Overview

The single release of "HEAVENS DIVIDE" / "Love Deterrence" features the two vocal themes featured in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. They are both composed by Akihiro Honda and are sung by Donna Burke and Nana Mizuki, respectively. How do they compare to some of the other vocal themes in the series?

Body

"Heavens Divide," sung by Donna Burke, is absolutely stunning. Burke's powerful voice truly brings out the best of the melody and accompaniment. The accompaniment features some beautiful piano and acoustic guitar work that really adds a bit of poignancy to the overall. The bridges, in particular, feature these two instruments prominently with some beautiful strings accompaniment. Overall, this orchestral pop theme is one of the best vocal themes to grace the series, in part due to the composition and in part to the singer.

The other song on the single is the character theme for Paz. Sung by Nana Mizuki, "Love Deterrence" definitely has a more J-pop oriented vibe and it reminds me a bit of a vocal theme you might hear by Elements Garden. It's got a nice Elements Garden Wild Arms style accompaniment and melody, complete with awesome strings work and some nice acoustic guitar passages. Overall, it's a fantastic theme with quite a catchy melody and electronic backing.

In addition to these themes, there are instrumental versions of both "Heavens Divide" and "Love Deterrence." There is also a shorter version of "Heavens Divide," a "Love Deterrence (PAZ Special Ver.)," and "Love Deterrence (Guy's Karaoke Ver.). The differences between the various themes are negligible, although the "Love Deterrence (Guy's Karaoke Ver.) features some guy vocals thrown into the instrumental mix.

Summary

Overall, is this worth picking up? Well, that's a double edged sword. There are some extraneous themes that you might not want, although that comes standard with any single. However, the music on the soundtrack might not suit your fancy either, even though it also features full versions of "Heavens Divide" and "Love Deterrence." It's up to you, but if you like the vocal themes and not the normal Metal Gear Solid music, the more economical single might be down your alley.