I'd been awaiting this soundtrack since the day it was announced to the faithful few who were even excited about it. I discovered the MMORPG's soundtrack by way of, well, being obsessed with the market, and I was very impressed by Vol.1. I had high expectations for this second volume, which was delayed more than once by publisher Avex (its original release date was in March).

Well, I finally got my hands on it. And I'm a little disappointed.

But only a little.

The best news is that, finally, they decided to give us detailed composer information. And also, that they are basically the same team as from Vol. 1. Also, the same styles of music are found here, which is also nice. Unfortunately, however, there's a lot less originality.

Case in point: "theme of Dominion." I swear, they stole the melody right out of a Michael Jackson song (particularly "Smooth Criminal"). It's much like how the old arcade Ninja Gaiden used "Iron Man" but reworked the melody just enough that it wasn't copyright infringement. I never like that sort of thing.

Other songs on the first disc are pretty good, but are (in my opinion) subpar in quality to, say, the Gust sound team (Atelier, Ar tonelico). The synth-instruments and musical genres represented are similar to those of my favorite games' soundtracks: light, airy, fast-paced rhythms with woodwinds to go alongside, and maybe a bouncy bass line with syncopation to keep it interesting. We find a lot of that on this soundtrack.

One of my favorite pieces is "Sound of the ruin," a slower and more ambient song. Be sure to listen to this sample.

Disc two comes, not as more OST material, but as a short arranged disc. There are some good arrangements here of tracks from Vol.1, and some other fun and exciting pieces. "Holy Day Holy Night" is probably the worst of the 8 songs, since it's just a cheesy medley of Christmas themes.

All in all, I'm not sure I made the right choice in purchasing this album. Or rather, getting so excited about purchasing it. Its retail price is fairly steep too, especially for a mere 90 minutes of music. I'd only recommend this album to people who honestly loved Vol.1, and are looking for a little more.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann