Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - The Soundtrack (2012)



Release Date: Feb 07, 2012
Media Format: Digital
Classification: Original Soundtrack
Published by: Sumthing Else Music Works
Composed by: Grant Kirkhope
Performed by: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Quality: 256 kbps
Size: 111 Mb.

Renowned video game composer Grant Kirkhope (GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Viva Pinata) and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra bring the magical world of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning to life with an original dark fantasy score.


"Reckoning was a huge undertaking, as I knew from the start the scale of the game was going to be BIIIIIIIG!," said Kirkhope. "I wanted to make sure it was strong thematically so that the player could make real associations with characters and places; I've always tried to do this with all the games I've worked on. There's a good two and a half hours' worth of full orchestral score in Reckoning ranging from huge boss fights to smaller ensemble pieces for dungeons and cities. I wanted the score to have a dark fairytale kind of feel that was full of magic and danger at every turn just like the game. The team here at Big Huge Games created such a beautiful looking world that it was such a pleasure to score!"

VGMdb (http://vgmdb.net/album/31171)


01. Reckoning Main Theme [2:00]
02. The Age of Arcana [1:54]
03. Dead�s Dead [2:26]
04. Well of Souls [0:54]
05. Troll [2:33]
06. Dalentarth [4:09]
07. House of Ballads [0:39]
08. Warsworn [0:37]
09. Mines and Caves [3:34]
10. Gardens of Ysa [0:46]
11. Niskaru [2:15]
12. Titarion [1:51]
13. The Plains of Erathell [4:00]
14. Scholia Arcana [0:39]
15. Rathir [0:45]
16. Fight! [2:19]
17. Detyre [4:03]
18. House of Valour [0:20]
19. Adessa [0:45]
20. The Erathi Ruins [3:38]
21. Conflict [2:10]
22. The Ships [1:08]
23. Mel Senshir [0:28]
24. To War [0:49]
25. The Strongholds [3:37]
26. Balor [2:42]
27. It Ends Here [1:30]
28. Klurikon [3:37]
29. House of Sorrows [0:55]
30. Fae Hollows [3:36]
31. Alabastra [3:17]
32. Bhaile [0:35]
33. Gadflow [2:13]
34. Heart of Amethyn [2:28]
35. Tirnoch [2:27]


Download: EuroShare (http://euroshare.eu/file/3407380/kingdoms.zip) | MirrorCreator (http://mir.cr/QQNXXNKT) | Minus (http://min.us/lbzgJ4J79FauXz)

I'll be buggered if I know how you got this so quickly; thank you very much indeed!

Wish I knew why the hell they used the looping versions of Balor, Gadflow, etc - when there are actually proper finishes written and recorded... so the album version ends up in the game, and the looping game version ends up on the album. Well done, whoever mastered this album, well done; you've ballsed up Kirkhope's best work to date.

I'll be buggered if I know how you got this so quickly; thank you very much indeed!

Wish I knew why the hell they used the looping versions of Balor, Gadflow, etc - when there are actually proper finishes written and recorded... so the album version ends up in the game, and the looping game version ends up on the album. Well done, whoever mastered this album, well done; you've ballsed up Kirkhope's best work to date.

Since it seems you listened to the rip (from your post on the other thread), do you think that besides your looping issue the music is quite well represented on here? Or are there a lot of significant tracks that didn't make the cut?

Thanks for this soundtrack!

Thanks for the soundtrack. Can I upload this at my blog?

Thank you

Thank you!!

Thank you indeed.

Since it seems you listened to the rip (from your post on the other thread), do you think that besides your looping issue the music is quite well represented on here? Or are there a lot of significant tracks that didn't make the cut?

Thanks for this soundtrack!

Haven't listened yet, but the rip has 3 hours of music. The release only has 1"11.

Thanks for this :)

Thank you！

Thanks

I find it a bit unbelievable to say but I prefer the gamerip over the soundtrack, thanks to that huge fuckup. Even the ambience cues are just glued together. I was planing on buying this but if the CD version will not be fixed then I will pass on this one, despite the excellent music and being a fan of Kirkhope since the N64-Days.

A BIG thanks!

thank you !

The album is a good representation of the score. The game rip, like all game rips, is chock full of endless repetition.

As for the shorter cues, I don't know what they're supposed to do, other than join them together in a coherent manner - which is what they've done here. Short of getting the orchestra back in the studio and recording concert suite versions of everything, a-la John Williams, that's all you're going to get.

There's some stunningly good stuff here.

I don't know how you got your tendrils on this; what matters is that you did. And it means in a few days I'll have two copies of this floating around. Was interested enough in the lore of this game and how it plays to order the special edition (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=342312045790362&set=a.342311709123729.81605.136188433069392&type=3), which aside from the game proper tosses in this soundtrack, map, set of polyhedral dice with carry sack, and a 'tarot' deck (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=342311805790386&set=a.342311709123729.81605.136188433069392&type=3) (a gallery of the card art can be found here (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.252201574801410.64477.136188433069392&type=3)).

For those curious about the game itself, I would point to the official site (http://reckoning.amalur.com/) as a good starting point for research.

Thank you so much! Can't wait to play the game.

Thank you.

Today i received an newsletter from Sumthing Else music, which contained a interview with Grant Kirkhope about the score. Here it is.


