Dragon Age II (Bioware Signature Edition)
30 videos • 1,201 views • by The Dunedain Released On: March 8, 2011 Composed By: Inon Zur & Aubrey Ashburn Arranged By: Inon Zur Published By: Elecronic Arts Music Dragons Age 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the roleplaying game Dragon Age: Origins. The story is set a decade later and even though the reviews have been mixed a success story is inevitable. The score was written and composed by Inon Zur the last time and it was truly great, so why change? Luckily they didn’t as Inon Zur returns with one of the most anticipated game scores this year. So, it’s still Zur and dear Aubrey but now the man has gone the way of subtle textures, more like Soule only without the intermittent melodies. The oppression has been turned down a notch and now the atmosphere bears more resemblance to an indifferent place that doesn’t much care for you, in a very passive-aggressive way, which you have to say is quite accurate. The Lyris Quartet brings their very cohesive playing style to the table, supplying the instrumentation for the more intimate, Hawke-central themes. Zur is using some other interesting instruments this time around that I can’t name although they sound quite synthesised. Very dissimilar to Origins, the Dragon Age II title theme opens up with a dark, organic texture with dear Aubrey Ashburn, the Vocalist, humming a despondent melody in an almost plangent tone. I love how she sounds distant and almost cold. The hostile tone escalates to an iteration of the deep brass melody from Origins after which it suddenly shifts to the string quartet playing the central motif. The melody this time around is more rhythmically varied and dynamic, and I love when the horn plays glissando. Overall, the piece is very intimate, quite significantly less dramatic than the Origins title theme, and it’s a good example of achieving a bit more with a bit less. Given the less heroic theme of the game overall, I think it’s more fitting than the grandiose explosiveness of the Origins music. It’s more matured and contemporary, moving further and further away from the heavily melodically focused 80s and 90s. Inon Zur does it again with Dragon Age II. He satisfies me and everyone who enjoyed the first score with another epic sounding soundtrack. There’s no doubt that even if you aren’t a gamer but are into fantasy soundtracks, this should be right up your alley.