Loomis
Mar 19 2008, 06:49 PM
Figured we need some more activity, and what with this being a RPG forum after all, there'd be people with interest in it that didn't know it was coming. Unless people are ahead of me in the FF forums. ^^
Anyways, the new one got released yesterday, the 19th, and from what I can hear (I obtained a copy because I'm best pals with Nobuo), it's still going strong.
Tracklist: (stolen from wiki)
QUOTE
"Opening ~ Bombing Mission" (from Final Fantasy VII) - 4:39
"Neo EXDEATH" (from Final Fantasy V) - 4:39
"The Extreme" (from Final Fantasy VIII) - 5:51
"Assault of the Silver Dragons" (from Final Fantasy IX) - 5:01
"KURAYAMINOKUMO" (from Final Fantasy III) - 4:56
"Distant Worlds" (from Final Fantasy XI) - 7:32
"Premonition" (from Final Fantasy VIII) - 5:23
"Grand Cross" (Final Battle theme from Final Fantasy IX) - 5:34
"Darkness and Starlight" (from Final Fantasy VI) - 15:32
"Life ~ in memory of KEITEN ~" (original composition)[4] - 1:38
The Black Mages themselves sing the chorus for the song "Darkness and Starlight", a new, extended arrangement of the opera "The Dream Oath: Maria and Draco" from Final Fantasy VI.
Discuss.
Ken Masters
Mar 19 2008, 07:41 PM
I like the Black Mages, but it's a pain in the ass for me to download their tracks off torrent. Especially since I have to switch computers to do so.
Chalryn
Mar 19 2008, 08:12 PM
One of my friends posted the track list a while ago on another forum, and I was certainly glad to see "The Extreme" on there. Looking forward to hearing how it turned out. "Premonition" sounds intriguing as well. I wish they would do "The Dark Messenger" already, though. >.< The last battle theme from FF IX, though... Eh, good enough, I guess. Whatever. In any case, I'm excited to hear how everything turned out.
Edit: If I'm getting this right, track five's title with spaces should be "Kurayami no Kumo" -- "Darkness of Cloud." (Translation according to the translator I used, at least.) For, uh... anyone who might care.
Manc
Mar 20 2008, 02:31 AM
most of them where soso, listened to them on youtube, and I still prefer the original then their versions!
The only one I really like so far of all black mages track's are "maybe I'm a lion"
Theferrell
Mar 20 2008, 05:12 AM
Wooooo, new black mages CD. Me likey
I really like their spins on the FF tracks.
Chalryn
Mar 20 2008, 01:20 PM
Update. After listening to the entire album... well, I'm somewhat disappointed, but there are a few good tracks. (One thing that kind of bugs me is the lack of lead guitar roles, and thus overabundance of keyboard in many of the tracks. I guess that's just my opinion, though. I prefer their tracks that have more guitar in them.)
"Opening ~ Bombing Mission" is alright. Nobuo goes a bit nuts with the keyboard in this one, haha.
"Neo ExDeath" is overall pretty neat. Again, not much emphasis on lead guitar roles, but good still.
"The Extreme" was rather disappointing, in my opinion. I find the original to be much better overall.
"Assault of the Silver Dragons" was the first track that really grabbed my attention. Good stuff.
"Kurayami no Kumo" is from III, so I'm not too familiar with the original, but this version's overall pretty spiffy.
"Distant Worlds" is another track I'm not familiar with, since it's from XI, but it's an interesting piece for TBM. It's actually mostly a pretty calm synth piece, with the addition of some guitar and other instruments later on. Very nice track.
"Premonition" got a pretty nice mix, I think. Overall, just pretty well done, and I dig the sound of it.
"Grand Cross" starts off the same as in the game, followed by a rather abrupt transition to guitar. x.x The rest of the track is alright, but nothing special, in my opinion. Pretty similar to the original, albeit guitar solos and some addition keyboard/synth work.
"Darkness and Starlight" has some kind of awkward speech parts in it, but I guess it should be expected for an opera-based track. Pretty nice track, even if it is a little over 15 minutes in length. They keep it interesting enough throughout.
"Life ~In Memory of Keiten~" is a short, but sweet piano track. Not much else to say.
Of course, this is all just my opinion. Overall, I find it worth at least checking out, but was just a bit disappointed with the results of some of the tracks. I prefer the other two albums, but this one's nice as well. (I probably make it sound like I hate it, but this is not the case. ^^; )
Pesmerga
Apr 14 2008, 03:56 AM
I thought it was alright as well. Not a major fan of this one and I found the other albums better than this one.
The songs picked were odd and I can name a lot of songs that would fit much better.
However, it is always fun to listen to these things, no matter what. Nobuo is a amazing artist and although I don't like it as much as the previous ones, I do think it has some quality.
The last song reminds me of Final Fantasy VIII's piano song.