Record of Lodoss War OST Volume III

RECORD OF LODOSS WAR OST VOLUME III
JNA Animation
JNA1516-2
$17.98

— by Keith Rhee

1. Odyssey (Instrumental) 4:55

2. Magical Power of Evil Mage Vangard 3:22

3. Eternity (Adesso E Fortuna /English Version) 4:07

4. Grief of Leylia 2:23

5. Scorching Decisive Battle 3:24

6. Rain of Stars (Instrumental Version) 3:53

7. Resurrection Ceremony of Evil God Kardis 3:11

8. Marmo's Monster Army 2:58

9. Knight of Lodoss - Song of Wind 4:24

By Takeshi Kusao

10. Death of Pirotas 2:17

11. Road of Dragons 3:35

12. Shrine of Kardis 3:35

13. Wind, Birds and Sky - Reincarnation 2:58

by Akino Niji

14. Epilogue 3:21

Soundtracks for "serious" shows often come with background music that work well in the show itself, but do not make for very good listening on their own. For example, while many of the tracks in NEON GENESIS EVANGELION provide the necessary sense of urgency and mood in the show, they prove to be cacophonous and hard to enjoy outside of the show's context. Fortunately, the third CD for the series RECORD OF LODOSS WAR does not fall into the same trap. Most of the tracks on the album are orchestral pieces, making for a smoother listening experience despite the overall melancholy and serious mood.

The album takes its tracks from the final part of the series. The story is coming to a climax: Deedlit's life is withering away, Parn is rushing to her rescue, and as the fate of Lodoss hangs in the balance, the music reflects the urgency of the situation. Aside from the bright and uplifting opening piece "Odyssey" and the ending "Epilogue," the tone of the tracks in-between range mostly from melancholy and sad to dark and brooding, as reflected in the names of titles such as "Grief of Leylia" and "Death of Pirotas."

Only three vocals accompany the symphonic tracks on the CD. "Wind, Birds and Sky ö Reincarnation," is a sad love song sung during the final struggle as Parn is trying to set Deedlit free, while "Knight of Lodoss — Song of Wind" is a brighter, lighthearted ballad. The real surprise, though, is in a surprisingly well-done version of "Adesso e Fortuna," titled "Eternity". In addition to the vocals, we are treated to two instrumental versions of existing vocals in "Odyssey" and "Rain of Stars".

The ending piece "Epilogue" marks the bright light at the end of the tunnel. Having saved the country, Parn is made knight of Lodoss, and one can feel the triumphant, festive mood in the music. The track makes a nice, happy ending to the otherwise moody album.

JNA is doing an admirable job of bringing over the soundtracks for domestically released anime titles, at much cheaper prices than imports. Aside from the requisite translation of the text in the inserts, the packaging is left mostly intact. The sound quality of the music, of course, is the same as the import version — potential buyers need not worry on that count. I heartily recommend this CD to those who like moodiness in their music, regardless of whether or not they have seen the series.

CD INFORMATION
RECORD OF LODOSS WAR OST VOLUME III
JNA Animation
JNA1516-2
(c) 1992 Victor Entertainment, Inc.
(c) 1992 Group SNE / Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. Ltd / Marubeni Corporation / Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc.