MD's music sounds more "memorable" than JS's.

MD's music sounds more "memorable" than JS's.

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Posted by: Kite.2510

Kite.2510

A video with a tease of the new music in Season 2 has just been released, and I already love it.

An important complain I had with GW2 was it’s music. While each track individually can be considered good, as a whole it wasn’t very memorable and lacked variation.
Being an ex-WoW player I had very high expectations of the music department, as I consider music to be one of the most important (if not THE most) important tool in creating atmosphere to a scene or area.

This might be only a teaser, but it already sounds fantastic despite being made by a composer with seemingly little experience. Of course we currently have very few samples of Maclaine Diemer, and who knows if further down the line he’ll fall in the same trap JS did where you can’t distinguish one track from another.
An he is Wrong about the existing music in the Video. Very few zones actually have a distinct musical palette… I’m under the impression that there might be a bug in the game that prevents the tracks-list playing from changing when you change zones.

…and don’t be toxic!

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Posted by: Syrpharon.7491

Syrpharon.7491

There are flutes in the soundtrack.
Tengu confirmed.

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Posted by: LanfearShadowflame.3189

LanfearShadowflame.3189

I’m going to have to agree to disagree OP. I find JS’s music to be very good, and quite memorable.

Don’t get me wrong, the sneak peak of music we got today from MD was beautiful as well, but whether or not it will be ‘memorable’ has yet to be determined. Obviously some of it already is, but like all art not every piece is a masterpiece.

Of course, beyond that, each person’s taste differs slightly as well. So while one person may find piece ‘a’ memorable, another may not.

Don’t look at me like that. Whatever you’ve heard, it’s probably not true.

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Posted by: Fuin.8361

Fuin.8361

All of the music has been great so far I think

This soundtrack sounds awesome as well!

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Posted by: skullmount.1758

skullmount.1758

I disagree with all of you (except Fuin). Both did great music. I’ve enjoyed all the music for the game, from OST to LS ones (and SABs).

Darkhaven server
Please give us a keyring…

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Posted by: Sarrs.4831

Sarrs.4831

I find Jeremy Soule’s music to be very… Jeremy Soule.

He makes pretty music, don’t get me wrong- but it’s the same music in every game he does. You can transplant TES music straight into GW2 and it doesn’t feel out of place, for example, and I’m worried that he’s kinda generic simply because he’s so popular in fantasy RPG space.

Nalhadia – Kaineng

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Posted by: Plum Butter.4058

Plum Butter.4058

I’m just hoping that the add the pieces to Soundcloud like they did with LS Season 1.

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Posted by: Lethalvriend.1723

Lethalvriend.1723

I agree you can recocnize Jeremy’s tracks quite easily. Some tracks in GW2 sound almost exactly like a few he did for Skyrim. I actually mixed some up myself a few times. I do like his music, but he definetely has a distinct style.

The newer tracks that were made for the living story aren’t made by him but they fit right in the game and this teaser sounded really nice. I wish they would remake and patch all the soundtracks in the game to an orchestrated version rather than the current digital tracks.

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Posted by: Kite.2510

Kite.2510

I find Jeremy Soule’s music to be very… Jeremy Soule.

He makes pretty music, don’t get me wrong- but it’s the same music in every game he does. You can transplant TES music straight into GW2 and it doesn’t feel out of place, for example, and I’m worried that he’s kinda generic simply because he’s so popular in fantasy RPG space.

That’s pretty much my problem with JS.
You could hear any random 4 seconds of all his different tracks and still feel like they all come from the same track…
Perhaps the biggest advantage MD has over JS is that he simply is a different person and offer some change to the game’s soundtrack.

…and don’t be toxic!

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Posted by: SaltyDave.7346

SaltyDave.7346

I must very strongly disagree with OP.

Jeremy Soule’s work usually isn’t something considered as medicore / forgettable / grey / boring music. He does his job very well by adding another layer to the very image of the thing he writes music for.
A few examples are Icewind Dale, Giants: Citized Kabuto, Baldur’s Gate, Dungeon Siege 1-2, Neverwinter Nights, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind AND Oblivion AND Skyrim, even Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games (both), Unreal 2, Warhammer 40k Dawn of War, the whole Company of Heroes series, and… Guild Wars Prophecies, Nightfall and EotN, and the list goes on.

