Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Update: Downtime

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

I do kind of wish that I didn't have to say this, and I find it ironic that I'm making a post about how I may not be able to post for a while, but here it is.

I have finals coming up, and I also have quite a bit of stuff I'm doing during the summer that I have to prepare for, so I most likely won't be able to post any new reviews for a while. Don't worry, this'll only be in effect for about 3 or 4 weeks, but I figured I might as well say something. During that time, I'll be sure to find some great albums to review, so you won't be let down once I'm back!

If you're someone who writes, plays, or publishes music, and is looking for someone to give an honest review of your work, feel free to message me via Hangouts so we can discuss details. Can't guarantee that I'll respond right away, but I'll do my best. 

Music: Red vs. Blue Revelation Soundtrack

 Red vs. Blue Revelation Soundtrack on the RT Store

If you're wondering why all of my reviews this week have been for Red vs. Blue albums, I review whatever I feel like reviewing at the moment, and this is what came into my head just now. 

"This place is filled with mean ladies!" -Private Michael J. Caboose

I kid you not, that was the first few seconds of Agent Tex, and then you have Tucker shouting "What's so hard to understand about swish swish stab?!" and "Step away from the idiots!" I can't stop laughing at that. I have a good feeling about this soundtrack (I'm listening to it as I write this review). So far, Agent Tex one of my all-time favorite tracks from the entire series. 

Now we listen to the 49-second track, Prelude, which is also awesome. I do wish that this was made into a 5-minute track... okay, now Boss Battle is playing; it is a theme of epic proportions, and for some reason, it reminds me of the motorcycle chase theme from Final Fantasy VII. 

I do not know how to describe just how well Plagam Extremem Infligere sounds.

The Pelican Has Landed: pure awesome. Also, it brings back memories of the Portal 2 OST. 

Rally (Sarge's Speech) is a track that I don't remember hearing in the show, but I can always go on YouTube to find out. Note: Just watched a clip of the speech, and Rally was playing in the background. Quite fitting. 

Red vs. Blue (the track), has incredible lyrics. Just listen to it, and you'll see what I mean. I won't say anything more about this song, I don't want to spoil it.

I won't say anything about the other tracks, since I definitely recommend that any fans of Red vs. Blue (the show) buy this CD. Buy it off of the RT Store, not iTunes. On iTunes, it costs $9.99, while on the RT Store it costs $4.95, so you're better off buying it from the RT Store. Rooster Teeth is also better off that way, since as far as I can tell, they don't have to share any profits they get from purchases on the RT Store with Apple. 

Overall, the Revelation soundtrack is unforgettable. Each of the tracks sound amazing, whether you listen to them on their own, or they play in the background of the show. Few things have made me laugh and get this sense of epicness at the same time. I can't stop laughing after listening to Forge World, Your Best Friend, Sarge's Blues, and I'm Am The Best, which are all exclusive to this soundtrack, meaning they were not played in the background in any episodes of the show.



Monday, May 22, 2017

Music: Red vs. Blue Season 13 Soundtrack

 Red vs. Blue Season 13 Soundtrack on the RT Store

So maybe I'm watching Red vs. Blue a little too much, or maybe I'm just bored, have nothing to do, and decided to look up this album on YouTube so I could review it. Either way, I still don't have any posters to put up on the wall behind my desktop monitor, which isn't too surprising. 

I'll say it outright: this soundtrack captures the atmosphere of the entirety of Season 13, and although I didn't enjoy this album as much as I enjoyed the Season 9 and Season 10 soundtracks, I still found some degree of satisfaction here. Still, I think that there's some merit in the idea of bringing back Jeff Williams for Season 15, and getting him to work with Trocadero on the soundtrack. I might be wrong (meaning Wikipedia might be wrong), but I think that Jeff Williams was the keyboard player for Trocadero at one point in time. 

Okay, I just found one word to describe this soundtrack: haunting. Just listen to it, and you'll get what I mean, especially with People Person, and Absolute Control.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite RvB soundtrack, but it wasn't "bad" by any means. If anything, I believe it fit the season very well, but it just doesn't sound quite right without visuals from the show accompanying the music. If you like the haunting sounds of the Chorus Trilogy seasons soundtracks over the quite varied tones of the Project Freelancer seasons, then this album is for you. But, if you prefer Project Freelancer's tracks, then consider carefully before buying this album. 

Music: Roses and Violets by Trocadero

And now, for something those of you who have been reading my blog since the beginning were probably expecting...

Roses and Violets on the RT Store
If you've read my first posts on here, or know me in real life, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of Red vs. Blue. The only reason I don't have the Church-isms and the Caboose-isms posters yet is that I simply don't have the money for it! Still working on that.

Anyway, some of you might've been expecting this review. After all, I reviewed the soundtracks of seasons 9 and 10 (Project Freelancer), which I thought were pure awesomeness of an unfathomable degree, and I'm kinda sad that Jeff Williams is no longer the composer for the series. 

Going in, I wasn't expecting this album to be as enjoyable as it is. After all, this is the soundtrack from the early years of RvB, and I remember skipping the opening theme after the first few episodes, but listening to the music without the visuals from the show accompanying it is a different experience entirely; it's an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Its been a while since I've found an album that's entirely enjoyable and has tracks that I especially enjoy. In Roses and Violets, that track is definitely Steady Ride (Gun Metal Green), for several reasons. The lyrics are memorable and well-written, and the instruments used for the song are used effectively. 

Overall, I loved this whole album. The tracks are short yet memorable, and for me, create quite vivid scenarios inside my mind. Looks like I'll be listening to this several times over just for the sake of it. If you like Red vs. Blue, I'd recommend buying this album.