's the character themes, and the battle themes, (Battle theme EX!), and many other highly melodic songs.

Jam it back in, in the dark.