TheAvengerButton

I've been listening to this score off and on and where the orchestration is top notch for this sort of thing, the mix on this album is something else and it's added a bit of different energy to the proceedings. Makes everything 11.

Love those! I should get around to organizing my Emperor's Tomb sound files sometime to actually make a cohesive soundtrack. If anyone has any tips on that, that would be great.

Should I buy it? I mean, I've already bought it, but for the sake of argument, should I?
 
Also, I guess there's some sort of badge of honor I get? When can I get that attached to my username somehow?

The Rise of Skywalker is my second favorite Star Wars film behind Return of the Jedi if that tells anyone anything.
 
Love the score, though I don't know if I especially like it over the score for The Last Jedi--and by that I mean I think there's equal pros and cons to both.
 
The Force Awakens might STILL be my favorite of the sequel scores though. But I'm not a Star Wars hater. I love all the new Star Wars content that's coming out so I'll gladly contribute to Appreciation threads and enchantment threads.

The thing I appreciate most about The Rise of Skywalker is that it affirms a big theme of the entire series that was established all the way back in The Phantom Menace--the idea that you can't and shouldn't always rely on a governing body to take care of all of your problems for you. Queen Amidala learns that the thing she was putting all of her hopes in--the Republic--was never going to be able to help her rescue her people. So what did she do? She did it herself. Her sin through the rest of the trilogy was that she didn't learn from that experience--instead of continuing that independence of thought, she bought into the Republic wholesale foolishly hoping to change it from within. This lesson is continued in a big way with the Rebellion--despite their mission being to restore the Republic, which is still an admirable position to take. The Rebellion was an alliance of different rebellions and when Jyn Erso learned that she couldn't rely on the Rebellion to help her take the Death Star plans she formed her own coilition to take them herself, and in doing so she inspired the rest of the Rebellion to shed their fear and make a move.
 
In The Force Awakens, it is Leia who forms her own breakaway organization--The Resistence--after she learns that she can't rely on the Republic to save itself from the threat of the First Order. And the Resistance struggles to inspire the free peoples of the Galaxy to stand up for themselves instead of living in fear--until the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker when the Resistance does what Leia did, what Jyn Erso did, what Padme did before them--they showed the Galaxy through their leadership that evil could be stood up to without having a crutch and relying on a power that is unwilling to help itself.
 
Whether this was intentional (and on some level, it is because it's baked into the story, but what I mean by this statement is 'whether this is a call back to the specific ideas brought up in the Prequels and the original films/Rogue One') remains to be seen, but it works so well as the conclusion to a thematic arc that starts all the way back in Episode I.

The thing I appreciate most about The Rise of Skywalker is that it affirms a big theme of the entire series that was established all the way back in The Phantom Menace--the idea that you can't and shouldn't always rely on a governing body to take care of all of your problems for you. Queen Amidala learns that the thing she was putting all of her hopes in--the Republic--was never going to be able to help her rescue her people. So what did she do? She did it herself. Her sin through the rest of the trilogy was that she didn't learn from that experience--instead of continuing that independence of thought, she bought into the Republic wholesale foolishly hoping to change it from within. This lesson is continued in a big way with the Rebellion--despite their mission being to restore the Republic, which is still an admirable position to take. The Rebellion was an alliance of different rebellions and when Jyn Erso learned that she couldn't rely on the Rebellion to help her take the Death Star plans she formed her own coilition to take them herself, and in doing so she inspired the rest of the Rebellion to shed their fear and make a move.
 
In The Force Awakens, it is Leia who forms her own breakaway organization--The Resistence--after she learns that she can't rely on the Republic to save itself from the threat of the First Order. And the Resistance struggles to inspire the free peoples of the Galaxy to stand up for themselves instead of living in fear--until the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker when the Resistance does what Leia did, what Jyn Erso did, what Padme did before them--they showed the Galaxy through their leadership that evil could be stood up to without having a crutch and relying on a power that is unwilling to help itself.
 
Whether this was intentional (and on some level, it is because it's baked into the story, but what I mean by this statement is 'whether this is a call back to the specific ideas brought up in the Prequels and the original films/Rogue One') remains to be seen, but it works so well as the conclusion to a thematic arc that starts all the way back in Episode I.

The thing I appreciate most about The Rise of Skywalker is that it affirms a big theme of the entire series that was established all the way back in The Phantom Menace--the idea that you can't and shouldn't always rely on a governing body to take care of all of your problems for you. Queen Amidala learns that the thing she was putting all of her hopes in--the Republic--was never going to be able to help her rescue her people. So what did she do? She did it herself. Her sin through the rest of the trilogy was that she didn't learn from that experience--instead of continuing that independence of thought, she bought into the Republic wholesale foolishly hoping to change it from within. This lesson is continued in a big way with the Rebellion--despite their mission being to restore the Republic, which is still an admirable position to take. The Rebellion was an alliance of different rebellions and when Jyn Erso learned that she couldn't rely on the Rebellion to help her take the Death Star plans she formed her own coilition to take them herself, and in doing so she inspired the rest of the Rebellion to shed their fear and make a move.
 
In The Force Awakens, it is Leia who forms her own breakaway organization--The Resistence--after she learns that she can't rely on the Republic to save itself from the threat of the First Order. And the Resistance struggles to inspire the free peoples of the Galaxy to stand up for themselves instead of living in fear--until the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker when the Resistance does what Leia did, what Jyn Erso did, what Padme did before them--they showed the Galaxy through their leadership that evil could be stood up to without having a crutch and relying on a power that is unwilling to help itself.
 
Whether this was intentional (and on some level, it is because it's baked into the story, but what I mean by this statement is 'whether this is a call back to the specific ideas brought up in the Prequels and the original films/Rogue One') remains to be seen, but it works so well as the conclusion to a thematic arc that starts all the way back in Episode I.

The thing I appreciate most about The Rise of Skywalker is that it affirms a big theme of the entire series that was established all the way back in The Phantom Menace--the idea that you can't and shouldn't always rely on a governing body to take care of all of your problems for you. Queen Amidala learns that the thing she was putting all of her hopes in--the Republic--was never going to be able to help her rescue her people. So what did she do? She did it herself. Her sin through the rest of the trilogy was that she didn't learn from that experience--instead of continuing that independence of thought, she bought into the Republic wholesale foolishly hoping to change it from within. This lesson is continued in a big way with the Rebellion--despite their mission being to restore the Republic, which is still an admirable position to take. The Rebellion was an alliance of different rebellions and when Jyn Erso learned that she couldn't rely on the Rebellion to help her take the Death Star plans she formed her own coilition to take them herself, and in doing so she inspired the rest of the Rebellion to shed their fear and make a move.
 
In The Force Awakens, it is Leia who forms her own breakaway organization--The Resistence--after she learns that she can't rely on the Republic to save itself from the threat of the First Order. And the Resistance struggles to inspire the free peoples of the Galaxy to stand up for themselves instead of living in fear--until the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker when the Resistance does what Leia did, what Jyn Erso did, what Padme did before them--they showed the Galaxy through their leadership that evil could be stood up to without having a crutch and relying on a power that is unwilling to help itself.
 
Whether this was intentional (and on some level, it is because it's baked into the story, but what I mean by this statement is 'whether this is a call back to the specific ideas brought up in the Prequels and the original films/Rogue One') remains to be seen, but it works so well as the conclusion to a thematic arc that starts all the way back in Episode I.

