Rekishi Hiwa Historia OST II

[wintersviolet]

Re:

^
I thought Seventh Heaven is more like 'epic' style songs (had so much build up towards the end) while Snow Falling is the opposite..tho they both have slow tempo (exceptionally slow for Snow Falling) they kinda feel different.

As for Symphonia, I can relate the style to I reach for the Sun, ballad-ish but fast and lots of beats (notice the heavy use of bass drums). I personally like them both.

agreed!

 

[ninetales]

Re:

I personally like them both.

I agree too. That's usually what sticks with me about Kalafina songs - they always have different moods.

Seventh Heaven has a feel of 'epic ending', while Snow Falling is more intimate-sounding, with that lovely little bridge of 'kasa no kage de sotto...'. Symphonia to me is more 'epic beginning': it starts out slow and gentle with Keiko, goes through the triumph of 'higashi no kaze ni' and builds into the very epic chorus. 'Epic' is one of the only words I can think of to describe it...

Even though there are similarities in some of Kajiura-sensei's lyric songs, I always like most of them because of their differences in mood. To extend it further, I like Symphonia and Adore equally despite their slight similarities, because Symphonia's mood is so epic and triumphant while Adore sounds more desperate and sad. So both of them are very opposite the other, at least in my opinion.

 

[KONIcchi]

^ I suspect that for most of us it's a case of "love the soundtrack so much even without CARING for the show"

Yes~ that's quite true

I like Symphonia. Although not REALLY LIKE but i can still listen to it over and over and over again. Yup, indeed Kalafina songs got different moods... And sometimes it doesnt meet my mood that's why i hardly play Kalafina songs... but i still love Kalafina because they're unique

 

[maxwell9]

Re:

^ think you are overextraggerating, I see not much arrangement difference between symphonia and, lets say, seventh heaven, so I dont get why you dont like it since they dont sing it worse (except they dont have much melodies this time), may you dont like the melody

i'm not talking about vocal skills (they never fail in album recordings, because of the studio magix), i'm talking about the whole song, vocals are really boring and repetitive. The same goes for the music, another kajiura autopilot, the already known boring ballad that irritates you especially when you have been listening to her recent work (2008 +) for a while.

Magia was different, a bit of fresh air after Red Moon dissapointment, but this was totally unnecessary, i would prefer a Kaori/Kasahara/Yuriko song instead of Kalafina's.

i'm starting to miss FJY days....

 

[KONIcchi]

^ i miss FictionJunction too! esp. Yuuka

 

[KP-X]

Totally unnecessary? Do not forget: you are talking solely about yourself. Even if you're tired with the "boring" ballads since 2008, there's bound to be people that aren't, and such songs are for this public. Even if you're saying this because the song does not present any innovation to Kajiura's music as whole, that still doesn't mean the song is totally unnecessary. (I was going to elaborate a bit more on this but my head hurts so happy discussion for you guys ;X)

 

[george1234]

^ +1.

also, maxwell9, FJY ballads are, in general, not much different from the Kalafina ones. (best examples: Futari, Rokugatsu wa Kimi no Eien, Piano (which is close to gloria as of style), inside your heart)

 

[grunty]

WAT? Plz2not get Yorokobi mentioned next to symphonia. Even if I'm not a fan of its chorus, it's in every way superior to symphonia. Not to mention one of the best Kajiura bridges evur. :|

 

[george1234]

Okay, replaced it

 

[Yuki88]

It's all back to personal preference so debating is kinda useless imho.

(I love symphonia, of course)

 

[Nick Hunter]

^
I thought Seventh Heaven is more like 'epic' style songs (had so much build up towards the end) while Snow Falling is the opposite..tho they both have slow tempo (exceptionally slow for Snow Falling) they kinda feel different.

As for Symphonia, I can relate the style to I reach for the Sun, ballad-ish but fast and lots of beats (notice the heavy use of bass drums). I personally like them both.

a good point. Although IMHO if we're to compare moods, Symphonia feels like a straight successor to Historia. Which makes perfect sense.

Totally unnecessary? Do not forget: you are talking solely about yourself. Even if you're tired with the "boring" ballads since 2008, there's bound to be people that aren't, and such songs are for this public. Even if you're saying this because the song does not present any innovation to Kajiura's music as whole, that still doesn't mean the song is totally unnecessary.

