Thanks goes to Jessica Stan for sending this in for review!
Back in 2003, ADV Films made a major play into the soundtrack space by re-releasing existing Japanese soundtracks in North America under their ADV Music label. These featured different packaging, but the contents were the same as previously released CDs. While the subject matter varied, everything from their Destroy All Monsters - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD-004) to Super Atragon - Metal Pulse Music Edition (CSA-001), in general most of these soundtracks were dedicated to anime productions. Today's subject is no exception, as this is a reissue of the Columbia soundtrack to Spriggan (COCP-30017).
Now in terms of the music here, composer Kuniaki Haishima's experimental soundtrack has a mildly gothic feel to it. However, it's a bit all over the place, featuring a diverse range of styles that goes all the way from electronic beats to utilizing a jazz saxophone. Despite the variety, though, the score suffers from a lack of memorable themes.
As noted, the score is quite diverse in its styling. However, sometimes this shift occurs even within the same track. That's exemplified by "Drive in Istanbul," which combines Asian/European influences with heavy synth work. Some cues also evoke a horror-like quality, particularly in "FFF·Cross" and "Projection Life," which have a bit of a creepy atmosphere to them. That's not too shocking given the composer would go off to do several horror soundtracks after this, like Hypnosis (1999).
Sadly, as mentioned highlights are few on this CD. "One Occurrence" stands out with its superhero vibe, while "Sink" offers soothing violin, though it's too brief and in general neither is particularly stellar. "Jean" is another short but decent track, while "Spriend" starts well but falters with cheesy instrumentation. As for the vocal track "Jing Ling" by Saju, it is disjointed. It features overlapping vocals from Dennis Gun and Nitza that create a sensory overload that detracts from the listening experience.
Overall, this soundtrack misses the mark, lacking the particularly memorable tracks that would make it more recommendable despite its stylistic diversity.
On a side note, the original Columbia CD featured track titles in English. The ADV Music release uses largely the same titles, although with a couple of minor changes. One change is that "Reliefing" becomes "Relieving", as the original was assumed to be a typo and this validates that. The other change is in some capitalization, like "fff·Cross" becomes "FFF·Cross". |
