Bloodborne
"A hunter is a hunter, even in a dream."
Hunter's Dream
Fear the Old Blood this week with Bloodborne by Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Michael Wandmacher, Yuka Kitamura & Nobuyoshi Suzuki. Pressed on limited edition "Grim Green" vinyl by Laced Records, the soundtrack to From Software's 2015 Victorian era bloodbath is here to drown you in its dark and gothic grooves. What are you waiting for Hunter? Yharnam and all its beasts await you…
Cleric Beast
Bloodborne is without a doubt one of the best games from this generation of consoles. From the absolutely brutal gameplay down to the ominous and lore heavy storytelling, what you are left with is a dark and rich world of nightmares that is truly elevated through its score. Every corridor and boss encounter of this game is ripe with the broody music housed within this vinyl record. Having this album on vinyl is truly a treat and is seriously one of the most harrowing experiences I've had with my turntable all year!
Darkbeast
A cathedral of strings comes to life as you drop your needle into this dark and decrepit alley of grooves. A suffocating fog bellows from out of the depths as the melancholy strings take over and stalk your very eardrums. The ambivalent onslaught of percussion roars to life rocking the ground beneath your feet as the somber choir echoes forth. A blinding light pierces through the stratosphere of hazy clouds cascading like fire across the cracks of this dilapidated world of grooves. The symphony spirals out of control in colossal waves of Gregorian style chants that with chill you to your core. Bloodborne is an exercise in tension and your time and grooves are running out.
Moonlit Melody
The music on this album is so rich in tone and flavor that it really helps you experience the music from Bloodborne in a completely new setting. The stunning green vinyl, stoic in its muted color, holds a world of death and despair behind its tiny grooved landscape and is impeccable with its sound. Joe Caithness is a literal God of mastering and has seriously delivered some of the best sounding records in my collection. Any time I get to hear a bit of his work during my listening sessions I just can't help but smile. The noise floor here is so rich and vibrant it truly allows for the orchestrations here to grow beyond anything I have experienced since playing the game for the first time. On vinyl, the isolated orchestrations here are given a chance to completely take over your consciousness and bring new life to the music we have all grown to intertwine ourselves in during extended play sessions of this truly impeccable game. Vinyl always has a way of bringing out the nuanced caricature of the scores we have come to love -- Bloodborne thrives on wax, and Joe helps deliver that performance admirably.
The First Hunter
Laced Records has done yet another stellar job with this release. As one of the most surprising album drops for me this year, I can't help but feel like there is some magic going on over at the Laced Records studio. The lineup they have had in 2019 has completely blown me and the community away. Bloodborne is without a doubt among their best albums released to date and that has a lot to do with its execution. The care and love that went into making this album feel like a truly premium release to one of the darkest soundtracks on the PS4 is apparent in every aspect of the presentation of this album. While the cover art is a little unprovoking to me, the gold foil emblazoned upon the front and back is such a loving touch, and one that adds some truly awesome flavor to the premium feel that this record has. The included black and white lithograph is breathtakingly stunning and is a true highlight for me. I just wanted to reach for a frame and slap it in there… truly incredible. Overall I think Laced Records has gone above and beyond to deliver a truly premium feeling package here and it's honestly among their best work in 2019. I can't wait to see what 2020 holds!
I want to give a huge thanks to the team at Laced Records for sending me a press copy of this vinyl to take a look at for purposes of this review.
Album Details
Music by:
Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Michael Wandmacher, Yuka Kitamura & Nobuyoshi Suzuki
Remastered for vinyl by:
Joe Caithness
Artwork by:
From Software
Vinyl produced & distributed by:
Laced Records
Where to buy?
Unfortunately this album is currently sold out from Laced Records. If you'd like to see a repressing of this incredible album, shoot them a line and show some interest in getting this album some more love on vinyl. I know I would definitely like to see some tracks from The Old Hunters personally, and definitely a more complete soundtrack... Maybe in 2020 Laced can give Bloodborne the box set treatment they are so good at doing for other franchises!