A number of recommendations from the "Uematsu Involved with Final Fantasy XIV Online" thread prompted me to give the Lord of Vermilion OST a try.  I concur with Adam's description of the soundtrack: "Gritty, generic hard rock, with a few meaningfully melodic exceptions that brought back memories of vintage Uematsu."  It leaves little to musical innovation or imagination, but straight up, it's an enjoyable listen through and through.  I don't mind the overindulging use of the main theme, as it is a very likeable theme.  Under the guise of a simplistic yet sorrowfully-sweet power melody lie a number of very sumptuous hooks.  (I've been racking my brain as to which VGM pieces the theme's melody most resembles, because Uematsu or no, I know I've heard fragments of it before.  Anyone else feel the same way?)

DAWN of VERMILION ~Opening Theme~ is the first and best rendition of the theme, laying down the foundation for the rest of the score.  From here, I do prefer the main section's melody more, the one that's directly reprised in Evil Spirits of Vial Mountain Range.  The bridge section's melody is somewhat less memorable, though makes solid showings in Church City's Judge and Abandoned Castle Luxuria.  (More striking about these two particular tracks is the way Uematsu implements a borrowed motif from FFIX's Messenger of Destruction.  And it's pretty badass.)  But my absolute favorite is Masumi Harada's soulfully gorgeous vocal rendition in the end title track LORD of VERMILION, its calm and soothing overtones serving as a counter-stimulant for the rest of the score's high energy performances.  This is easily my favorite Uematsu-themed vocal since IX's Melodies of Life.

Points, also, for the satisfying length of the soundtrack.  Even if you were to take out the six-minute instrumental version of "LORD of VERMILION", you still end up with a beefy 72 minute listening experience.

Since it's always been Uemastu's crappy synths which were criticized, having these modern sounds is what I mostly liked about it.

Well, at 2:52 in the vocal piece I hear Celes' Theme from FFVI, albeit only briefly. I'm usually good with picking out random musical pieces in other songs, but I'm having trouble finding anything in the Dawn of Vermilion piece.

This one was one of those instances where I gave it a quick run through without it leaving much of an impression. Then one night while it was still winter I was in the mood for something icy, so I randomly threw on the Spiege Snow Plains and got hooked; and shortly thereafter, on the rest of the soundtrack. I don't think there's a bad egg on the disc.

Like Carl, the production values were what immediately impressed me. This was really Uematsu? There were bits and pieces of a post-synth, live instrument sound on Lost Odyssey, but this was just a full-blown concert epic that I totally wasn't expecting out of the guy. I hope the arranger, Kimio Itoyama, can teach the Black Mages a thing or two.

My two absolute favorites are the Melange Sand Dune and Black Dragon's Temple. I really love the percussion in the former and the latter is just a pure adrenaline rush. I'm also a big fan of the "Win" victory theme, as according to my scrobbling, I've listened to that alone more than a few hundred times.

But that's the problem I guess -- I overlistened to it. I mean, I do that with all the stuff I like, but (for now) I really haven't had much of a desire to go back to Lord of Vermilion since. Who knows, I could pick it up again in a month or two, but either way, this has been some of my favorite of Uematsu's work since FFIX. It was both unexpected and was stylistically something I was craving at the time. 

But solely as a piece of game promotional material, it successfully makes me really want to play it, which is impossible in America as far I know. Any information about the game in English is pretty scant, but at least the art for the monsters is pretty cool, and together with the music sets a kind of Dio-esque metal fantasy tone that's totally cheesy but one I totally dig.

Of Uematsu, "You're not alone" (FFIX) is near the closest, but to each own.

Yeah, I personally think the music has some pretty cold and dark musical tones to it; I definitely prefer listening to it solely in the Winter, and on the highway at that, when driving to/from work.

I think Vermilion skirts dangerously close to being a "junkfood" score.  It's thematically singular, brash (it's certainly not subtle), yet tasty all the way through, and hopelessly addictive.  Already I'm on my third play, and I'm digging it more and more.  The obvious danger with a junkfood score, though, is getting stuffed on it.  You'll eventually reach a saturation point, as you've seemingly proven, where you just need to take an extended break from the soundtrack.  At the rate I'm going, I suspect the same thing could happen to me.

Anyway, I've now got a few more favorites to throw onto the pile.  I've really warmed up to that bridge section melody, which has sprouted appreciation for Black Dragon's Temple and Ruined Kingdom Ghoula.  Also spotted a third melodic section, which isn't initially featured in DAWN of VERMILION.  It's got kind of a Street Fighter II Fei Long vibe, and this one can readily be heard in Renard Forest, Viala Volcano, and Elm, Capital of Eternal Night.   

Eirikr, I'm really digging Melange Sand Dune and Spiege Snow Plains now; they're slick polar opposites to one another, and really, they may be the only two tracks that have any sort of distinguishably stylistic flair in contrast to the rest of the score.  Win, though, is most certainly made of win, and I've found a slammin' good time in The Last Enemy.

You're Not Alone did initially come to mind.  And the bridge reminds me of the part that slows down mid-section during the final stanza of Dancing Mad.  Melodically, Symphony of The Night's Nocturne/Lost Painting?..... Maybe?  Ah, maybe not.

Absolutely. I listened to tracks 10-16 repeatedly for about a week and then got totally burned out to the point where I didn't even want to hear the CD anymore. You should take a break after another listen or two.

Awesome, glad to hear it. Yeah, the yin and yang of Melange and Spiege help them to stay fresher, longer. They're the Mentos of the album.

But definitely listen to Zane's advice and take it slow. Throw Melange and Spiege or whatever else on your portable music player of choice and savor them when they come on. (Plus a Win or two here and there is pretty good for keeping your spirits high)

I sort of get the same feeling from this album that I get from No More Heroes in the repetition of the main theme through a large portion of the album.  Thing is, that's a three disc score I can listen to again and again, and thus far Lord of Vermilion strikes me as one I'm going to get tired of by the time I get to a half dozen listens or so.  I guess that speaks to the junkfood aspect of this one.  Then again, I hold that NMH's third disc is one of the best in VGM for years, so maybe I have some bias going on there.

Decent score, good energy.  Just not enough variety for me as far as I can tell.

The Vermilion burnout might have happened to me too to a degree. Listening to it now, I'm not sure what I liked about in the slow pace of "The Final Enemy", perhaps my inner tempo was down and I fit better with the flow? But then again, the beat + guitar + melody co-operation in "City Church Arbiter" is still fantastic, and while I don't spin the soundtrack back to back and over and over like I did in the winter, I occasionally listen to the tracks separately and love the synth climax goodness in "Elm, Capital of Eternal Night", the bubbly sound in "Ruined Kingdom Guura" or the all-out revving hard rock in "Tyrant's Palace".

Edit: scratch the beginning, now I'm in the mood for some Final Enemy again.

Edit2: Whoah "Abandoned Castle Luxusaria" this is so awesome!