Knight of Ren

As we all know, Ridley Scott loves to butcher the scores for his movies and apparently, he has done it again, according to this Indiewire review: We know by now this is way of working, but I wonder how much of Phipp's music has been replaced in the final movie, and if this replacements will also remain in the 4-hour cut that will be released on Apple TV+.

What a great surprise! I only knew Amie Doherty from She-Hulk and the animated Spirit movie, and both had some nice stuff, but this is definitely my favorite work of her. It's beautiful, lyrical and tragic, with a great and authentic japanese flavour, that is very fitting for the (great!) show, and also makes for a really enjoyable listening experience. Some tracks rely perhaps a bit too much on exotic percussion and dark dissonance, and might not be as enjoyable, but that's only a minor quibble for what is a really strong score, in my opinion. If you want to know if you'll enjoy this I definitely recommend listening to the two suites for each of the main themes that perfectly summarise what the score has to offer!

Yeah, that can be applied tobthe MCU as a whole, at least right now. Each individual project would be better of they had some sort of overall cohesion and they were all going towards a same goal, instead of the constantly irregular content we're getting nowadays...

Agree with this. I got to watch it a couple months ago and I don't really get all the fuzz it's been having with the release. I found the film to be okay, a bit empty and extremely cold and cynical, which made it really hard to connect with. Fincher's directing is great and my favorite part of the movie is the opening sequence, where the editing also gets to shine, but after the film kind of meanders around and I wasn't really into it. Reznor and Ross' score wasn't really my thing either, and I even found it a bit distracting at times.

Between this, Percy Jackson, and hopefully the second half of Outlander S7, the start of 2024 is going to be great for Bear fans!

The main theme is quite recognizable while listening to the album, even if not instantly memorable or catchy. But I feel it works great especially because of Karpman's great use of vocals throughout, which make it an engaging listening. I also like some of the unusual dissonances she brings in some of the action tracks. Overall, pretty enjoyable score, but not without some quibbles. I feel the score also becomes rather anonymous at times and its missing a strong secondary idea to support the main theme. And the fact that she decided to ignore Toprak's Captain Marvel theme, Beck's theme for Captain Rambeau from WandaVision, and even her own Ms Marvel theme feels pointless and disappointing, especially after hearing how well she did with other composer's themes in What If. I think I heard the tiniest of references to the Ms Marvel theme in Greater Purpose, but the fact that it does not appear elsewhere makes me think it must be a coincidence.

Yeah, great finale! Fitting and a great ending to both seasons, and I thought it had some pretty epic moments, especially during the final moments of the episode. Pretty solid show, and one of my favorite things Marvel has done in the last few years. Holt's music was pretty great too, and especially the last couple of tracks showcased what a great composer she can be!

Yeah, 5 tracks makes more sense, but I had also gotten my hopes up. Anyway, great stuff in here, like ət'aek till we are Ashes, which in the first half mixes parts of 0sk! I love the interplay between the Sawano and Yamamoto themes, and it's a perfect send off to what have essentially become the main themes of the show. I think that tracks plays in full when they're fighting all the different titans on Eren's back. An Ordinary Day is the Rumbling scene after Eren's apology to Ramzi, and Liar is the Paths scene both from previous episode. I also really like Aim of the Fate which is the trailer music. I'm not sure if it appears in the last episode itself, so I will check it out again to be sure. And the same thing goes for Vanishment.

That would be my preferred visual style for a saga like this, but I think it would work better in animation, whatever the style. Even if they decided to with a style like the Toon Link from Wind Waker or something like that, it would work great because people are already familiar with it. Yeah, with Link's theme I was referring to the Main Title / Overworld theme. Since its the main theme of the saga and Link is the main hero I always made the connection that it was his theme, sort of, even if it's not exclusively tied to him. And whatever game they adapt, some legacy themes should be in there in one way or another. I mean, look at Breath of the Wild. A very different score from what came before in style and tone, but they managed to incorporate many classic themes here and there in new ways.

On one hand,I'm cautiously excited for this, as they proved they can do a good adaptation from the Nintendo videogames into a Hollywood movie, and the world of TLoZ is so big and full of possibilities. On the other hand, a live action doesn't seem like the best choice for this saga, and I always pictured it in a sort of Ghibli style of animation, so I guess we'll have to wait and see... As for the music, I hope whoever does it is allowed to do the same as Tyler, meaning he can incorporate dozens of references to classic themes from the videogames into his own themes. Kondo's themes for Link, Zelda and Ganon should be pretty much a given, as they've become quite recognizable and memorable over time!

Ohh, now I noticed it. I don't think it's supposed to be anything more than a reprise of Ifukube's material, because in the suite 2 we hear parts of King Kong vs Godzilla's Main Title which if I recall is connected to Kong and the Faro Island more than Godzilla itself. I've been listening to some of Ifukube's classic scores and there's some fantastic material in there but it's a damn shame that so much of it is presented in poor quality audio recordings, which definitely make them a lot less enjoyable than they should be, at least for me. I think some of them definitely deserve a re-recording of some kind.

Haven't listened to the score yet, anf I'm not really interested in the movie itself but that's one not-so subtle way of spoiling the surprises of the film for people who are interested in it...

Which part are you referring to as the "calling Mothra" theme? As far as I was able to discern, the first suite is mostly a rearrangement of his theme introduced in King Kong vs Godzilla, but I might be mistaken.