He did a fantasic job with all of them, and I’ll tell you why. It’s not just that these games had actually really memorable music, but many of them became an icon. A symbol. Skyrim, is the best example here, and Guild Wars 2’s music is closely following it. Of course Skyrim had a much bigger market waiting for it, plus the modding made it very popular and long lasting, so it’s iconic music too did benefit from all that obviously.

With Guild Wars 2, it’s the same thing, just with a smaller community. But for real, put your hand on your heart, and listen to the “Battle of the Vanguard”, “The Stars Shine on Kryta” and most importantly: “Saga of the Norn”. We can say this last one creates the whole image of Guild Wars 2 in trailers etc. Someone’s taste of music is not something to argue about, but if you consider these as “not memorable”, there is a problem and not with the music.

And know listen what we got after ANet and Soule.. well, let’s say just left each other’s hand, and not in a good way.
This is the very end of Season 1, a battle that was planned the biggest, most epic thing for GW2 since it’s relase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC1xopc4TXs
I’m not going to say my honest opinion about it because I respect everyone’s efforts put into this, but I think that it’s not only boring, but almost isn’t feel related at all to the content it was made for. It’s far too generic. That’s my opinion, you don’t have to agree.

Now, I must say I’m very happy for that the current music composer(s?) of Guild Wars 2, possibly those who made the one linked just above, can evolve and make such great music we can hear in the preview of Season 2, really, I’m one of those who want them to succeed and overcome even Soule’s masterpieces. That’s a success for them, and fantastic beauty for everyone in the world they share their work with.

!!!!! carefully read this please !!!!!
BUT. The way to express your feelings is NOT the way of degrading, or looking down on someone else’s work, especially not if that is done as marvelously as Guild Wars 2 original OST genius is. If you like the new one more, hey, that’s great, enjoy it! No, I know even better, let’s enjoy it together while playing. You want to put it above the original? Fine, I happy you like it and we have another satisfied player with us. But instead of saying “I like this, the other sucks”, try to say “This is even better than what we had”.

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Posted by: zwierz.9012

zwierz.9012

There are flutes in the soundtrack.
Tengu confirmed.

The flutes are a tertiary instrument. Half life 3 confirmed.

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Posted by: Rebound.3409

Rebound.3409

The music is extraordinary…and i say that as someone who has been consistently critical of what anet did with LS.

The improvement is extremely huge and props to Maclain Diemer and the orchestra from “Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concert House” (dat name….)….they brought some of the beauty of what GW2 should have been from the start, back into the game. Hats off to the soundtrack.

Let’s hope the rest of LS lives up to the beauty of this soundtrack. U reading this level designer team? Don’t let down the work these ppl did by puting in 50 cash shop skins and 100 backpacks nobody uses and content worth 1h max of gameplay to get through just to culminate it with a finale filled with some of the most irritating bugs/glitches just so ppl have no incentive to replay!

(edited by Rebound.3409)

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Posted by: Chrispy.5641

Chrispy.5641

I’ll just say this.

When I’m playing videogames, I like music that sounds like it fits in a videogame.

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Posted by: Vol.7601

Vol.7601

I think Soule’s music is marvelous.

I can’t quite say composer/songwriter x is better than y. I suppose we should all enjoy them?

I think Soule’s personal life and public comments make people dislike his music, which isn’t quite fair.

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Posted by: Tears.5627

Tears.5627

There are flutes in the soundtrack.
Tengu confirmed.

As mounts.

Running Axe on Necro since April 27th, 2012 (Before it was cool)

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Posted by: CaptainVanguard.4925

CaptainVanguard.4925

I feel like Diemer’s Music is more Iconic than Soule’s, Soule’s most iconic track was notably Morrowind Theme, which became the iconic style he used for every subsequent track he plays, the problem is, all his music uses symphonic scores and as a consequence, it sounds very hallow.

Diemer is using a full Orchestra and even before that, he was using music that made his pieces feel more independent of each other so each track has its own story.

A good Soundtrack tells an iconic tale of every landscape you visit, every character theme you come across, there’s something of iconic music that comes out in a score that gives it flavor.

