Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos by Taro Iwashiro (劇場版 鋼の錬金術師 by 岩代太郎)

Ost to animation film Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, music composed n conducted by Taro Iwashiro, featuring Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

mp3@320k (137mb)

https://rapidshare.com/files/3833712099/FA_TSSOM.zip

a finding on net, credit goes to the original uploader:D

Weee, new Iwashiro! Thanks:)

This would be pretty nice if not for all the scratching at the beginning of each track, sadly.

scratching at the beginning of each track…?!
I hv just checked mine n it plays pretty well… no clipping or scratching at all… anyway, try another link here. i guess it’s from different rip.

Download [110629][OST] Taro Iwashiro – Fullmetal Alchemist The Sacred Star Of Milos ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK [320K].rar for free on Filesonic.com (http://www.filesonic.hk/file/1365240621)

I heard no scratching or anything. Played just fine.

Thanks a lot for the share, microbear 🙂

I think this should complete my Fullmetal Alchemist collection, thanks for the share man.

Thanks. 🙂

Oh, my bad. For some reason when I play them on my default media player there is always scratches at the beginning. It plays fine on my other ones though.

And I guess this closes the book on FMA OSTs at long last. Three composers have tackled the franchise, and while Taro Iwashino’s contribution will go down as the shortest, I think he will still be remembered as composing a memorable orchestral score.

I am a bit disappointed they did not trek to Europe to record this one like for the two TV series, I mean since Moscow and Warsaw were used previously I guess you can’t use them again . . . But the Prague orchestra was still available, right? Or maybe heading down to Australia?

Not that the Tokyo Philharmonic is anything to sneeze at, but I wish they had kept the tradition of recording the bulk of the score outside of Japan.

Of course you could use them again… is there a law that says you can’t hire the same orchestra twice?

Oshima had a relationship with the Moscow Symphony at the time of her FMA scores – so they were recorded in Moscow. Senju has a relationship with the Warsaw Philharmonic, so his score was recorded there.

I wonder why they would go to Australia; there’s not much of a precedent… only Eminence, which is basically atrocious and on the brink of bankruptcy anyway.

As for the score… easily the weakest effort of the series. Iwashiro blows hot and cold for me as a rule, but this one is just freezing. Themeless, generic, forgettable, and stupidly percussive. Did somebody ask Iwashiro for a Hollywood score instead of a real one? What a shame. Oh, well… You win some, you lose some.

One thing I will say that I like about it… Iwashiro’s "theme" frequently dances around Senju’s but Senju’s is never outright stated; he retains continuity with the TV series but at the same time writes completely his own score. Apart from that, I hate it. 😉

I thought I would enjoy it more, when I first heared the notes of Senju’s Theme I rejoiced, but then … oh he did kind of a RC like approach to his theme … well … ok … the rest of the score has to be better, right ? … ah, fuck it. Not bad, but my least favorite FMA score by far.

Calm down. 😉

Japan occasionally do a shitty score, sure enough – that’s fine. I don’t like it, but for the Japanese it’s a creative decision (albeit a misguided one) – not an absolute certainty. Point is, there was no guarantee that this would stink until we heard it. I can live with that. Besides, FMA has given us seven CDs full of basicallly exceptional music so I suppose it’s only fitting that disc 8 should be a cheap Hollywood knockoff.

Without a bit of rough, you wouldn’t appreciate the diamonds. 🙂

I don’t know what should worry me more. The fact that your argument is 100% true and I should not despair or the fact that Tango, the passionate writer of essay-like rants against current standards in media and music, is telling me to take it easy 😀

Maybe I’m a total amateur, but I don’t see how this score is so Remote Control-esque. Yeah there’s a lot of percussion but it seems to be pretty well placed to me, not just there to be there. It feels more like a Taku Iwasaki-thing than a Hans Zimmer-thing, and I don’t hear no electric guitar distortions or techno either which are Remote Control hallmarks. In general, this score is too pretty to be an RC score and unlike the previous OSTs this score was designed to fit a movie, not be used multiple times in a TV series, so there is a different feel in general.

Plus none of us have seen the movie so we’re all taking the score out of context. I guess when FUNimation brings the movie over we’ll find that part out.

Yeah, this score doesn’t quite hold up compared to Senju and Oshima, but it’s not necessarily bad. It has some ethnic instruments, and it has some traditional instruments, and IMO it doesn’t use percussion any more heavily than Senju did. In general there’s a lot more skill here than demonstrated on a typical RC score.

Plus, I love the 4th track to death.

Could someone post a tracklist please? Even if it’s in kanji? That way somebody can try a translation.

This man, he speaks the truth. I think possibly we harshly judge the Japanese scores disproportionately because the possibility for excellence is there. If you’re expecting a turd, and you get something respectable – your attitude is positive. If you’re expecting a masterpiece, and you get something respectable – your attitude is "What the hell is this crap?!"

Iwashiro sounds like this. He’s not trying to be anybody else. The percussion use sounds like modern Hollywood, but 99% of what’s going on underneath – though it is, for the most part, boring – most categorically doesn’t.

I will still say that I find it rather themeless; knowing that Iwashiro has the ability to write great, memorable, versatile melodies that you leave the cinema still whistling to yourself (Red Cliff) I find this rather anonymous. He makes passing references to Senju’s theme, but there’s not really anything to tie the score together. It seems to consist mainly of aimless action music that never really achieves anything.

So, to summarise… I still don’t like it, but I do believe I was unduly harsh initially.

Track Listing – in Kanji and Romaji.