The thing I appreciate most about The Rise of Skywalker is that it affirms a big theme of the entire series that was established all the way back in The Phantom Menace--the idea that you can't and shouldn't always rely on a governing body to take care of all of your problems for you. Queen Amidala learns that the thing she was putting all of her hopes in--the Republic--was never going to be able to help her rescue her people. So what did she do? She did it herself. Her sin through the rest of the trilogy was that she didn't learn from that experience--instead of continuing that independence of thought, she bought into the Republic wholesale foolishly hoping to change it from within. This lesson is continued in a big way with the Rebellion--despite their mission being to restore the Republic, which is still an admirable position to take. The Rebellion was an alliance of different rebellions and when Jyn Erso learned that she couldn't rely on the Rebellion to help her take the Death Star plans she formed her own coilition to take them herself, and in doing so she inspired the rest of the Rebellion to shed their fear and make a move.
 
In The Force Awakens, it is Leia who forms her own breakaway organization--The Resistence--after she learns that she can't rely on the Republic to save itself from the threat of the First Order. And the Resistance struggles to inspire the free peoples of the Galaxy to stand up for themselves instead of living in fear--until the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker when the Resistance does what Leia did, what Jyn Erso did, what Padme did before them--they showed the Galaxy through their leadership that evil could be stood up to without having a crutch and relying on a power that is unwilling to help itself.
 
Whether this was intentional (and on some level, it is because it's baked into the story, but what I mean by this statement is 'whether this is a call back to the specific ideas brought up in the Prequels and the original films/Rogue One') remains to be seen, but it works so well as the conclusion to a thematic arc that starts all the way back in Episode I.

The thing I appreciate most about The Rise of Skywalker is that it affirms a big theme of the entire series that was established all the way back in The Phantom Menace--the idea that you can't and shouldn't always rely on a governing body to take care of all of your problems for you. Queen Amidala learns that the thing she was putting all of her hopes in--the Republic--was never going to be able to help her rescue her people. So what did she do? She did it herself. Her sin through the rest of the trilogy was that she didn't learn from that experience--instead of continuing that independence of thought, she bought into the Republic wholesale foolishly hoping to change it from within. This lesson is continued in a big way with the Rebellion--despite their mission being to restore the Republic, which is still an admirable position to take. The Rebellion was an alliance of different rebellions and when Jyn Erso learned that she couldn't rely on the Rebellion to help her take the Death Star plans she formed her own coilition to take them herself, and in doing so she inspired the rest of the Rebellion to shed their fear and make a move.
 
In The Force Awakens, it is Leia who forms her own breakaway organization--The Resistence--after she learns that she can't rely on the Republic to save itself from the threat of the First Order. And the Resistance struggles to inspire the free peoples of the Galaxy to stand up for themselves instead of living in fear--until the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker when the Resistance does what Leia did, what Jyn Erso did, what Padme did before them--they showed the Galaxy through their leadership that evil could be stood up to without having a crutch and relying on a power that is unwilling to help itself.
 
Whether this was intentional (and on some level, it is because it's baked into the story, but what I mean by this statement is 'whether this is a call back to the specific ideas brought up in the Prequels and the original films/Rogue One') remains to be seen, but it works so well as the conclusion to a thematic arc that starts all the way back in Episode I.

The Rise of Skywalker is my second favorite Star Wars film behind Return of the Jedi if that tells anyone anything.
 
Love the score, though I don't know if I especially like it over the score for The Last Jedi--and by that I mean I think there's equal pros and cons to both.
 
The Force Awakens might STILL be my favorite of the sequel scores though. But I'm not a Star Wars hater. I love all the new Star Wars content that's coming out so I'll gladly contribute to Appreciation threads and enchantment threads.

The Rise of Skywalker is my second favorite Star Wars film behind Return of the Jedi if that tells anyone anything.
 
Love the score, though I don't know if I especially like it over the score for The Last Jedi--and by that I mean I think there's equal pros and cons to both.
 
The Force Awakens might STILL be my favorite of the sequel scores though. But I'm not a Star Wars hater. I love all the new Star Wars content that's coming out so I'll gladly contribute to Appreciation threads and enchantment threads.

