Overview

"Worlds Connected Beyond the Mist" is a single used to commemorate the release of Atelier Iris: Grand Fantasm. The majority of the single is composed and arranged by Revo, known for his Sound Horizon albums, such as Elysion, Roman, and Moira. The remaining piece is composed by the vocalist, Haruka Shimotsuki, and arranged by Revo. Personally being a huge fan of Revo's Sound Horizon work, I expected a lot out of this album. What I got did not disappoint me at all. Keeping in tradition with a lot of his albums, this album has to be listened from beginning to end to fully appreciate it, as it is essentially one piece broken into three parts.

Body

The first part, "Weiss ~Drawn into Illusions~", opens with a mysterious, airy oboe melody with harp accompaniment. The vocal sections of the piece continue with this mysterious atmosphere and are accompanied at times by plucked strings, simple percussion, and harp, while at others a more robust accompaniment serves to add more atmosphere to the composition, such as layered vocals and some beautiful string work. The instrumental bridge has a slightly Celtic vibe, with a rich palette of instruments. The solo violin is absolutely stunning and harmonizes wonderfully with Haruka Shimotsuki's vocal stylings. It's a very magical piece that fits perfectly into the world of Atelier Iris.

"Schwarz ~And Then, The Girl Entered the Forest~", the sole piece composed by Haruka Shimotsuki, opens with a haunting piano line and some atmospheric vocal layering, helping to continue the mysterious nature heard in the first track. Much of this song relies on the strength of the melody for the accompaniment is sparse. For much of the piece, the piano and layered vocals serve as an intoxicating mixture, but plucked strings and solo violin are eventually added to create another beautiful, and perfectly fitting, addition to the Atelier Iris world. The magic has obviously carried into this piece.

Revo finishes off the album by transitioning into the composition that finds its way onto the Atelier Iris: Grand Fantasm soundtrack, albeit in a much shorter form. "Schwarzweiss ~Worlds Connected Beyond the Mist~" is a sharp contrast to both of the former compositions. Starting off with a frenetic choir and keeping up the pace through out the piece, Revo is able to create a fantastic piece that shares many traits of his original work. Hearing Haruka Shimotsuki accompanied by some nice guitar riffs and percussion is quite nice, considering most of the work I've heard by her is more along the lines of the first two themes.

In terms of instrumentation, the first instrumental bridge introduces some keyboard and strings. However, the two stars of this performance are easily Shingo "Jake" Saito, the person playing the electric guitar, and Motoi Sakuraba, the legendary composer playing the Hammond Organ. They contribute to an awesome solo that alternates between electric guitar and keyboard, a signature style of Revo. The Abenwald Choir, although briefly used, has a very nice sound that lends to some of the intensity of the piece. I'm absolutely in love with this song and it’s a perfect way to start the game and end this album!

Summary

"Worlds Connected Beyond the Mist" is an album that shouldn't be missed. Offering a nice introduction to the world of Atelier Iris: Grand Fantasm, Revo and Haruka Shimotsuki create an album full of mystery, magic, and exhilaration. Although short, the fifteen minutes that it takes to listen to this album will fly by and you'll want to start the album all over again!