Overview

Like Soma Bringer, those who preordered World Destruction were treated to a small five track sampler for the game. As there is no official announcement for a soundtrack release at this time, although I suspect it will follow in the vein of Soma Bringer Original Soundtrack, this is the only thing with regards to the soundtrack that is known thus far.

Body

The album starts with perhaps the most popular of the themes heard thus far, the "World Destruction Main Theme ~Arms of Time~". This theme, heard on the website for the game, showcases one of the many achievements of the game. Fully orchestrated, it's performed by the Czech Philharmonic Collegium. It's a poignant theme full of emotion. It features a gripping melody, which is beautiful and haunting at the same time. The string work — the reason why Mitsuda chose the Czech Philharmonic Collegium — adds much to the overall atmosphere to the piece. Surprisingly, the vocalist for this piece is a child whose voice adds a touch of innocence to the piece. I suspect that he had to choose a new vocalist due to Eri Kawai's sickness, but this may have been his original intention all along. Even so, it's a beautiful piece and one of the highlights of this sampler.

The second piece, "Balni Village," is a playful town theme that features a nice mixing of woodwinds, strings, some castanets, piano, and xylophone. It reminds me of "Village of Snow" from the Soma Bringer Original Soundtrack. It's a very nice town theme that caters to Mitsuda's Celtic strength. One of my favorites on the sampler, "Illusion of Sand," is a truly atmospheric piece. Haunting chorals, piano, strings, and bass create a very dark soundscape. There are also some more intense sections that focus on strings and add a nice dynamic to the entire composition.

Shunsuke Tsuchiya's "Toppi's Theme" is a whimsical militaristic piece. Strangely enough, this theme is for a pirate teddy bear. The contrast between the militaristic sections and the playful woodwind and string sections makes for a piece that always keeps you on your toes. While some may find that this theme is a bit too militaristic, I think it's a very heroic sounding piece that keeps the listener entertained. The last theme, Kazumi Mitome's "Scarlet Future," also focuses on a militaristic style. As opposed to "Toppi's Theme," this piece is more bombastic and more serious. There are some nice brass cues and string motifs heard throughout the piece and, while the woodwinds are only used as accents, they help add to the overall mood of the piece. It's another highly enjoyable piece, but I'd consider it the weakest of the bunch.

Summary

Just as with the Soma Bringer Premium Soundtrack, this small sampler offers us a glimpse into the future. While I find the Soma Bringer Original Soundtrack to be one of my favorite Mitsuda scores, I think this has potential to rank up there, even if some of it is composed by Shunsuke Tsuchiya and Kazumi Mitome. The World Destruction Premium Soundtrack offers a nice variety of styles and makes for an entertaining listen. I look forward to the announcement of an official soundtrack.