Bonfireside Chat Musical Identity: Bloodborne
Added 2019-10-13 20:25:41 +0000 UTCOur soundtrack series has brought us to Bloodborne, which is a real departure for the series. FromSoft brought in composers from across the globe, and from the movie industry, to give this game its signature sound, leaning more heavily on strings than any Souls game before it. Our problem? A lot of it feels pretty anonymous.
Comments
While I totally agree with the inconsistency of the soundtrack and how bland many of the lesser tracks are, I think there is a lot to love here. I'm a Dungeon Master, and my personal style trends towards horror, and so I've used a lot of the extended cuts of the music in my games. As a result, I've listened to this soundtrack a lot, much more then the other soundtracks. Even the unremarkable songs are extremely functional as ambient backing for spooky combat. I also think that Omen is a genuine masterpiece, and the musical mission statement of the game. Especially the live in concert version that slows the song down and really emphasizes the meaty bass, as well as the singer's final note being a literal piercing scream. https://youtu.be/LzdhTGaWzec I also think that the DLC contains some really amazing tracks, but that's for another time. EDIT: Even the concert version of Omen that I just praised highly is pretty much just noodling for the first half before the melody kicks in. Soooooooo...
Adam Bucceri
2019-10-14 20:13:25 +0000 UTCReally enjoyable music episode again! I do think Bloodborne is my favourite From OST, but I'd also agree that listening to the entire thing in a sitting is a demanding ask and there is a lot of filler. I've got 7-8 tracks that I adore and rarely listen to the rest, to be fair. Which may speak to how indelibly those tracks I do love have got their hooks in me. Orchestral music with a baroque atmosphere and imposing choirs has always evoked cathedral spires and gothic settings to me, I'm predisposed to like it, and at its strongest I find the music not only additive but integral to moments like Gascoigne and the Cleric Beast. Also, the Blood Starved Beast reminds me a little of Psycho, which I thought was a good pull for a game trading in different types of horror. Come to think of it, that flayed creature is often obscured as if by shower curtains... It hadn't occurred to me that as the game shifts gears into cosmic madness the soundtrack would have done well to do the same. Other than Gehrman, the memorability of the songs drops off after the reveal of Rom, whereas a pivot to a fresh musical palette could have really accented those story beats. I'm looking forward to the Dark Souls 3 OST and Sekiro, as I think Yuka Kitamura goes from strength to strength as a composer and I can see why the company gave her increasing influence over the sound of their games, to the point where she seems to be the only composer for Sekiro.
Jon Cheetham
2019-10-14 03:03:54 +0000 UTC