The Rise of Skywalker is my second favorite Star Wars film behind Return of the Jedi if that tells anyone anything.
 
Love the score, though I don't know if I especially like it over the score for The Last Jedi--and by that I mean I think there's equal pros and cons to both.
 
The Force Awakens might STILL be my favorite of the sequel scores though. But I'm not a Star Wars hater. I love all the new Star Wars content that's coming out so I'll gladly contribute to Appreciation threads and enchantment threads.

The Rise of Skywalker is my second favorite Star Wars film behind Return of the Jedi if that tells anyone anything.
 
Love the score, though I don't know if I especially like it over the score for The Last Jedi--and by that I mean I think there's equal pros and cons to both.
 
The Force Awakens might STILL be my favorite of the sequel scores though. But I'm not a Star Wars hater. I love all the new Star Wars content that's coming out so I'll gladly contribute to Appreciation threads and enchantment threads.

Here is an original piece by me called Beyond the World, inspired by Jeremy Soule's music for Elder Scrolls. I love the Oblivion soundtrack so much that I tried to replicate the whole feel of that soundtrack with this singular piece.

Another May the 4th, yet another Star Wars video game soundtrack to go through. Before I get into things, I want to emphasize that this soundtrack was a collaboration between two talented composers, and while I can guess at what each contributed to this project I will do my best to give both composers equal credit for what follows if need arises.
 
With that said, let's jump in. Starting with:
 
MAJOR THEMES
 
Cal’s Theme
 
Track recommendation: Cal Kestis
 
Cal’s theme is the dominant musical idea. It is this soundtrack’s glue. While it shares not a lot of DNA with Rey’s theme from the sequel trilogy, the modes in which it appears throughout the soundtrack, particularly in moments where Cal is being cerebral, remind me of how Williams would make Rey’s theme more cerebral and slow at times. Start the track Cal Kestis at 0:00 and listen to all the different ways that Cal can be understood musically.
 
Cere
 
Track recommendation: Oggdo Boggdo

Cere’s theme is very complimentary to Cal’s thematic music. It’s especially appealing when they are played together as counter melodies like you can hear in Fight or Flight, but Cere’s theme gets some time to really shine in the latter half of the track Oggdo Boggdo. After dealing with the giant titular creature, you can hear a beautiful and soft rendition of Cere’s theme starting at 3:36.
 
BD-1
 
Track recommendation: BD-1 and the Boglings

Evoking memories of the droids motif in Empire Strikes Back, we have the fun motif for BD-1. Appearing at 0:04 in BD-1 and the Boglings, as well as popping up in various places throughout the rest of the soundtrack, BD-1 brings some much needed brightness to an otherwise oft-brooding soundtrack.
 
Eno Cordova
 
Track recommendation: Eno Cordova’s Theme

If you’ve played the game, you’ll instantly recognize Eno’s theme. It plays on the start menu and is an absolutely charming song. To me it enjoins a few other tunes on this album that sound more at home in an Elder Scrolls game than Star Wars, but that actually helps it become a stand out piece of music giving listeners a new feeling in a Star Wars soundtrack.
 
Merrin
 
Track recommendation: Nightsister

Every time I heard this track in the game I couldn’t help but think of the last third of Prologue and the Escape from Battlefront II’s soundtrack. Seriously, go listen to that, it’s nearly the same (that’s how you can tell that Gordy probably wrote it). Starting at 0:15 in the track Nightsister, Merrin’s theme is parts tragic and mysterious. When Barton and Haab bring it back towards the end of the soundtrack playing it in a more positive mode it shows the theme’s strength in versatility.
 
Malicos
 
Track recommendation: The Wanderer

This six note motif feels very “Serpent in the garden”. As a villain theme it’s a lot more slithery as opposed to Trilla’s theme which is like a Universal Monster score. Malicos IS the devil in this Star Wars playground, so it’s fitting that his theme begins reaching up for a height only to fall back down low. You can hear it starting at 0:21 on The Wanderer.
 
