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Here comes a #RWBY music ramble.
Not sure what drove me to, other than the fact that it has honestly been forever since I gave them a listen in comparison to V4 onward, but I pulled up the music from the last five Chapters of #RWBY Volume 3 this afternoon, and was very, very swiftly reminded of their quality.
It makes me glad that so many people, comparatively, are taking an interest in the score now, but these last few episodes of V3 are, in my mind, where the music truly began to shine.
That's not to say it hadn't before. Jeff, Alex, Steve, and the rest of the music team stepped up consistently each Volume. "Trainwreckt" (thank you, Mr. Goldshein) is still a favorite of mine, amongst many other pieces scattered throughout Vol.1-3.
But from "Destiny" (I'd argue even "Fall") onward, something about the score felt rather different. I'm not sure what term to use to describe it, other than perhaps that -- it FELT. It belonged, snuggly alongside the narrative, driving things forward.
I'd make the argument that that's what score is and should be, and while I know the general prevailing attitude in the larger entertainment industry is that score should be unnoticed, that's often taken as meaning it ought to be skeletal and unassuming.
That's not the case, at least in my view. A score should compliment and, done well enough, with enough attention and heart and dedication put in to truly making it work, it's a different kind of unnoticeable.
The kind of not realizing someone's come along to put a blanket around your shoulders when you're completely engrossed in something.
What I find so remarkable about Jeff, @AlexAbraham_IRL and @SteveGoldshein's efforts for the end of Volume 3 is just how well that works.
What I find so remarkable about Jeff, @AlexAbraham_IRL and @SteveGoldshein's efforts for the end of Volume 3 is just how well that works.
The compliment is so seamlessly that I can, in all seriousness, still listen to a track like "PVP" and recall the moment-to-moment details of an episode I haven't watched in three years. There is no other piece of media that I've consumed that could do that.
Now, perhaps that's just me being weird, which is entirely fair! And I did mean to go on about the compositions themselves rather than take any sort of semi-serious gander at how RWBY's score functions, because they are brilliant.
And when and whether or not the music still hits that balance or if it's seen the same way by the production team is an entirely different conversation.
But I suppose all this is just to say that the team have always delivered. And I can't wait to hear what more's in store.
But I suppose all this is just to say that the team have always delivered. And I can't wait to hear what more's in store.
P.S. Five years on and I still cannot decide a favorite between "Battle of Beacon", "Heroes and Monsters" and "End of the Beginning", but what always catches my attention is the abundance of choral elements matched with heavy percussion.
Please bring them back, Alex
Please bring them back, Alex
