An Album in Review (Pacific Rim OST)

Today's album review will be on Ramin Djawadi's original soundtrack of the sci-fi film, Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim itself is an incredible film, but what often makes a movie great is not just visual effects but the sound, in particular, the music. The music within a film can evoke emotions that the director wants the audience to have in a certain episode of the story. In Pacific Rim, Djawadi uses his musical talents to his fullest extent, giving the film an immersive feel that places the audience itself within the story.

As that Pacific Rim's story line revolves around the enormous man-made mechs created to stop sea monsters, the music called for epic drawn out music, and Djawadi has done so perfectly. Djawadi uses the chorus in unison in some scenes to increase suspense and thrill while the majority of the music includes repetition and drawn out notes in the orchestra, heavy drums, and electric guitar to provide a versatile melody. But not all of the music in the album concentrates on action-packed sequences. Djawadi provides a fierce contrast between tragic scenes, awing scenes, and more. This is one major reason that I extremely enjoy listening to soundtracks. Movies often call for a variety of different sub-genres among music. And Djawadi's soundtrack is so amazingly composed that in the most emotional and iconic sections of the music, one can recall the incredible scenes once seen on screen.

Using various instruments, musicians today enjoy much more variety and capabilities compared to musicians of the past. Djawadi exploits this to his fullest, using all of his talents and tools to create a modern masterpiece, complementing the actual film to make truly a magnificent feature.