Recording from the performance at the Sydney Opera House:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xPIbKUqwZdI

I actually like Final Fantast V's soundtrack a lot. Sure, it isn't no IV or VI but I honestly find it to be a very interesting and textured score - and I don't mean interesting in the "nice but I really don't care" way either. The deep percussion and bass really make for some cool compositions. There is more from V than "Battle on the Big Bridge" that is worth listening to... I honestly wouldn't underestimate FFV as a soundtrack.

Way to judge an album based solely on the tracklist and your own ignorance. FFV > you.

[Disregard Post]

Don't know if I'm repeating myself, but I'm pretty sure that this album will be like the two earlier. One or two good tracks, 3-4 ok'ish, and the rest is utterly pieces of horribly mutated shitturds, like The Skies Above.

So sure that Darkness & Starlight will be mutated shitturd. And I hope that they will make those VIII tracks good. And futher hoping that FF III Last Battle track isn't the same as in FF III OST, not that the ost track isn't bad at all.

Sadly it is.  If it makes you feel any better, we got 11 tracks on TBM2 to balance out the 9 (new) tracks on this one.

I'm indifferent toward the repeat of the FFIII track because I don't have the FFIII OST and haven't heard the song... but I can see how that would disappoint people. Maybe they included it to beef up the album a little because they didn't want to release a 9-song album.

[Disregard Post]

I think BM3 will shape up to be the best of the 3 albums, as long as the opera track is as good as they promised. They mentioned in the latest vid that they will be having the concert in August, so hopefully we'll get the DVD as the next Uematsu Club bonus.

So... Why isn't that arrangement on a CD exactly?

There was one part I didn't like. The transition between Parts 2 and Parts 3, there is supposed to be a bell ringing during that part that for some odd reason they did not incoperate into the arrangement. I think the absence of that ruins that part of it. Otherwise it was good. I couldn't tell some parts due to the terrible sound quality.    I do like that they put the electric guitar part in from the end of Part 4. But the performance of the guitar paled in comparsion to the BM version. Still, would definitely like a higher quality recording of this.

Audio quality in the video is muffled, but still better than nothing; I agree, they should press this one onto an album.

The way they lighted the concert hall is simply ingenius, as well.

...

As for Black Mages III, disregard any previous comments *I* may have made.

My only real peeve with this album is that perhaps there's TOO MUCH of a disconnect between the different arrangements they're doing; they're taking them from all over.

While there were exceptions, the first Black Mages seemed to take from the earlier FFs (FFI~VI), while the second took from the later FFs (FFVII~X).

If anything, Bernhardt, at least you're consistent: I still have no idea what you're complaining about.

The Black Mages:
Pre-FFVII tracks: 6
Post-FFVII tracks: 4

The Black Mages II:
Pre-FFVII tracks: 4
Post-FFVII tracks: 6
(+1 non-FF track)

The Black Mages III:
Pre-FFVII tracks: 3
Post-FFVII tracks: 6
(+1 non-FF track)

So taking for the moment your apparent premise that variety in source material is somehow a bad thing, I should think you would be MORE excited about this album than the previous ones, as it skews slightly more towards the more recent FF titles, rather than confusing you with arrangements coming at you from all over.

Maybe you'd like to gripe about the cover art next?

I was staring at that cover art for a good couple of minutes trying to figure out was going on.  The body proportions are off, but it makes for an interesting image.

Actually, no, I like Yoshitaka Amano.

Haven't you been paying attention?!

I only sing the guy praises whenever his art comes into discussion...

The album art might just be the ONLY reason I end up getting this: so I can scan it and make a desktop wallpaper/poster out of it.

But, hey, let's think positively, right? (I applaud myself for this line...)

Honestly though, I'm surprised about the presponse this album is getting; I thought it'd been established that peoples on this boards thought the Black Mages were lame.

...

P.S. With regards to Black Mages II, I've been wanting to say this for awhile, but I wish they'd left the "HYAH!" in "Maybe I'm a Lion." The radio voice of "Maybe I'm a Lion" was decent, but they still could've followed it up with the karate war cry; it was just so BAD ASS; they could've left in more of the Japanese motif, too, what with the taiko drums and sandblocks.

I like to think of that theme as Squall's theme; replete with the "lion" concept, and a sort of samurai motif, I think it fits Squall perfectly.

I thought the Black Mages CD covers were done by the FFT/FFXII guy.