Pretty much my point here. Yuki's songs are quality ones, and she upholds this quality. What differs is our perception. Some old fans get bored with time, others don't - there's no musician to be 100% insured against it. Personally, I don't get bored probably because I'm not really craving for breakthroughs on Yuki's part? I sure appreciate it when the composer diversifies the style, I love how, say, Mike Oldfield takes on new genres in new albums and I was really excited to hear of Elton John's plans to record a hop-hop/R'n'B album, despite never caring too much for those genres (too bad the project apparently stalled). But in Yuki's case... I think, "of course it would be great to hear something new from her" - and... fail to define what exactly I want to hear. And I suppose many freshness-craving fans actually do. Yuki's approach to music embraces quite a number of styles and techniques; one should have a pretty good imagination to know what they would want added there. Should she go for hip-hop, or death metal? Just for the sake of it? And if we simply dislike something about her latest trends and miss the older ones... all there is to do is wait till she revisits them again. Then you can enjoy "oldschool Kajiura"... and the background buzz from another fraction about "what the heck, we heard this stuff back in 2004".
So, to end this offtopic ranting, I'll just repost the link I gave earlier. Two magic words: Unpleasable Fanbase. Let's remember these words and the article behind them every time before we feel like holywarring with each other over personal tastes and such.

 

[maxwell9]

Re:

It's all back to personal preference so debating is kinda useless imho.

this.

 

[salvanos]

Although I believe its only fair to share everyone's opinion in the spectrum, the manner in which people share it is probably more upsetting.
Like "Ear Cancer" that statement is crude and offensive and quite frankly unneccessary when in essence all you had to say is "I don't like it for these reasons, etc."

Opinions are opinions but sometimes it feels like the same group of cynical people always have something negative to say about EVERYTHING being released.
How about YOU attempt to compose a piece? Then we can bash the heck out of it and berate you on its quality and later whine and b**ch about how its a redundant piece or its missing the spark form your earlier years.

Anyways, Symphonia is Not as vibrant as Magia was but its still a nice addition to their works.
I love "the outbreak" and "break down the door" those are my favorite instrumentals.

 

[george1234]

Re:

Although I believe its only fair to share everyone's opinion in the spectrum, the manner in which people share it is probably more upsetting.
Like "Ear Cancer" that statement is crude and offensive and quite frankly unneccessary when in essence all you had to say is "I don't like it for these reasons, etc."

I will have to agree on this part.

 

[maha_gnosis]

Re:

Pretty much my point here. Yuki's songs are quality ones, and she upholds this quality. What differs is our perception. Some old fans get bored with time, others don't - there's no musician to be 100% insured against it. Personally, I don't get bored probably because I'm not really craving for breakthroughs on Yuki's part? I sure appreciate it when the composer diversifies the style, I love how, say, Mike Oldfield takes on new genres in new albums and I was really excited to hear of Elton John's plans to record a hop-hop/R'n'B album, despite never caring too much for those genres (too bad the project apparently stalled). But in Yuki's case... I think, "of course it would be great to hear something new from her" - and... fail to define what exactly I want to hear. And I suppose many freshness-craving fans actually do. Yuki's approach to music embraces quite a number of styles and techniques; one should have a pretty good imagination to know what they would want added there. Should she go for hip-hop, or death metal? Just for the sake of it? And if we simply dislike something about her latest trends and miss the older ones... all there is to do is wait till she revisits them again. Then you can enjoy "oldschool Kajiura"... and the background buzz from another fraction about "what the heck, we heard this stuff back in 2004".
So, to end this offtopic ranting, I'll just repost the link I gave earlier. Two magic words: Unpleasable Fanbase. Let's remember these words and the article behind them every time before we feel like holywarring with each other over personal tastes and such.

Just don't say that everything yuki's made is always high-quality ... that's so not true. While the taste is subjective, but the art itself is objective.

 

[Nick Hunter]

Yep, my taste is subjective as well. I don't claim her music to be absolute high quality. My estimating will always be comparative, but I've been exposed to such a lot of mediocrity (alas, that is what 98% of Belarusian and Russian pop music, as well as a sizable chunk of Western pop music, is all about), that even some very average J-pop songs seem to float high above that level at times. And then I discover Yuki Kajiura whose music is nothing short of outstanding by pop standards (I don't draw parallels with rock, since she is obviously not a rock composer) and by classic standards it's pleasant to listen to, to say the least. Naturally, me being objective was never an option here - I was hooked like a goldfish. Nowadays, I tend to shuffle the whole YK playlist in my player, and never there has popped up a track I'd be displeased to hear. It doesn't mean that all her works are on the same level for me - I sure got my preferences and tracks I may listen to half-attentively. So my point doesn't stem from trying to argue for the sake of arguing, flattering Yuki for the sake of flattering or trolling Grunty for the sake of trolling. I'm just a fan who, it just so happens, has failed to get bored and disappointed to this day. A drop of "pleasable fanbase", lol. If there is room for someone amiably sarcastic like Grunty (who, as I have already mentioned, criticizes most of Yuki's recent works but never stops following her career), I believe there is room for someone pink-glassed like me, too.

 

[Kagaribi no Hanabira]

Re:

^ I suspect that for most of us it's a case of "love the soundtrack so much even without CARING for the show"

Absolutely agree...lol.

