Valarius
Despite playing music that could appeal to so many people, it's sad that not many people have heard of The Black Mages. A rock band playing Final Fantasy music? This certainly sounds interesting...
An old keyboard player friend of mine was a huge Final Fantasy fan who worshipped Nobuo Uematsu, so it's no surprise that he came across The Black Mages. He introduced me to them with the song ‘Clash on the Big Bridge’. I loved it. Catchy, heavy, melodic, fun... the song was incredible.
I instantly rushed home and ordered their first two albums. So impressed was I with one song that I decided to get both albums instead of just one. And I didn't regret it one bit.
I've never played Final Fantasy video games, and I’ve never really been curious enough to give them a chance either. However I've always enjoyed the musical arrangements found in video games, and this album is full of ‘em.
Every song is full of life and energy, amazing musicianship and overall, a lot of fun. Though this is an instrumental album, there is still a lot to offer. And it doesn't matter whether you like the games or not because the music is fantastic.
Essentially this is an album for anyone; fans of video games, and especially video game music. Prog fans should enjoy it, as should fans of instrumental music. Whether you're into any of these things or not, it's such a great musical adventure, with each song being catchy enough to hook fans of any music genre. Wanna try something different? Try this.