Edit: just remembered his name - Hideo Minaba?

Yes, definitely not Amano. On this page it says illustration by Hideo Minaba.

Published an interview with Uematsu regarding the album:

http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=208

Some interesting tidbits of information.  I didn't know he used to perform in a band?  If he was doing that twenty years ago with a band without and my musical training, that's pretty impressive!

Disappointed

Mainly because The Extreme is my favourite Uematsu boss theme, and I don't much like the arrangement of it here. Ah well.

There are a few straighforward arrangements, but I don't think any of them are "bad."

EDIT:  Just published full impressions here:

http://www.music4games.net/Review_Display.aspx?id=150

WELL, the Black Mages III cover art still LOOKS like it was done by Amano...even if it isn't.

The first 3 pieces are horribly synthy, but improve by track 04. Now, why couldn't they have done those first 3 pieces well, as they did the rest of the album? (Waiting for someone to say those first 3 tracks were just HORRIBLE in the sense of the word on its own).

Is synth inherently "horrible?"  Maybe they should fire Fukui if that's the case!

By the way, the staffers at dog ear could use a pat on the back for taking some time to make and post those video previews. 

The vids were effective in increasing my anticipation for the album, and it's always fun to see people messing around in the studio.

Hopefully they'll keep it up and post similar vids for other dog ear releases.

I agree. It adds more of personal note/connection to the album, and I get a sense of what the music means to them and all the work that went into it. I also get a kick out of hearing them say, "Please listen to the album, thank you, thank you!"

That snippet of "LIFE" at the end of the last one sounded nice. Uematsu's piano themes always capture my attention.

I absolutely love this album. My favorite is definitely "Assault of the Silver Dragons." I can't get enough of it! Overall, I think they did a fantastic job and improved on all of the pieces. There are some definite surprises and while some might find the Opera arrangement to drag on, I think it's very beautiful.

Gave the album a listen today.  It's a decent effort in a few places, but certainly the weakest of the three Black Mages albums for me.  The ratio of not-so-good tracks is far greater than the well-done ones this time around.

Opening Mission ~ Bombing Mission - Love the introduction as always...... it's hard to mess up that intro, and the guitar lead promised great things to come.  But sad to say, and I fully admit it, the track falls way short with its overwhelming reliance of synths that drive the melody and the guitar playing secondary to improvisation duties.  This is a pattern that's always been a stigma on several TBM tracks, and it's something that they repeat quite often for the rest of this album too.

Neo EXDEATH - Now here's one of the few tracks that absolutely nails it right.  Like Clash On The Big Bridge, The Mages attack the song with a healthy balance of synth and guitar work.  Here, the synth is far more beneficial to the main melody, but the guitars get a lot of lead opportunities as well.  Plus, the improvised part in the middle is truly slammin',  Really, really well done.

The Extreme -  I was so looking forward to The Extreme, but was quite let down.   It's shockingly straightforward, which could've been forgiven if they'd have lent it the power necessary to bring such a high-adrenaline track like this alive.  There's again too much reliance on the orchestral synth, and not nearly enough "oomph" on the few occasions when the lead guitar gets a shot at it.  That flange effect on the axe irritates me to no end, too.

Assault of the Silver Dragons - My most anticipated track sadly falls a tad short.  They never really acknowledge the most melodically engaging part of the song, merely reference it -- it's that big, disappointing feeling where you've got this nice, lengthy arrangement, you wait and wait for it, but it just never shows up.  And as ambitious as the new improvisation in the middle is, it does drag on unnecessarily long.  They nail the final half perfectly, though, with terrifically sublime work on lead guitar.  It's just a shame that it didn't follow through with the rest of the song.

KURAYAMINOKUMO - Yes, it really is exactly the same as the one featured on the FFIII DS OST.  But it's still an amazing track; the Black Mages do seem more adept at bringing the pre-Playstation songs to life better.  Strong leads and great harmonic riffs, and the new bridge at 3:09 is simply stunning.  Is it strange that my lasting memory of "This Is The Last Battle...." is not of FFIII itself, but of Chocobo Racing? :)

Distant Worlds - I honestly had not heard the original source material for this one, so a direct comparison is impossible for me.  On its own, it's a wonderful, tranquil piece.  Good variety of instrumentation, including flute, acoustic guitar, harp, and piano -- and they all have a sweet, innocent flow to them.  It's not a stretch to imagine this as being anything other than a Black Mages performed piece for two-thirds of the song, but the finale proves their involvement ten-fold.  They seriously need to get more power ballads like this going.