Part I
Chris: You recently returned to Europe to record the soundtrack with full orchestra in Prague. Could you share your experiences at the recording sessions? What was it like to reunite with the ensemble?
Grant Kirkhope: I really love working with the City of Prague Philharmonic. In fact, Reckoning is my fourth score with them so far. As always, I had Nic Raine as orchestrator/conductor and James "Bill" Fitzpatrick as the orchestral contractor/producer. No matter how many times you do it, hearing your own music played by full orchestra is an amazing thing and still brings a tear to the eye... heh!

Chris: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is such a huge game that it demanded a vast soundtrack for you. How did you approach this soundtrack?
Grant Kirkhope:
With a game like Reckoning, it was obvious from the outset it needed to be an orchestral score and have a high fantasy feel - a sort of dark fairytale. Certainly the first main open area of the game, Dalentarth, needed to sound that way. But I think that the later areas sound different - I just ended up matching the way they looked with the music, if that makes any sense! It was a big undertaking to make the music, but great fun.
Chris: While the main theme is something very different from you, it still features a strong thematic emphasis. Is this true for the soundtrack as a whole?
Grant Kirkhope: I really could rant on for hours about how important I think melodies are. I still get lots of fan emails to my website about all the games I did at Rare and I have to say that the most common comment they say is how much the melodies are stuck in their heads. I really believe that the average person in the street likes to hear a tune. I don't think that movie and game scores are any different to pop music in that sense. The basic composition part is the same - you write a good tune with a good set of chords.
Chris: The game features five distinct regions and four playable races. What sort of thematic and stylistic approaches did you take to characterise and distinguishthem?
Grant Kirkhope: All the regions have a piece that we call "firstplay" - this will always play as you enter the region - and then we have "standard" music that is in the same style, but maybe not as heavily themed. The "standard" music is on a timer to randomly play as you explore the region, much like I did in Viva Pi�ata, and you won't hear the "firstplay" piece again until you re-enter the region or move to another section of the region.
I wanted to try to use different sections of the orchestra to represent different regions in the game. So if you're in a big grassy plains area, there'll be mostly big noble strings, whereas if you're in a swamp region, there'll be mostly dark low woodwinds. Depending on what kind of dungeon you're in, you'll hear different sections of the orchestra again, and the music is styled to represent the environment. All the cities have their own themes and a quieter version of that theme plays in the interiors.
If you listen to this music for any action segment, you can hear that it really is all over the place and very complex. It creates a real level of excitement.
I loved doing these pieces and it did really give me the chance to go mad... heh... particularly on a couple of pieces. I was worried that I might have been going a bit over the top, but everyone here loves it!

Part II
Chris: Finally, it has already been announced that the soundtrack for the title will be available both commercially and with the limited edition. How did you present the soundtracks for this title? Do you think it will completely satisfy as a stand-alone listening experience?
Grant Kirkhope: Yes, the commercial soundtrack is coming out on the same day as the game (February 7, 2012). I got in contact with Nile Rodgers again, as his label Sumthing Else Music Works had released the Viva Pi�ata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts soundtracks. Nile is the nicest person you could ever wish to meet and he's a huge gamer.
I've managed to get most of the music on the CD in one form or another. For the ambient pieces, I selected three or four pieces and faded them together. With the cinematic pieces, I removed the sections where there was silence and the rest of the music went on as is. I think, as a stand-alone product, it does measure up really well and it gives a good representation of the game... Even my wife and kids listen to it... wonders will never cease!
Chris: Many thanks for your time today, Grant Kirkhope. Is there anything else you'd like to say about the music and sound for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? In addition, do you have any messages to your fans around the world?
Grant Kirkhope: Thanks for wanting to talk to me in the first place!! Reckoning has been a real labour of love for everyone here at Big Huge Games - I hope people feel that when they play it.
I always find it strange when anyone says I have fans. I'm just a nerd like everyone else! But I will say that for any artist of any persuasion - be that writer, painter, composer or whatever - to have anyone at all like what they create is just completely amazing and very humbling. I've been very lucky to have been involved with some fantastic games in my career so far. Long may it continue!!!

Thanks! So far I'm loving it, but really, the main theme is just so similar to the Spider-Man theme composed by Danny Elfman. It's a feeling that comes to me during the entirety of the piece.

Something else I'm getting quite a bit... George Oldziey's Wing Commander scores. The main theme is saturated with them. Strange. But exceptionally good.

Thank you.

It's appreciated :)

Thanks for this! I was getting it in the special edition anyway, but it'll be great to listen to it a few days early to pass the time waiting for the game to arrive.

Thanks mate!

Lovely music. A hint of goldsmith, williams in the air. Lovely! Thanks!

Thank you...

Thanks for this!

Thank you!

Thanks!

Can anyone repost, all the links are dead as a doornail. Would like to give a listen before I buy. Thanks tons!

re-up? please?

re-up? please?

Found another posted here that worked about a day ago.. Though I already gave it a listen - and its worth a purchase.

Got mine here for 9 bucks:
http://www.amazon.com/Kingdoms-Amalur-Reckoning-The-Soundtrack/dp/B006YBD77C/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1360195666&sr=8-11&keywords=amalur

The other linked soundtrack page is here:
Thread 126538

re-up :(

Re-up, Anyone?

ST

I'd appreciate a reup as well!