Endless Legend by Arnaud Roy
Endless Legend by Arnaud Roy pressed on white vinyl by G4F Records
Auriga’s Song
Enter the world of Auriga this week with Endless Legend by Arnaud Roy. Pressed on stunningly gorgeous white vinyl by G4F Records, the award-winning soundtrack to Amplitude Studios' incredible 4X strategy game is here to serenade you in its Endless grooves. Dreamy and transient in its execution, Arnaud & the Scoring Orchestra are here to take you on an unforgettable and fantastical journey through one of the most expansive game scores ever made.
Skylark
Arnaud Roy, otherwise known as FlybyNo, is a sound engineer, composer, and mixer for video games, cinema & film. Based out of Angoulême, France, Arnaud has become well known in the video game music scene for his work with Amplitude Studios — Scoring the ever-popular “Endless” franchise of games, Arnaud has built a name for himself as one of the most diverse and dynamic orchestrators out there today. With his scores ranging in a wide variety of genres and tones, Arnaud is able to truly encapsulate the rich and dynamic worlds that Amplitude Studios creates. Endless Legend was one of my first exposures to Arnaud’s beautiful and dynamic music and with it came my endless thirst for more of his impeccable work. Sinking many hours into the Endless series over the years, I have to say Endless Legend is among Arnaud’s best work to date.
Time of Change
Dropping your needle into the cavernous ice-crusted grooves of these immaculate white discs will transport you into Arnaud’s folky and transient score. Calming vocals and a tapestry of strings come to life — breeding in the ambiance of their harmonies, all before falling away as a chorus of percussion shatters into the foreground with a chilling and reserved tempo. Vying for control over your eardrums, the sweeping ensemble of strings and barraging percussion are truly a dominant force on this album, but are used eloquently and thankfully sparingly. The true star of the show here has to be Arnaud's iconic harp mixed with the eloquent mandolin and vocals that give a bright and calming reprieve to the sometimes bombastic and hectic moments that this album loves to sprinkle in from time to time. Endless Legend lives in these microcosms of tranquility that makes for one of the most calming and surprisingly acoustic soundtracks I have had the pleasure of listening to on vinyl in some time.
War of the Sundered
G4F Records has yet to disappoint with one of their releases and Endless Legend is absolutely one of their greatest to date. Tackling yet another Arnaud Roy score, G4F in conjunction with Amplitude Studios has created an amazing collector's item for fans of Endless Legend and Arnaud's unbelievable musicianship. Housed in a gorgeous white and ice frosted gatefold, the embossed red logo of Endless Legend dominates the cover and is simplistic yet clever in its design. The gatefold artwork by Aurelien Rantet is absolutely stunning. The scavenging Vaulters reclaiming what’s left of a long forgotten and ice-encrusted war machine adds a haunting cohesiveness to the overall packaging here. One thing that concerned me when this album was announced, was the selection of songs that would be pressed on this expansive 2LP release... Thankfully a good chunk of iconic tunes and themes are lovingly curated here. The included digital download of the entire "Definitive Edition" soundtrack provided with every copy of this release is a nice touch and helps alleviate some of the annoyance of any missing tracks. The choice of white vinyl here offers yet another facet to the overall cohesive design and adds a fitting sterility to the music that is housed within the many grooves here. Design-wise, I feel the labels leave a lot to be desired. The same logo/design is present on each of the four sides on this release with only the letter of each side being changed accordingly — This felt a little boring to me especially considering the work that went into the rest of this release’s design. The mastering on this album is absolutely superb. Engineered in house by G4F records, the noise floor present on these gorgeous white vinyl gives so much room for Arnaud's score to truly expand beyond what I had expected. The extra bit of airiness present here allows the music of Endless Legend to shine in a way I've never experienced before. Endless Legend on vinyl is without a doubt the definitive way to experience Arnaud’s score outside of the game it inhabits and is one I will find myself coming back to listen to for some time.
Album Details
Music by:
Remastered for vinyl by :
Artwork by:
Amplitude Studios
Vinyl produced & distributed by:
Where to Buy?
This album is still readily available directly through G4F Records’ website and Bandcamp page for this album. As a limited release and the initial 200 being signed by Arnaud himself, I can't imagine there being too many copies of this album left available. If you are a fan of Endless Legend or Arnaud impeccable library of music you owe yourself to pick this album up while you can. I can say without a doubt this is one of the most tranquil experiences I've had on vinyl in some time.