Premonition - Premonition ends up being marginally better than the The Extreme, but there are still spotty moments that prevent it from being the truly badass arrangement it could've been.  It just needed more power, more grunge..... perhaps a lower octave range throughout, especially at the "The Landing" arrangement section.  And there are again those moments where you wish the synths would take a backseat and just let the guitars do their thing. 

Grand Cross - I have yet to disassociate myself as to why they chose FFIX's "Final Battle" over what I think everyone felt would've been the more apt "Messenger of Destruction."  That said, they've got the speed and backing guitars in place well enough, and the synths are less intruding but still all together too dominant for its own good.   And I really just need to say it here: I've got the greatest respect for Uematsu, believe you me, but if they could just hose him off of those keyboards a little - especially that freaken cheesy jazz organ - I firmly believe that these soundtracks could end up being so much more incredible.

Darkness And Starlight - Big points here, of course, for ambition.  The vocals are fine, but did we honestly need to have the narrative talking parts in there?  Aforementioned cheesy jazz organ makes its presence felt, and that feeling is that of inappropriateness.  (C'mon, Nobuo..... if you've gotta resort to the organ, couldn't you have maybe gone with the pipe one, like how you use at 3:41?)   The Aria Di Mezzo Carattere part is well-played, and the Wedding Waltz section at 7:45 is insanely fun.  They kick it into high gear for the duel at 9:32, where we hear the much talked-about Black Mages vocal debut, laced with a decidedly excellent performance by Mr. Goo.  The finale is well executed, but then of course, that jazz organ comes along and murders it.

Life -in memory of KEITEN - Like Tim JC, I'm a sucker for the simple Uematsu piano pieces, and this one's no exception.  Short, sweet, this one obviously speaks from the heart.  It's definitely got hints of Final Fantasy familiarity in it, though - to me, it sounds like its main influences draw from FFVII's Farm Boy and maybe a touch of FFVIII's Fisherman's Horizon.

I'm 5-up and 5-down on this one overall. Darkness and Starlight was ambitious, but I found the singing and narration beyond annoying and the omission of the Finale section pretty much negates the new material. Something I've heard once in my lifetime and don't feel the need to hear again (hmm...much like "The Skies Above") The FFXI track was about as expected. Wasn't feeling Premonition and never cared much for the FFIII arrange. Might care more about Life, but on an album as short as this and as long as it's been in the works...Nah, wrong place, wrong time.

But...The other five tracks are some of the best Mages tracks I've heard yet, led by the FFIX pair. I think they could have gone a little crazier on Extreme, but I really like this new version. The performances and arrangements feel much more polished than most of the prior material from them (although I do slightly think "Maybe I'm a Lion" is their best track yet).

Tough call as far as a purchase goes...There is some amazing material on here, but the album as a whole feels like a bit more of a tease than a quality effort. I'd put this well ahead of BM2, but still in the rear of the first album (nothing here gets me as excited as the announcement of Gilgamesh or Force Your Way being arranged).

I really wanted to like this one, given the decent track selection, but I'm feeling 50/50 on it as well. Knowing what The Black Mages CAN do, it really frustrates me that they keep favoring all of the weaker synthy stuff over their [mostly] excellent guitar work. I do like a lot of the crisp synth licks I hear on the Black Mages albums, but when those synthetic notes have less punch to my ears than the original soundtrack...sometimes it sounds like an electric organ sideshow. Not only that, but it also tends to muffle or blur other things that are going on. I don't want to point fingers here, but I don't think Fukui is the problem (sorry, my beloved Uematsu!).

It's a shame, because the framework for this album is strong enough, they just built some of the crucial sections out of plastic instead of steel, and plastered a bit of cringe-worthy stuff over some of those good parts. I don't expect a "Gilgamesh" sound for every track, it's just the potential those guys have to make a super-rocking album, yet they choose to go down a different road.

Opening ~ Bombing Mission - Started out fine, turned into a rather garbled mess to my ears.

Neo EXDEATH - Good song. Got the bad taste out of my mouth and my hopes back up!

