First of all, I am terribly sorry for not being able to post an update last week. A typhoon hit the country then, disrupting power and connectivity. It wasn't a particularly "wet" storm, but the howling winds were terrible and caused lots of damage. I had to unearth my medical books and study by candlelight for a couple of nights. By the time the connection was fixed, I figured that the updates would be too proximate to one another, so I just waited.

Oh, and I've finished filing my application for the licensure exams. It was a very tiring process, and I had to do additional stuff because they had a problem with my birth certificate. I had to go to a different city to request for a new certificate, wait a day, claim it, and then go back to reapply. What a hassle!

Alright, now that all that negativity is out of my system, let's go to our piece for today. Just to correct Daryl, Cosmo Canyon is not Red XIII's theme. He has a different one, with the very imaginative title, Red XIII's Theme. Anyway, that aside, I really love Cosmo Canyon. It has that tribal feel that is only fitting for a hot spot of Gaia-loving people. I even looked for an appropriate quote for this update. I really love the insistent quaver-semiquaver-semiquaver drum rhythm and the bass. Valley of Fallen Stars gives off a more modern feel with the introduction of a more complex drum rhythm that is still reminiscent of the original pattern. The bass appears initially, but vanishes once the pitched percussion enters with the melody, aside from the occasional sporadic appearance here and there as incorporated into the melodic line. The underlying tremolo is a nice touch. All these elements, along with the slight hint of swing, makes the piece feel lighter and almost more funky. The mood shifts suddenly halfway into the piece when a more emotive version of the theme is played, initially by a single violin, then by two. I'm not really sure, but the lowest note I recognized was a B below middle C, so I just reckoned they're both violins. The drums become appropriately more subdued, the guitar plays flowing triplets, and the tremolo segment reappears several measures into the part. All-in-all, very nice work from Daryl. Grab your copy now!

Next week will contain the last double-feature for VII and if you've read the Author's Comments above, I'm sure you know whose theme is appearing in the next update. Until then, folks! Have a great weekend.

Fermat's Last Theorem

Sound Test Curator