By Toby “Radiation” Fox
My favorite track on the album. It kicks off with a threatening piano introduction, and the slow harpsichord melody that follows carries an air of terrible inevitability (that bent-note oboe really helps drive the point home). Perfect for scenes of courtblock drama. Like many tracks on this album, this one is revisited on AlterniaBound, but I prefer this version and its slower, measured pacing.
RATING: 10 / 13 – FR3SH L1K3 R3C3NTLY L34V3N3D GRUBLO4F
A solo effort by Mark Hadley, whose contributions to the catalog tend not to be prolific, but always high in quality. The album is short – it’s more like a single release with an A and a B side than an album. But taken together, it’s a strong eleven minutes of music.
All three tracks run with the musical theme first established in Skies of Skaia. None of the songs could be called remixes, though: that would be unjust. The album is symphonic, atmospheric, and very much new-age (if you draw a blank on that genre, think Enya). And I can’t help but be reminded of the soundtrack for the first couple of Lord of the Rings movies – and the Elvish-looking script in the album cover title (and, as it turns out, Elvish lyrics) only reinforces that presumption.
The transitions between songs are a little abrupt for a single concept in three songs, but that does little to detract from its vibe. It’s good stuff.
Click here for individual song reviews for Song of Skaia.