The Extreme - This is one of my favorite boss themes; sadly, it loses its intensity here. Starts out good, ends very good, but the rest doesn't have enough "oompf" for me. The kicker here is that section right after all the little rapid note runs, where it builds higher and reaches its climax....well, the original sounds quite exciting but the new arrangement actually drops in volume and blurs some of the most important notes. And normally where that driving piano motif would follow, we get something more toned down as well. (Im sorry, but I just needed that section to ROCK.)

Assault of the Silver Dragons - Despite losing some of that swelling, epic feeling from the original piece, I really like this one. There is some nice arranging here, and I could listen to it repeatedly. Good job!

KURAYAMINOKUMO - Already have this on the FFIII DS soundtrack. I'm not a big fan of the original tune, but the band does a nice version of it here and adds some needed power.

Distant Worlds - I've listened to this song while my bro was playing FFXI. It's a recurring theme in the game and one of my more recent favorites from NU. This performance does not disappoint. Thank God there were no vocals for this one.

Premonition - Ummmm, I liked some parts but my attention strays when I listen to it, so I guess I'm less than thrilled.

Grand Cross - I agree with others who've mentioned "Messenger of Destruction" as being a better choice. This one does well enough, though. I think I like it better than "Premonition," but by this time in the album I feel my enthusiasm waning.

Darkness and Starlight - Wow, this one had me up and down. I like it for the most part. It feels very "Black Mages" to me, in that their style seems to flow naturally here and I really like some of the sounds used (the beginning, oh yes) and the performance on guitars, the pacing and balance; it sounds like they had fun with this one. The narration was not needed, but at least it wasn't in english. Can't say I'm too hot on the singing either. Even though this is supposed to be an opera, I know. The female vocalist sings too much in her throat for my taste, and I think Mr. Goo showed up that other guy. The Black Mages singers pwn all though.

Life -in memory of KEITEN - Short and sweet. A simple, pretty tune that plays twice, the second time being in a higher octave. There's a certain chord in there that I like. It's not a big deal or anything, but sometimes it's just that one altered note that really sets it off.

It astonishes me that the synth they used here actually sounds *WORSE* than back in the PSX days. It greatly hurts a lot of the music on this album. I winced whenever Fukui pulled out the synth strings.

I think "Premonition" was the biggest disappointment for me. It lacks the energy and sense of epic that the original had. It felt like they were just marking time.

"Darkness And Starlight" was just odd. They probably could have pulled it off with better singers. The female mezzo in particular had a vicious wobble (one that shouldn't be there. I work with opera singers, I know the difference). The men often suffered from spotty intonation. I actually like the rock instrumentation for this music more than the orchestral original. It just seems to make more sense, given the harmonic language.

Oh god. And then it ends with the mezzo from hell.

A lot of this music deserves better. Could you imagine "The Extreme" with an orchestra, rock band AND female chorus? Not very cost-effective but it would kick ass!

Any word on what synthesisers were used?

Does that comparison really make sense?  The game synth and BM synth have totally different goals --- in the game they're trying to present the illusion of real strings etc., with BM they're going for a typical 80s keyboard sound, to fit the image of the band.

Yea, that's why I'm asking if anyone knows what synthesisers were actually used.

Well I am sure I will ruffle a few feathers with this post but after listening to this cd ( well mp3 ) 3 times I have to say hands down it is the most obnoxious cheesy %^it I have ever heard, there are cawk rock skidball bands from the 80's who could make better sounding crap and I do mean crap.

While I am a fan of alot of uematsu's work and enjoy the piano and orchestra releases on top of the ost's I think the brack mages are a complete comedy, how anyone could even consider this garbage cool or hard rock for that matter is beyond me, the track darkness and starlight caused me to spit out my coffee, especially when that repetitive dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun part cuts in with the ear bleeding opera and talking.

I am actually trying to picture these clowns live on stage in america for some added lulz, this is the kind of music I would turn up in a pedophiles cell for torture, it is so bad that is not even good bad.

This is one cd deserving of an encyclopedia dramatica page. Even my friends ( who are also vgm fans ) were rolling around on the floor after hearing this hilarious shite. WATAAAAA SHITTTTTTTTT AAAAAAAA DIAA REAAAAAAAAAA OOOOOOOOO

-5/5 stars FTL!!!

Darkness and Starlight is the best song ever.

Funny, I feel the same way - only about the piano and orchestra releases you're referring to. To each his/her own.

The gray goo plague of our time.