The teasers we got were more than enough for me to know Maclaine is the person we need for future GW music, he makes the world come to life in a way that Soule’s ambient themes gave level and pacing, but never the most important part of the story, movement.

I am really looking forwards to S2’s score and I hope, if it succeeds, they will have money enough to fund season 3 and onwards with even more orchestra and iconic pieces.

Seriously, id happily donate to a private fund for Gw2 having its own musical orchestra, also, maybe give us a bard costume for everyone that donates for the fun of it

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Posted by: Frosch.7809

Frosch.7809

I have to disagree with the OP.

JS’s music was the sound of Guild Wars from the very beginning, him leaving severed one of the few things that connected this game to Guild Wars.

What we got in between as music pieces made me cringe, honestly. This new music score does sound better from what i can tell, it doesn’t sound bad, but it simply isn’t JS, whose music i identify with Guild Wars.

I give my respect to the new composers we got since JS left, i do not want to put down their work, it’s just not my taste. For me the new music is another step of severing connections to the original Guild Wars game, and that makes me sad.

[Yak’s Bend]

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Posted by: Sirius.4510

Sirius.4510

Jeremy Soule’s work in GW Nightfall didn’t sound very much at all like his other work… which was interesting. There wasn’t much that was very memorable to me though.

I would have pointed to Unreal 2, but apparently he was one of many composers there and I don’t know which songs he worked on. Wouldn’t surprise me if it were the cinematics though.

Just a random PuGgle.
Stormbluff Isle ( http://www.stormbluffisle.com )

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Posted by: FlamingFoxx.1305

FlamingFoxx.1305

I think Jeremy’s work in Prophecies and EoTN was great, but the Cantha and Nightfall soundtracks weren’t extremely memorable for me.

I think MD’s pieces are a lot more interesting. I’m not sure I could say I prefer either, they both just have a different feel and for where GW2 is headed I think MD’s music makes perfect sense. He’s doing a great job.

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Posted by: Snowmoon.1758

Snowmoon.1758

I disagree. JS main theme is instantly recognizable, immediately hummable, and epic.
while MD is good too, we will have to see how good it is when season 2 unfolds.
The music will probably be good, too bad the story most likely won’t be though.

Staunch Supporter of Mounts in Guild Wars 2. Gimme mah Fluffeh White Bunneh!!!
Give us Mounts, Anet! Pretty Please with Chocolate, Whipped Cream, Cherry and Mayonnaise? d^_^b

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Posted by: Stramatus.5219

Stramatus.5219

I find much of JS’s music to be great. Many memorable and likable themes. I really liked his work on Factions and EotN.

That said, I felt like he missed the mark a bit on GW2. There are a few memorable themes, but a lot of it just didn’t work in my opinion.

I feel like the new music has had a certain sense of immersion and in the case of Lion’s Arch Lament, emotionally compelling that JS’s GW2 soundtrack didn’t really produce in my opinion. Really liking the current music direction.

Sir Helvidius | Sir Beregond | Proud Ascalonian Humans
“Remember The Searing. We never forget, and never forgive.” – Family Motto

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Posted by: Farzo.8410

Farzo.8410

The funny thing with World of Warcraft is that I actually prefered their music before they got an orchestra.

During Classic, all their soundtracks was made by one or two guys at a computer. I really loved the music they created.

They got an orchestra which was around the middle or at the end of The Burning Crusade expansion. The music they did with the orchestra wa absolutely awesome, too awesome infact, which in my opinion, made it annoying.

Everywhere you go now, every zone, every moment, everywhere, you hear some really awesome, epic, orchestra, and it just gets too much, it’s just too loud and in your face, all the time. Even places where it doesn’t need to sound loud and epic, it is just that, loud and epic.

Classic’s soundtrack was ambient, and fit the zones very much, and they only played epic soundtracks where epic soundtracks should be. The music in Classic felt very, very Warcraft like, and it was lovely.

As an example.

World of Warcraft, Classic Burning Steppes.

World of Warcraft, Cataclysm Burning Steppes.