That makes sense, even though I feel these last two special episodes would have worked great as one long movie. I guess that Under the Tree won't appear in those then?

For those interested, I did a small suite of the main theme of the show, using the tracks Model City Duet, A Promise and then the climatic Sea of Flames. It's a really beautiful theme that appears only a couple of times through the show, plus the appearances in the Main Titles, but which makes a big emotional impact thanks to Howard's beautiful rendering of the theme, mainly for piano and violin. Enjoy!

Yeah, found it! What I'm wondering is what those other two songs are. Because they're supposed to be the opening and ending songs, but the episode as streamed on Crunchyroll didn't have them, so I don't know what they really are. Great songs anyway! I particluarly like Ai Higuchi's ED song, since Akuma no ko is one of my favorite endings in the whole show!

Just finished watching the mini-series, and I quite liked it. Nothing groundbreaking, but there are some solid performances in here, especially coming from the two young leads. Entertaining and heartwarming watch! And JNH's score works really well in context, when they let his music shine. The more action-oriented stuff is perhaps a bit drowned under the sfx, but cues like Model City or Model Building really let his music shine within the scenes. It's sad but also fitting that the nazi theme that starts so ominous and majestic in the first episode is almost completely missing in the last episode. Fitting for the narrative but disappointing since it's such a great theme. I've also grown quite fond of what I think it's Werner's theme, that appears in the middle of Liberation, at 1:52. And great use of the main theme in the final scene, in Sea of Flames! Fortunately, not a lot of important music is missing, so trimming the official release a bit should leave quite a pleasant and emotional score, which I will re-listen a lot in the following weeks.

Great final episode! I was quite surprised how much I enjoyed it after reading so many negative opinions about the manga ending, but as far as I know, the ending is pretty much the same. I have some minor complaints with some details, but overall it was a really satisfying ending, even if quite tragic and sad. What a brilliant show! As far as I recall, the only important new piece of music is the Ashes on the Fire x Attack on Titan mix, which I think worked great within the scene! Lots of music from the first seasons came back, and while I wish they had done some reworkings on old tracks, like Vogel im Kafig, I really liked that the found some space to play tracks like BARRIchestra or 2Volt almost in full! There are some weird decisions, like TRAITOR in that moment, which works for the action scene right before, but doesn't work as well with emotional beat of the moment, and I think something like Vogel im Kafig or even eye-water would have worked better. Anyway, these are some small complaints on what is a fantastic ending and fantastic show, and I cannot wait to hear what kind of music the album will have. I'm also really looking forward to hearing the full versions of the songs! I particularly liked the bit that recalls Linked Horizon's Akatsuki no Requiem.

I also noticed that this theme appears a couple of times across the album, mostly in subdued piano variations: or in this gorgeous violin solo rendition: but I don't know what is meant to represent. Perhaps a theme for the main character?

I've listened to the album a couple of times now, and watched the first two episodes. The music works quite well in context, especially the Nazi material, which is really effective in some scenes, like in the opening cue or No Trains Left. The main theme is sparsely used, mainly used to represent the relationship between the main character, Marie, and her father, but it's also used a couple more times unrelated to them. Also, I think this dark, choral motif is associated with Louis Hoffman's Werner, as it has played already a couple of times in some of his more emotional scenes. I love the motif, and it reminds me of Howard's darker fantasy writing as heard at some points across the Fantastic Beasts saga, especially at the beginning of Secrets of Dumbledore Here's the chronological tracklist for the first two episodes. The album is pretty much chronological, with the exception of the Main Title, and Clair de Lune being used several times as a source piece of music during a radio broadcast. It also seems that almost all of the important music is in there, at least for the first two episodes.

Yeah, on a first listen I really liked it! It's true that the album is perhaps a bit too long, and a shorter presentation leaving out the darker / ambient cues would be better, but it's nice that we have such a long album. And there are a couple of recurring thematic ideas that are already stuck in my head! Will definitely listen to it a lot more, and I might even give the show a watch to see how it works in context.

Didn't know that! Anyway, I'm curious about that score, because I think it will be the most different project they've done so far, since they usually focus on horror movies and shows.

They're scoring the remake of the X-Men animated show, so they might go full throwback synths on that one, but who knows... Federico Jusid's latest work is quite subdued and sparse, and the album presentation is just a tad over 30 minutes. It's melancholic and emotional at parts, and while I found it a bit anonymous and meandering at some spots, there's also some really beautiful writing for piano and strings, especially in the last track. It's not on the same level as some of Jusid's best work, but it's a nice listen. Also, unrelated to this score, but I realized that many Jusid scores haven't been properly released, made available by the composer via promo albums in his soundcloud, or some suites floating around on YouTube, which is a shame, because he's such a really great composer and some really nice scores of his aren't accesible at all, like Boundless from last year, or some of his work on spanish historical tv shows.

The highlight here is the main theme, with its throwback 80's synth style, and the creepy use of vocals. All the times this style and theme come back are the best parts for me, but the album tends to be a bit too atmospheric and the "scary parts" rely a bit too much on modern horror scoring techniques with electronic manipulation and loud sounds for my taste. I very much prefer the Newton Brothers in their collaborations with Mike Flanagan, especially in this year's excellent House of Usher. This has a nice and properly creepy main theme, but not much else I'm afraid.

Nice! That's much better. I went back to the link and realized I hadn't read the part where it says 15 tracks. I hope that remix from the trailer posted above appears in some form or another in the episode, because I love how they mix Sawano's and Yamamoto's themes!