Dark Side
 
Track recommendation: Fortress Inquisitorius

This theme came as such a surprise to me, especially it’s usage in Fortress Inquisitorius starting at 3:05 though it pops up in other tracks like Cal Kestis and Crashed Venator. It’s tragic, grand and gothic.  Fitting as a theme for the fallen symbols of the old Jedi Order as the Dark Side wreaks havoc across the galaxy. Fortress Inquisitorius is a powerhouse track, by the way. Absolute best on the album—I love how the track seems to crescendo in danger and energy as it goes on until that death march towards the end of the song when the percussion kicks in.
 
Trilla
 
Track recommendation: The Inquisition

What’s fascinating to me about this theme is how this sounds completely different than what one would expect to hear of a main villain’s theme in a Star Wars piece of media. I likened it before to a Universal Monster score and it really does fit into that family very well, but Barton and Haab’s mastery of pastiche helps them blend it into and also expand the sound palette of Star Wars game scoring. Start the track The Inquisition and get ready to have your ear drums blown by the explosive low brass playing the theme at 0:04. However, the more iconic version of this theme gets played in the high strings, creating a piercing effect like nails on a chalkboard (in a good way).
 
 
MINOR THEMES AND MOTIFS
 
Bogano (“Bogano”)

I wanted to highlight this track for being so out of the typical Star Wars element. The way Barton and Haab really leaned into the fantastical, whimsical Lord of the Rings-esque scoring on this soundtrack helps give it it’s own identity. Of you’re looking for the Star Wars version of something lime Shore’s “Concerning Hobbits” this is as close as you can probably get. 
 
Creatures of Bogano (“BD-1 and the Boglings”)

This little idea plays in the latter half of BD-1 and the Boglings, and also the track Oggdo Boggdo. It represents the fauna of Bogano. You can hear this theme starting at 1:51.
 
The Origin Tree (“Kashyyyk”, “The Origin Tree”, “Chieftan Tarrful”, “Flight of the Shyyyo Bird”)

This little riff appears across several of the Kashyyyk tracks. You can hear it at the following places:

0:40 Kashyyyk
0:37 The Origin Tree
1:16 Chieftan Tarrful
 1:00 Flight of the Shyyyo Bird
 
For the longest time I didn’t know what to call this riff but noticed it predominantly played while you’re in the wildlands of Kashyyyk looking for Tarrful.
 
Saw and the Partisans (“The Mantis Lands”, “Saw’s Plan”)

This one plays in moments where Saw Gerrera is hanging around. You can hear it at 0:19 and 1:08 in The Mantis Lands, as well as 0:10 Saw's Plan.
 
Dathomir Figures (“To Dathomir”, “Nightsister”)

Not necessarily anything to get too excited over, but the music on Dathomir is very atmospheric and not very musical save for these three ideas that appear over the course of several different tracks that heavily feature on the planet. It’s most likely one solid idea, but I’ve split it up into three different parts to help differentiate what is being heard:

Dathomir Danger Brass 1: 3:27 in To Dathomir, 2:31 in Nightsister.
Dathomir Danger Brass 2: 3:34 in To Dathomir, 3:44 in Nightsister.
Dathomir Danger Woodwind: 3:19 in To Dathomir 2:26 in Nightsister.
 
Tragic Memories (“Memories of Days Past”, “Failure is Not the End”)

This is first heard in the track Memories of Days Past at 1:31. It signifies the tragic memory of Cal’s failure to save his master and preserve the Jedi ideals for which he once stood. It can also be heard in Failure is Not The End at around 0:39.
 
Gorgara

This little ditty sounds like it came straight from a Jurassic Park album. For real, it’s a four note motif that plays whenever the giant Dathomir bat is causing mischief and it is very analogous to the raptor motif from the original Jurassic Park film. You first hear it at around 0:30 in the track and it repeats at several points throughout the rest of the track.
 