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Posted by: Nat.4029

Nat.4029

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. I “believe” Jeremy Soule was scoring Skyrim at/or around the same time that he was scoring Guild Wars 2. Skyrim as we all know, has one of the greatest soundtracks ever composed. Guild Wars 2’s original soundtrack is very mediocre for the most part. It’s always seemed to me that Soule gave everything he had to Skyrim. Perhaps he scored GW2 after Skyrim, and GW2 suffered from his exhaustion. Because after creating that masterpiece, I can understand him being exhausted.

Valar Morghulis

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Posted by: CaptainVanguard.4925

CaptainVanguard.4925

Skyrim’s soundtrack isnt that memorable if im completely honest, it suffers from classic Soule Symptons of being a recycled track from other things hes done before.

You want an example of everything Soule has done before that sounds like other tracks he’s done in comparison:

Armies of Exigo, Oblivion, Morrowind, Skyrim (mind you they are ES games so that’s passable), Kotor 1 (2 was done by a different composer, same guy who did swtor’s tracks), guild wars and its expansions (again, excusable until Skyrim and GW2 sounded exactly the same) oh and, Everquest Next, which again, has a carbon cut copy of his music style, as well as the original supreme commander, again, very much Soule style typical music.

Look, I don’t necessarily think Soule’s music is bad, but what it lacks is iconography.

Take Stormwind theme in WoW, there’s a very ICONIC theme tune to that, which specifically defines “this is Stormwind” take Bill Browns Lineage 2 music for each of the races in Lineage (Until Inon Zur took over >.>) Each one was very iconic and very defined from the other.

Soule’s music never has this, every track still manages to feel the same, which as a consequence, makes any difference between them redundant, e.g. The Norn theme in Gw2 is essentially a carbon copy of its predecessor in GW1, its also a little void of any strength because of that, it just feels cliche and empty.

I liked his human theme, I liked his Charr theme, I liked his Sylvari theme “but”.

I do not like Soule’s music over all when I compare it to Diemer’s who actually gives us a level of personality to every situation.

Take the Tower of Nightmares, for some that don’t know there is a track on the sound cloud that basically is the theme for Tower of Nightmares, its also Scarlets Iconic theme from Season 1, it had many different variants but it still felt sinister and driving and it gave her presence a menacing form.

The Zephyrite Theme was also his work (to those hoping it was Soule’s) and that’s why it sounds slightly different from Soule’s typical work, because it isn’t his work.

I don’t hate Jeremy Soule, but I doubt we will ever see him work on GW again, honestly, hes invested in ever quest next atm, so its most likely he’s going to be on that bandwagon for a while.

Id rather have Diemer as a fitting replacement, we have more atmosphere because of him and I hope it stays, that way.

As for the Orchestral Overkill:

That’s a WoW thing, I agree to a degree WoW suffers these days from having too many epic tracks “but” I also feel epic tracks are needed in certain situations or events where ambient ones don’t suit.

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Posted by: Shew.6827

Shew.6827

I think Jeremy Soule’s experience with DAWs, VST plugins, etc. impact my view here because his synthesized music sounds much more realistic and conveys more emotion than the synthesized music from the earlier stages of the Living World. So the fact that Maclaine and Leif have composed music that has been recorded live is a nice, welcomed change.

Jeremy Soule did a fantastic job with the themes for each of the original Guild Wars campaigns, along with several of the pieces we hear throughout the campaigns, and so I’ve got a lot of faith in him, whereas it’s harder to have faith in newer composers, but this Living Soundtrack video showed that the music is in good hands.

I would still love for Soule to compose the main theme for the Canthan release (whenever that is) because his Factions theme is unique, bittersweet, and sets the stage for that game and continent so well. It’s hard to imagine the Canthan suite of music in different hands.

Maclaine, Leif, and Stan have composed a much smaller scope of music for the game than Soule has, so considering how much time the former and latter composers have had for their respective scopes, I think it’s only natural that Soule’s music blends together more than Maclaine’s/Leif’s/Stan’s music as a whole, and I understand that OP recognizes that.

The Zephyrite Theme was also his work (to those hoping it was Soule’s) and that’s why it sounds slightly different from Soule’s typical work, because it isn’t his work.

(Just to clarify, that piece is by Leif Chappelle.)

So anyways, I can’t wait to listen to the rest of this season’s music!

(edited by Shew.6827)