Overview

David McGarry's score for this second installment in the Brothers In Arms video game series continued the war film influence from the first game. Despite being released back in 2005, the game eventually received a digital soundtrack release in October 2008, featuring 13 tracks and 30 minutes of music.

Body

The release opens with the "Earned in Blood Theme", which etches a patriotic Americana sound that becomes the basis for the several tracks which follow. The tendency is to have snare drum playing lightly underneath as melodic ideas slowly appear. In the "Main Menu" these ideas glide almost effortlessly around the orchestral ensemble, making for an equally moving musical experience. The titles of the tracks here are a bit vaguer, tending to focus on a particular musical mood. The Italian titles, some of which are essentially tempo markings, seem a bit odd given the story line, but are good indicators of the music that will be heard.

The presentation with its strong opening theme track and closing end credits give the score the feel of a large-scale symphonic suite but tracks are not always generally rounded off in satisfying closing cadences. Instead they are gradually panned into a slow fade which might simulate the gaming experience but becomes a bit frustrating when the music is taken on its own. The slow musical expression of "Triste" which is almost a slow drone like piece is presented in such a way that at 2 minutes it feels like a musical fragment, as do the rest of these segments that each time out to near exactly the same length. McGarry's style, especially the string writing, recalls mid-20th century American composers who did away with tertian harmony thus creating these somewhat open sounding chord structures.

One thing that is clear in this score, is that though the ideas are strong, they are not allowed to do much musically. If they could have somehow been connected for this presentation, or even allowed to conclude as standalone tracks it would make it easier to enjoy. The music seems to be headed nowhere even if it is beautifully orchestrated in mostly slow-moving music.

Summary

Overall, Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood features a score that is representative of the series' music. However, the release lacks somewhat compared to other soundtracks in the series, both due to its short overall playtime and lack of exploration in the individual tracks. Nevertheless, fans of the game's music should seriously consider this adequate digital download.