Overview

Set to be released in November 2011, Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion promises to be an enjoyable iPhone SRPG, building on the appeal of classic games in the genre. Rising indie composer Josh Whelchel, most notable for his work on The Sprit Engine 2 and GunGirl 2, contributed the music to this title, resulting in a quite appropriate militaristic score. He released the results as both a physical album and digital download. How does it all sound out of context?

Body

The album starts with "Scourge of Estellion," the game's main theme, which quickly sets the album's largely militaristic tone. With a sweeping and evocative melody, it's bound to appeal to most soundtrack consumers. It's also lavishly orchestrated and implemented, using samplers on par with today's biggest scores. It's plainly obvious from this track onwards that a lot of thought went into each moment of composition.

The military tone is retained through most of the album, and it always manages to impress. Whether in the marching percussion of the pleasantly melodic "Gallant Hero Callius," or the soothing tones of "Imperial Affairs," to give a couple early examples, Whelchel proves again and again how he can seemingly effortlessly compose a number of pieces that remain captivating either intrinsically or amongst their peers. The heroic "Birth of a Raven" and the pleasant march, "Thaddeus' Theme" are also highlights, despite their fringe similarities in tone.

"Apoplectic (Estellion Battle A)" contains, along with plenty of endearing violin use, some rather brilliant chromatic sections that never feel irritating and indeed blend in quite nicely with some short melodic respites. This chromatic element comes into play rather (but not overbearingly) often in this album, sneaking its way around otherwise fairly melodic pieces, but it never feels unfairly forced, and always makes its presence known quite nicely, such as in "Alejo's Theme," particularly in its use of piano, and similarly in the darker "Marvel of Shadow, Livia."

Moving further into the album, the two "Kasyan Battle" tracks are quite ingenious mixes of flamenco style with Asian and more contemporary Western instrumentation. The mix works, both in the heavily chromatic "Tempestuous (Kasyan Battle A)" and the slightly more climactic "Precipitous (Kasyan Battle B)." The album closes with the quite nicely melodic "Cleo's Theme (Bonus)," a rather pleasant choice with which to end.

Summary

Every piece on this album is exquisitely crafted and doused with utmost attention to detail. That said, the album's largely unchanging, military tone does start to disappoint slightly. To Whelchel's benefit, each piece sounds remarkably distinct from the rest, though one wishes to hear what else the composer is capable of: a wish that is sparingly fulfilled on this album. Anyone to whom this album appeals would certainly enjoy it, and really, the music is so generally likeable (even with its common chromatisicms) that most could safely purchase this album and be assured of a satisfying listen.