Dragons + Orchestra = Rhapsody of Lair

by Nick Doerr { Jun 2nd 2007 at 8:00PM }

There are way too many heavy metal references just waiting to be discovered in our subject line. The idea behind it stays the same: an orchestral production of Lair's opening musical score has hit the web and it's pretty impressive. Sticking an orchestra behind anything is positively enhancing to the overall sound. Even if MIDI files are supposedly going to have equivalent sound quality in the future, we will always think a true orchestra has some kind of purist advantage. Listen to the music above, watch the performance if you'd like, then let us know what you think.

Tags: Lair, PlayStation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Popfrogs @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:11PM

That's pretty beautiful. I like the orchestral score in Oblivion, and I think many games benefit from music like this. Anything with magic and dragons or swords deserves this type of score.

thatpspkid @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:31PM

that sounds amazing!

massive_98 @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:41PM

The music should work perfectly with a game like Lair. I have a feeling Lair will be a good game.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n38IIiXt5og

Triforceowner @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:44PM

Good French Horns, but what was up with that coughing?

Breeze @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:23PM

Damn you Lair and Nick Doer!

YOU MADE ME CRY!

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!

John @ Jun 3rd 2007 12:08AM

I thought that was Play! I saw their last show in Chicago. It was most excellent. They played One-Winged Angel twice just because it was so awesome. I took some videos and my friend put them on youtube (you can hear him screaming like a fool in the second video).

One-Winged Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1P0f1qGmNI

Theme of Laura (with Akira Yamaoka)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8lfUjEn7Yw

If you ever get a chance to see Play! don't pass it up. It's quite an experience.

Davy @ Jun 3rd 2007 10:02PM

I have a number of comments on this.

1) I sure hope this game makes a profit. It's PS3 exclusive and there are hardly any PS3s.

2) The music is cool, taken out of context... I assume it's a bunch of shorter pieces assembled into one 16-minute performance (otherwise, what part of a game could possible have a 16-minute music track like that?)

3) It's John Debney and sounds too biblical for my liking. He did the Passion of the Christ movie, don't forget. Nevertheless, it's nice to see something Tommy and Jack have nothing to do with, those marketeers are getting way too much coverage.

4) performances of music from games BEFORE the game is on sale is a nice watermark for videogame music - recognising that there is value to it out of the shadow of the product it's made for. (oddly there isn't a lot of music from films making its way out months before the film does)

5)so, what parts of the game is this music from and how is it used? Sure sounds good as a performance, but it could end up being totally counterproductive if used in the wrong way in the game. (case in point, Advent Rising... music sounds interesting by itself but is totally awful when heard in-game due to inappropriate spotting)

6) to answer #5, my guess is this music is only from the cinematics. Check IMDB for "Lair" and you'll find references to music, writing and cinematics only, a good clue. It would be nice if there is some interactivity to the music, but that art form is still seeing a depressingly low amount of interest (read "budget") from videogame design management. Not sure Debney would be much help there either, TBH.