Customer Reviews

Darksiders: Official Soundtrack

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a fan of video game scores since their earliest introduction. I remember humming the short musical midi tunes from Bard's Tale II back in the 80's and I've been hooked ever since. Today's game scores are often on the same scale of motion pictures, sometimes better. The Darksider's soundtrack is no exception. I knew when I saw the list of composers hired for the score it would be a must buy when it was finally released. I've purchased everything by Mike Reagan and Cris Velasco as I've been astounded by their work on some of my favorite games (God of War series, Conan, Clive Barker's Jericho, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic etc.). Also added to the list of composers is Scott Morton who was unknown to me but adds his own style of music to the game. Unfortunately I felt this where most of the score struggled. Each of Reagan and Velasco's tracks are epic, bombastic and embody what the action in the Darksiders game is about. Many of the tracks also contain both male and female vocals very similar to the composers previous works. Morton's tracks however are often faulty and not up to par with the other two composers. Morton's best tracks are ones that border more on the ambient and melancholic where as his action tracks stumble. I noticed his use of horns sounded artificial, over emphasized and sometimes cheesy. These tracks seemed more akin to a bad 80's fantasy movie than the adult themed video game they were scored for. Regardless of Morton's weaker tracks the score is very solid overall. Here are my ratings;

1. Darksiders Theme (Cris Velasco & Mike Reagan) 10/10
2. Battle With Silitha (Cris Velasco) 10/10
3. Strange Moment (Scott Morton) 10/10
4. Battle With Straga (Mike Reagan) 9/10
5. Eden (Scott Morton) 8/10
6. Flight Path (Scott Morton) 8/10
7. Keeping Pace Scott Morton 8/10
8. Battle With Greaver (Mike Reagan) 10/10
9. Epic Moment (Scott Morton) 9/10
10. Empowered (Cris Velasco) 10/10
11. Nex Sacramentum (Scott Morton) 8/10
12. Battle With Tiamat (Cris Velasco) 10/10
13. Chaos Eater (Cris Velasco) 10/10
14. Light Combat (Cris Velasco) 10/10
15. Flight Over Ruined Eden (Scott Morton) 9/10
16. In Prophecy (Scott Morton) 9/10
17. Prison Break (Cris Velasco) 10/10
18. Rescue Ruin (Scott Morton) 7/10
19. Vulgrim (Scott Morton) 8/10
20. Battle With Abaddon (Scott Morton) 10/10
21. War's Theme (Scott Morton) 8/10
22. Uriel (Scott Morton) 8/10
23. End Credits (Scott Morton) 8/10

Fans of game scores such as God of War, Conan, Dark Messiah, Jericho and Age of Conan will feel right as home here. The score comes in at just over 50 minutes so it's well worth the $7.99 price tag. Definitely one I'd recommend to avid game soundtrack collectors and epic fantasy-style score enthusiasts.