Otherwise, I love the entire song. I just don't see how it can be boring when there's so much emotion in it

It may be a personal test..lol..I'm not a ballad fan, then I feel that Symphonia is a bit boring. I'm not a fan of Kaze no Machie and Nohara as well... I feel that both songs are extremely boring..Orz..(so my first impression for Keiko is not that good..lol.), but I like Keiko's Houseki so much... so I guess that my taste may be very different from many one here..lol. BTW.., if comparing to Seventh Heaven or Snow falling.. I think I prefer Symphonia.

IMO, FJY ballad has it's own characteristic that is very different from Kalafina, and its Yuuka's emotional singing style, which I feel that it's so lack in Wakana who dominates Kalafina ballad song. Well..it isn't that Wakana's singing is not emotional, but it's in the very different way. I can't expect for a sacred/majestic/mysterious ballad like Lirica, Utsukushisa, etc. from Yuuka as well..lol. I prefer the way that Keiko sang Houseki in YKlive 4#2, but she hasn't sung in that style for Kalafina. I wonder that will we have sth. like that in a future...? lol.

However...the ratio of FJY's boring/good ballad songs&Kalafina's boring/good ballad songs (boring/good is just for my taste...plzzz..:p) are the same..lol.

Have so much things to do after back to Thailand..Orz...I'll try to write the full review soon...TT

 

[Yuki88]

Re: Re:

^ Everyone's singing style and character are obviously different and noticeable. It's like listening to a certain song by other vocalists, it wouldn't have had same impression (i.e. Hanamori no Oka).

I prefer the way that Keiko sang Houseki in YKlive 4#2, but she hasn't sung in that style for Kalafina. I wonder that will we have sth. like that in a future...? lol.

I prefer the way she sang Houseki in live vol.2, vol.4's was indeed technically better, but it kinda lacks of power and emotion imho. She has been singing like in vol.4 nowadays. I kinda wish she would have kept singing like in vol.2, less round-sounded.

 

[ninetales]

Re:

And then I discover Yuki Kajiura whose music is nothing short of outstanding by pop standards (I don't draw parallels with rock, since she is obviously not a rock composer) and by classic standards it's pleasant to listen to, to say the least. Naturally, me being objective was never an option here - I was hooked like a goldfish. Nowadays, I tend to shuffle the whole YK playlist in my player, and never there has popped up a track I'd be displeased to hear. It doesn't mean that all her works are on the same level for me - I sure got my preferences and tracks I may listen to half-attentively. So my point doesn't stem from trying to argue for the sake of arguing, flattering Yuki for the sake of flattering or trolling Grunty for the sake of trolling. I'm just a fan who, it just so happens, has failed to get bored and disappointed to this day. A drop of "pleasable fanbase", lol. If there is room for someone amiably sarcastic like Grunty (who, as I have already mentioned, criticizes most of Yuki's recent works but never stops following her career), I believe there is room for someone pink-glassed like me, too.

You must be a mind-reader, because this is exactly how I feel

 

[wintersviolet]

Pretty much my point here. Yuki's songs are quality ones, and she upholds this quality. What differs is our perception. Some old fans get bored with time, others don't - there's no musician to be 100% insured against it. Personally, I don't get bored probably because I'm not really craving for breakthroughs on Yuki's part? I sure appreciate it when the composer diversifies the style, I love how, say, Mike Oldfield takes on new genres in new albums and I was really excited to hear of Elton John's plans to record a hop-hop/R'n'B album, despite never caring too much for those genres (too bad the project apparently stalled). But in Yuki's case... I think, "of course it would be great to hear something new from her" - and... fail to define what exactly I want to hear. And I suppose many freshness-craving fans actually do. Yuki's approach to music embraces quite a number of styles and techniques; one should have a pretty good imagination to know what they would want added there. Should she go for hip-hop, or death metal? Just for the sake of it? And if we simply dislike something about her latest trends and miss the older ones... all there is to do is wait till she revisits them again. Then you can enjoy "oldschool Kajiura"... and the background buzz from another fraction about "what the heck, we heard this stuff back in 2004".
So, to end this offtopic ranting, I'll just repost the link I gave earlier. Two magic words: Unpleasable Fanbase. Let's remember these words and the article behind them every time before we feel like holywarring with each other over personal tastes and such.

Just don't say that everything yuki's made is always high-quality ... that's so not true. While the taste is subjective, but the art itself is objective.

I think what Maha meant was that the remark of Yuki's music being "quality" is a subjective statement in itself, so it's not a valid argument to support a point.

But while people who criticize all of Yuki's more recent works are entitled to their opinions, I also don't like crude terms as "ear cancer" (particularly when the person saying such things just drops the comment without any explanation).