1. 見参! 〜introduction〜 KENZAN! -INTRODUCTION-
2. 道なき道の果て MICHI NAKI MICHI NO HATE
3. 招かざる敵 MANEKAZARU TEKI
4. 孤高の錬金術師 KOKOU NO RENKINJUTSUSHI
5. 飛翔急襲作戦 HISHOU KYUUSHUU SAKUSEN
6. アシュレイの断章 ASHLEY NO DANSHOU
7. 黒コウモリ戦隊 KURO KOUMORI SENTAI
8. 陽光讃歌 YOUKOU SANKA
9. 知られざる闇の史 SHIRARE ZARU YAMI NO SHI
10. 嘆きの丘の軌跡 NAGEKI NO OKA NO KISEKI
11. 星の錬成 HOSHI NO RENSEI
12. ジュリアの心音 JULIA NO SHINON
13. 激闘惨劇 GEKITOU SANGEKI
14. 想いと共に OMOI TO TOMO NI
15. 魂の勝鬨 TAMASHII NO KACHIDOKI
16. Jに捧げるアリア J NI SASAGERU ARIA
17. 儚き命の声 HAKANAKI INOCHI NO KOE
18. 古の都 〜outroduction〜 INISHIE NO MIYAKO -OUTRODUCTION-

Perhaps I was a bit harsh about the Remote Control stuff. But I had a really bad day and was dead tired from all the recent hollywood scores, so my expectations for this one were high enough to expect another masterful orchestral tour the force but when I heared the familiar heavy percussion … well, you get the idea.

I agree in that I don’t think this score holds up as well as Senju and Oshima. There’s no unifying theme, as Iwashiro seems to want to use Senju’s theme as a base but feels pressured not to. In fact, this score feels like an awkward attempt to fuse Senju and Oshima together and it doesn’t quite work out. The ethnic instruments feel like Oshima, as do the piano tracks and some tragic strings. The orchestral bombast and percussion feel more out of Senju’s handbook. They don’t gel together, unfortunately, but I don’t know if anyone could.

There is, however, a heart here. This is not soulless noise. Iwashiro is trying to make you feel something. The percussion seems to be used to establish a rhythm as well as hint at something more tribal and isolated, as the events in this movie go unmentioned in the FMA canon. Like this is an isolated story, some adventure that Ed and Al would tell their kids one day that didn’t really tie into their goal but was still exciting and fantastical.

IMO, I think Japan does Remote Control scores better than we do. At least the noise has a distinct melody.

Anyway, I was inspired enough to attempt a translation.

1. Meeting! -introduction-
2. End of the road to nowhere (NOTE: I took some artistic license here)
3. Uninvited enemy
4. The lone alchemist
5. Winged assault operation
6. Ashley’s fragments
7. Black Bat Squadron
8. Sunny anthem
9. Unknown history of darkness
10. The hill of grief
11. Star drilling
12. Julia’s heartbeat
13. A fierce tragic battle
14. Thinking as one
15. Exam of the soul
16. Julia’s new aria (NOTE: I took artistic license again)
17. Transient voices of life
18. Ancient city -outroduction-

Maybe it’s because I’m still fairly naive as to what is good and bad in movie, anime, and game scores, but I think this score is still a step up from the average in Japan. It’s a respectable, good score. It is not a masterpiece, but it is pretty, has some memorable instances, and has all of the necessary emotion to convey what the characters express onscreen from the terror of combat to the always-present sense of tragedy for not only Ed and Al, but the characters they encounter (including Julia . . . and this score does not make me feel good about this movie-only character’s fate).

I’ve just seen a four minute clip of the finished film. It’s an extended action set piece staged atop a moving train in which the percussive elements of Iwashiro’s score are synchronized with the progress of the locomotive. I was extremely pleased with the music in its original context; the driving rhythms synergize with the on-screen action to create an atmosphere of tension and impending disaster throughout. Effective, if not memorable.

I think this is less a case of RC and more a case of a soundtrack which loses grounding outside its cinematic context.

For the curious: YouTube – ‪Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: The Sacred Stars of Milos anime movie preview video‬‏ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgKxYWahGd0)

One final observation: in defense of the score, I felt Iwashiro’s use of leitmotifs (Senju’s Next Chapter ostinato, brass fanfare from the introductory track) nicely augmented his emotional string arrangement of Julia’s Theme. This soundtrack strikes me as a minimalist creation that employs layered motifs to harnessed frenetic action beats and more contemplative melodic sections to capture moments of great struggle and tragedy. I enjoy it far more than Senju’s Brotherhood OST, which struck me as overly bombastic and ostentatious in the extreme.

Thanks for this finding 😉

Is there someone who could rip the song that plays during the festival scene in the movie? I really want that song.
Thanks,
ElricestwithLOVE

I usually liked Iwashiro’s stuff, maybe I should not expect too much from this here, after reading all the comments… We will see. Thanks for the contribution anyways!

PS: Why does the armour-guy on the cover wear a loincloth? To hide his non-existing crotch? XD

FLAC, ripped by AntiClimax part of the SST (Sakurahana Sound Team). Re-Upload link:

https://mega.co.nz/#!ZIUFRKIK!dxCBBiQDfs_ESlzPyeXFIHxMettY-L5bxDbnL5Cntwg

FLAC, ripped by AntiClimax part of the SST (Sakurahana Sound Team). Re-Upload link:

https://mega.co.nz/#!ZIUFRKIK!dxCBBiQDfs_ESlzPyeXFIHxMettY-L5bxDbnL5Cntwg

Thank for Reupload