Bam! Right out the gates the track “Master Assassin” just thwacks you out of nowhere. I actually thought the disc was skipping at first...nope. Just been stabbed in the neck by Jesper Kyd who is in top form here with “Brotherhood”, the followup, multiplayer outing for the Assassins Creed franchise. The album is available for purchase on iTunes on November 16th..
Well it's one year to the day since the soundtrack for Assassins Creed II was released and it's been a long year if you've been waiting to hear more from Kyd's work on the series. I love what he does with a series. There is always such a great arc, a story that is told not only from song to song, but from game to game. We heard this in the Hitman series; each iteration not only built off the last but experimented with techniques, narrative perspectives and dynamics. The arc in Assassins Creed is much more subtle, much more nuanced. You go away understanding the feeling of the world versus humming any recognizable tracks. That isn't to say it's just a wash of ambient cues, not at all. What I mean is Kyd manages to convey more than plot and environs, but more to the heart of intentions and circumstances.
If there's anything to be of a “main theme” for “Brotherhood”, it lies in the track “City of Rome”. Rome is where this Assassin's story takes place so a lot of care was taken to have this track anchor everything else.
Well it's one year to the day since the soundtrack for Assassins Creed II was released and it's been a long year if you've been waiting to hear more from Kyd's work on the series. I love what he does with a series. There is always such a great arc, a story that is told not only from song to song, but from game to game. We heard this in the Hitman series; each iteration not only built off the last but experimented with techniques, narrative perspectives and dynamics. The arc in Assassins Creed is much more subtle, much more nuanced. You go away understanding the feeling of the world versus humming any recognizable tracks. That isn't to say it's just a wash of ambient cues, not at all. What I mean is Kyd manages to convey more than plot and environs, but more to the heart of intentions and circumstances.
If there's anything to be of a “main theme” for “Brotherhood”, it lies in the track “City of Rome”. Rome is where this Assassin's story takes place so a lot of care was taken to have this track anchor everything else.
“Brotherhood” features a lot of great solo work. This is something I wish more game soundtracks would invest in, the tangible quality, the inherent connectedness of a solo violin or the lilt of a lone female soprano awash in verb and decay. A name I have to mention here is Melissa Kaplan. She is perhaps my favorite component of the “Brotherhood” sound and Jesper is wise to work with her as he's done both in past Assassin's soundtracks and previous titles. Her tone is so clean and elevated that it's hard to lose in a mix, and impossible to lose from your mind.
“Brotherhood” is for the most part an “orchestral” album, that is, it uses a lot of instruments from the typical orchestra repertoire. What Jesper isn't afraid to do is break a lot of the archetypes and (dare I say) trappings of a traditional orchestral score. Sure, Jesper is known for his amazing fusion of electronic, rock, and orchestral pieces but this is so much more than that. It's an evolution full of intent and purpose.
Notable tracks are of course the sweeping “City of Rome”, the tense action piece “The Brothehood Escapes”, and the solemn “Echoes Of The Roman Ruins”. There is some great percussive rhythms in “Villa Under Attack” which also features a great deal of male chorus stabs. “Fight of the Assassins” is a great duel/face-off track with some powerful percussion, a truly empowering feeling hopefully solidifying in the player's favor.
Notable tracks are of course the sweeping “City of Rome”, the tense action piece “The Brothehood Escapes”, and the solemn “Echoes Of The Roman Ruins”. There is some great percussive rhythms in “Villa Under Attack” which also features a great deal of male chorus stabs. “Fight of the Assassins” is a great duel/face-off track with some powerful percussion, a truly empowering feeling hopefully solidifying in the player's favor.
So you'll hear electronic smatterings embedded here and there, crafting and supporting sweeping string sections that shrink and wash like the ocean, punctuating a bass line or glistening on top like a sinewy thread. The synthetic elements are more than welcome, they are not only appropriate for the storyline, but they really keep things fresh without sounding “patchy” or dialed-in. “VR Room” is a great ambient electronic piece that manages to squeeze in a beautiful violin solo. “Apple Chamber” has a cool “Tron” vibe to it which just makes me smile. A descending arpeggio with synthetic strings murmuring atop, ever forming and ever dissipating. Such fun stuff!
“Brotherhood” moves so effortlessly between 'beautiful' to 'haunting' to 'down-right scary' to 'lump-in-your-throat' with such care and intention it's just a marvel to behold. Kyd finds flexibility, he finds sensitivity, he creates opportunity and capitalizes on it. If that isn't an assassin's "creed " then I don't know...etc., etc.,
“Brotherhood” moves so effortlessly between 'beautiful' to 'haunting' to 'down-right scary' to 'lump-in-your-throat' with such care and intention it's just a marvel to behold. Kyd finds flexibility, he finds sensitivity, he creates opportunity and capitalizes on it. If that isn't an assassin's "creed " then I don't know...etc., etc.,