Fight or Flight

This one is very minor, but at 1:05 a little riff plays to kick off the action cue of this piece. This riff ends up coming back at 2:58 or so.
 
AT-AT Hijacked

More action cues, our first being the figure heard starting at 0:37. You’ll hear this again at 0:55, and a few more times after that until we get into the Asteroid Field pastiche at 1:47 which has a recurring melody that sounds a lot like the melody that Williams wrote for Galaxy’s Edge, just in action mode.
 

These next couple I’m a little hesitant to call them themes or motifs, so I’ve settled on “idea” as the descriptor for what this music is.
 
 
Zeffo

You first hear this planets thematic idea at 0:21. This little ditty plays in variation throughout the rest of the track.
 
Ilum

Ilum doesn’t have much in the way of thematic material save a little movement that comes in at 1:17 and repeats until the end of the track.
 
Tomb of Kujet

This song contains a repeating pattern, first heard at 0:16, (with a variation taking over as the main mode around 1:08) which repeats at points throughout the track in different sections. There’s also another separate motif that repeats at parts first heard at 2:11 which then repeats until the end of the track.
 
EXTRAS
 
There’s a nod to Gordy’s Battlefront II Kashyyyk music at the start of the Kashyyyk track. We get a cameo from the Force theme in Jedi Starfighter (0:33) There’s some ambience that happens in An Unscheduled Stop that sounds eerily similar to some ambience from Pilio Wasteland from Battlefront II. There’s some very nice Asteroid Field pastiche in AT-AT Hijacked at around 1:47 as previously mentioned.  
There you have it! Hopefully this will help you get a little more acquainted with this score. It's some really great Star Wars stuff that doesn't rely as much on pastiche as past game scores have (not that pastiche is a bad thing, of course. This is not a knock against anyone's work).
 
Anyone have a favorite from this soundtrack?
 
EDIT: I hope this is showing up okay for people.

This is amazing.
 
I have still yet to give this score a full listen besides a few highlights. I've been  B A L L S  D E E P  in Squadrons, taking notes on that.

The first CD i ever remember having was "The Very Best Of the Boston Pops" - tried to do some Golden age stuff mixed with the Williams Pops sound of that era

The libraries from Cinesamples are only outdated in their UI and playability, but the sounds contained are still top-tier, IMO.
 
Meanwhile, over at 8dio they have some crazy deals right now. Just got their Liberis choir for 38 bucks. They were giving away their Hybrid drums and the 1928 Steinway for free, there are several other libraries that are discounted like hell right now. I really like their stuff and for the price you can't go wrong.

If I were you, I'd check out an Ostinato Brass library. The ones from Sonokinetic sound decent. Audio Imperia brass is great, I'm pretty sure they have an ostinato brass library separate from Jaeger or Nucleus but when I use Nucleus I'm able to just use the staccatisimo patches to create the exact sound I want. Hasn't faltered for me thus far.
 
The Audio Imperia library I'm thinking of is Fluid Brass. I haven't actually tried either of these suggestions myself, just have them bookmarked for when I have enough spending money for them--but these are their own thing and you don't have to buy a whole new sample library just to get that sound you want.

Hello again.
I want to write a brass fanfare.
Does anyone know what are the best brass that perform repeating 16ths or triplets right?
Like the 16ths in this score?
Do you use staccatissimo for just those notes or perhaps there is a specific sample in a library that handles them well?
 

Dude I can't explain, that's my problem. I know that buses in a DAW are something that you can connect one effect to multiple instrument tracks and that apparently they are somehow different than a FX track that you can also connect to multiple instrument tracks, but apparently putting effects on a bus creates a different sound than just putting it on the instrument track and I don't know why that is.
 
But my point was, buses kinda suck and they don't give me the sound I want.

Hehe. I haven't understood buses too, and I don't use them.

"... reverb on a bus"?
What on earth are you talking about?
Please explain.