1. Space Battleship Yamato Opening Theme
2. Grungy Men
3. Ship of Hope
4. The Wave-Motion Gun
5. Gamilas Fleet
6. The Return
7. Gamilasroid
8. Orders
9. Annihilation of the Enemy Fleet
10. A Moment of Silence
11. Comfort
12. Beautiful Blue Planet
13. Crisis
14. Faith
15. A New History
16. Cosmo Zero Launch
17. The Truth of the Radiation Remover
18. Entrusted With the Future
19. Earth
20. Desslar's Revenge
21. Mamoru's Hope
22. The Final Salute
This is hands down one of the best soundtracks ever created. Almost every track on the CD is absolute perfection. I feel it necessary to mention, however, that I am not familiar with the original anime music, so I cannot make any comparisons between the two.
The "Main Theme" is introduced right away. It's incredible how many different ways Nakoi Sato uses this simple theme. From the slow, yearning use in "Grungy Men", to the numerous action-oriented uses, this theme is always a highlight when it appears, and it appears often. My favorite rendition is about 1:40 into "Crisis". The strings and percussion in the background give it a heroic feel, and the counterpoint is nothing short of brilliant. At the beginning of "Faith", Sato provides us with a more traditional rendition of the main theme before launching into more upbeat battle-driven music.
The second theme, the "Infinitely Expanding Universe" theme is also introduced right away, serving as a interlude between performances of the main theme in the first track. It is a remarkably beautiful theme, capturing the mystery and majesty of outer space perfectly. It is also used to great effect in the track "The Truth of the Radiation Remover". In this track, it starts out being played at an extremely slow tempo, bringing a sense of deep sorrow, before launching into an extremely haunting and beautiful performance to close out the song. This theme is also allowed some final performances in "The Final Salute", bringing the film to a close.
The "Earth" theme is introduced at the end of "Ship of Hope" starting at about 1:42. The string ostinato and the snare drum drive this hopeful hymn before the choir comes in to give it a truly epic feel. It appears again in "Beautiful Blue Planet" and "Earth".
The first battle motif is introduced in "The Wave-Motion Gun", then appears in "Annihilation of the Enemy Fleet" and "Crisis".
"Gamilas Fleet" introduces two new battle motifs, the first likely representing the sinister Gamilas and the second representing the Black Tiger Fighters from Yamato. This second motif is easily my favorite of the entire score. Both of these motifs reappear in "Cosmo Zero Launch".
The "Gamilas March" theme makes an appearance in "Annihilation of the Enemy Fleet" starting at about 0:49.
"Comfort" is a beautiful track, and has a reprise during "Mamoru's Hope".
The single performances are no less intelligent and exciting as the themes.
"The Return" is the most ominous theme, probably representing the threat of the evil Gamilas. "Gamilasroid" is the most unique track on the album. Though it is comprised entirely of dissonance, it is more intelligently executed than dissonance from other scores making it a joy to listen to. One of my favorite tracks is "A Moment of Silence". It is a stunningly beautiful, reflective track that just keeps getting better as the song progresses. "Entrusted With the Future" is the film's inspirational speech, and this track is certainly inspiring. "Desslar's Revenge" is another ominous track. It's more in the background, but does a great job of creating a sense of mystery and evil.
The themes and motifs of this score are numerous and dynamic. Sato managed to keep the score together using the main theme, despite the sheer number of themes and motifs that could be easily overused. This helps the whole score sound cohesive and whole.
My favorite track is a hard one to pick, and nearly the entire album could have been chosen with no regrets. The one that stands out above the others, though, is "Cosmo Zero Launch". It starts with the "Black Tiger Fighter" motif which, as I mentioned before, is my favorite part of the entire score. It then launches into a little action before returning to this amazing motif. After this second statement, the battle motif from "Gamilas Fleet" makes a reappearance. The "Black Tiger" motif is allowed one final statement, before it moves into the second battle motif from "Gamilas Fleet". The main theme is then performed in its traditional march format, to my great delight. Then comes one of the most unique woodwind statements I've ever heard, and I always have to listen to it twice because of how fantastic it is. It's heard at about 3:25. The remainder of the song is a dark theme lead by a string ostinato and heavy percussion including what sounds like a muted gong. A falling glissando by the strings ends the track.
After the music stopped, Space Battleship Yamato cemented itself as one of my favorite soundtracks. Nakoi Sato has created a true masterpiece here. I cannot recommend this score strongly enough.
Score:
Written for Movie: Enhancing
On Album: 10/10 "Phenomenal"
Words to Describe It: Majestic, Intelligent, and Beautiful
The "Main Theme" is introduced right away. It's incredible how many different ways Nakoi Sato uses this simple theme. From the slow, yearning use in "Grungy Men", to the numerous action-oriented uses, this theme is always a highlight when it appears, and it appears often. My favorite rendition is about 1:40 into "Crisis". The strings and percussion in the background give it a heroic feel, and the counterpoint is nothing short of brilliant. At the beginning of "Faith", Sato provides us with a more traditional rendition of the main theme before launching into more upbeat battle-driven music.
The second theme, the "Infinitely Expanding Universe" theme is also introduced right away, serving as a interlude between performances of the main theme in the first track. It is a remarkably beautiful theme, capturing the mystery and majesty of outer space perfectly. It is also used to great effect in the track "The Truth of the Radiation Remover". In this track, it starts out being played at an extremely slow tempo, bringing a sense of deep sorrow, before launching into an extremely haunting and beautiful performance to close out the song. This theme is also allowed some final performances in "The Final Salute", bringing the film to a close.
The "Earth" theme is introduced at the end of "Ship of Hope" starting at about 1:42. The string ostinato and the snare drum drive this hopeful hymn before the choir comes in to give it a truly epic feel. It appears again in "Beautiful Blue Planet" and "Earth".
The first battle motif is introduced in "The Wave-Motion Gun", then appears in "Annihilation of the Enemy Fleet" and "Crisis".
"Gamilas Fleet" introduces two new battle motifs, the first likely representing the sinister Gamilas and the second representing the Black Tiger Fighters from Yamato. This second motif is easily my favorite of the entire score. Both of these motifs reappear in "Cosmo Zero Launch".
The "Gamilas March" theme makes an appearance in "Annihilation of the Enemy Fleet" starting at about 0:49.
"Comfort" is a beautiful track, and has a reprise during "Mamoru's Hope".
The single performances are no less intelligent and exciting as the themes.
"The Return" is the most ominous theme, probably representing the threat of the evil Gamilas. "Gamilasroid" is the most unique track on the album. Though it is comprised entirely of dissonance, it is more intelligently executed than dissonance from other scores making it a joy to listen to. One of my favorite tracks is "A Moment of Silence". It is a stunningly beautiful, reflective track that just keeps getting better as the song progresses. "Entrusted With the Future" is the film's inspirational speech, and this track is certainly inspiring. "Desslar's Revenge" is another ominous track. It's more in the background, but does a great job of creating a sense of mystery and evil.
The themes and motifs of this score are numerous and dynamic. Sato managed to keep the score together using the main theme, despite the sheer number of themes and motifs that could be easily overused. This helps the whole score sound cohesive and whole.
My favorite track is a hard one to pick, and nearly the entire album could have been chosen with no regrets. The one that stands out above the others, though, is "Cosmo Zero Launch". It starts with the "Black Tiger Fighter" motif which, as I mentioned before, is my favorite part of the entire score. It then launches into a little action before returning to this amazing motif. After this second statement, the battle motif from "Gamilas Fleet" makes a reappearance. The "Black Tiger" motif is allowed one final statement, before it moves into the second battle motif from "Gamilas Fleet". The main theme is then performed in its traditional march format, to my great delight. Then comes one of the most unique woodwind statements I've ever heard, and I always have to listen to it twice because of how fantastic it is. It's heard at about 3:25. The remainder of the song is a dark theme lead by a string ostinato and heavy percussion including what sounds like a muted gong. A falling glissando by the strings ends the track.
After the music stopped, Space Battleship Yamato cemented itself as one of my favorite soundtracks. Nakoi Sato has created a true masterpiece here. I cannot recommend this score strongly enough.
Score:
Written for Movie: Enhancing
On Album: 10/10 "Phenomenal"
Words to Describe It: Majestic, Intelligent, and Beautiful
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