Can We Appreciate Company of Heroes 2's OST?

So I wrote this piece on Medium: https://medium.com/@applecobbler44/can-we-appreciate-cris-velascos-work-on-company-of-heroes-2-a03e06086357

And yeah, what are your thoughts? I feel a bit too many people are harsh on CoH2's soundtrack. And I gotta give Velasco credit for making not one, not two, but three separate soundtracks (Eastern, Western, and British OSTs).

Put it simple, It's still amazing to listen to it alone

There is absolutely no doubt that CoH2 and vCoH had great soundtracks.

It sounds stupid, but CoH2's "Epitaph" and vCoH's "Shattered" (especially when the female chorus starts) are the two songs I would use if somebody asked me how a movie about the Holocaust should be Orchestrated.

Scary, very moving and emotional. Truly masterpieces.

CoH2: Epitaph



vCoH: Shattered

Personally, I love CoH's soundtrack, is sounds gritty and dark, and at times cheerful.

But I don't like CoH 2's soundtrack all that much.

I prefer The Western Front Armies and British soundtracks tho, as well as the Ardennes Assault one.

Too bad nobody has uploaded the AA one yet fully, just the main menu track.

I don't really compare the two works as the games themselves are quite different tbh but again I think the score of Coh2 is fantastic and fits Vcoh2 (Before WFA) game much better than what we have now.
Its dark, cold, and feels like the eastern front.

I mean this alone should say it all about Coh2's OST.

CoH1 soundtrak > all

CoH1 soundtrack - epic, exciting, awesome. Shattered... Omg, shattered...

Dramatic, tense, created a sense of urgency.

CoH2 soundtrack is the Ed Sheeran of game soundtracks. Safe. Familiar. Vanilla. Lame.

Most of the vCoH music tracks people seem to be noting are generally the ones that came out with the OF. OF probably had the best of the music for vCoH.

I do prefer the EF soundtracks that came with CoH 2 which are on-par with the OF soundtracks.

My vote was yes but that doesn't change the fact about COH1 soundtracks were way better and overall COH2 soundtracks were way worse.
WHY?
First, I'm deeply annoyed about building up times in almost every track but more importantly soundtrack is filled with bad ambiant songs.

Let's start with main themes. In COH2's, you get to hear the first note about 35 seconds after track starts and nothing happens till 1.13. That's a lot of build up time for a game. After that, very memorable solo hits and finally you start to enjoy the track.

In COH1, you hear the first note at second 10. There is a very enjoyable but small build up around 20-40 and you starting to grasp the track after that and enjoy it.

HERE is a link you can listen all too

COH2 Blitzkrieg Track
Even if you ask a none-ww2 nerd, what is Blitzkrieg, they will say Its a none stoping attacking. When I first heard the song I honestly thought about relentless charges from conscripts, a Soviet push, attack after attack. All because of pauses during the song. It pauses and continues almost all time with a little memorable moments getting boring around the middle.

Footsteps in the Snow
You hear the first note in 30 seconds. The whole song is filled with few seconds of music and the rest is empty effects. I feel absolutely nothing after I hear this. Couse, there is nothing to feel about anything on this track.

Tread Softly
Another radio noise mixed with few seconds of the choir and random sounds. Nothing to feel.

March Into Hell
One of the good track in this mess. Has enjoyable build up and around 50 seconds you grasp the song and after that, you enjoy the good usage of the choir with good music. One thing is lacking a memorable solo or a bridge but I think It still satisfies any player who wishes to increase the hype when playing as SU.

O My Brother, Be Strong
Has very strong build up and takes you a perfect WW2 Soviet song. It changes drastically during track without feeling alienated from the theme. From strong start to strong finish best track in whole soundtracks.

We Toil With No Respite
Nothing. There is really nothing on this track. Another 3 minutes of build up song mixed with rare moments of notes.

Stand, Rise Up!
Good usage of choir and music. Very high paced song and keeps you on edge but giving you a good amount of resting moments. A very memorable one.

The Advancing Hordes
Starts good but after listening to the same tune over and over again If becomes boring around the middle.

Ghosts of the Fallen
It's only an ambient sound.

Soldiers, Be Wary
Another ambient sound mixed with the choir.

Don't Weep, That Time Has Passed
A good variant of the theme. Good usage of the choir. Enjoyable to listen.

Epitaph
Another 3 minutes of build up song.

Sneak Attack
A very good sneaky build up but sadly leading to the very small window to feel the end of a sneaky attack. Lacks short

Gather Your Force
It's actually a good example of ambient sounds. A solo in the back. Moments of music dragging back you in the track. Not a memorable one or a good one but as I said. A good example how to make an ambient track.

Shadows in the Mist
Same pace. Another example of how to make bad ambient sounds.

Onward to Victory
A good variant of the theme. A really good solo and very Soviet(y)

Not One Step Back
A good tune which has few special moments in it. One of the good ones.

The Fog of War
Another bad ambient sounds. Nothing to feel.

In Russia, Rubik's Solves You
Enjoyable build up leads to very Sovieish song. Has few moments makes It unique. One of the good ones.

The Struggle Remains
Another bad ambient music.

Za Rodinu!
Has good pace but only an acceptable one.

Frostbite
Bad ambient song.

A Red Army Rising
A good variant of the theme. Lacks something to makes It unique though.

The Long Winter
Another bad ambient song.

A Prayer For My Company
Barely acceptable ambient song.

But why did I still voted yes?
Because I don't know If this was Relic's request or something else. So I can't put the entire blame for this overall bad soundtrack of COH2 to the composer.

Show Spoiler

Don't want to be offended, but it seems like you somehow misunderstand the usage of an OST with a regular album of a musician.
I assume that because of how often you wrote "Bad ambient song", "Another ambient song", etc.

First thing, an ambient song would be something where you only heard the wind, birds, etc. Second, only because something is "slow" and "atmospheric", doesn't mean it is automatically bad. For example the tracks where there is a lot of choir and marching music is something I personally do absolutely not like while you seem to enjoy it. That is not bad, only a point of taste.

But for example the track "Shattered" which I mentioned before is something you called "Another 3 minutes of build up song". I just don't know what you expect after the "build up". Some kind of euphoric Russian choir? Some orchestra? I think the track itself is perfect as it is.

vCoH was about the soldiers on the Western Front, a "Company of Heroes" - Much more connected to a specific company with a few soldiers, just like Easy company from Band of Brothers (which was also the main inspiration for the whole game). CoH2 is about a much bigger topic, not a small company but the whole Eastern Front in WW2 while Operation Barbarossa. While vCoH covered heroism and stuff, CoH2 covers the agony, fear and death seen from both sides in the time between 41 and 44. Were every soldier was more dead than alive and thus I think the "calmer" majority of the soundtrack is very fitting, because the war was not about storming areas but about waiting to die most of the time.

I accept your personal opinion but I think saying that the CoH2 OST is way worse is kind of unfair as both games have a way different atmosphere.

Honestly, you lost me about your ambient, atmospheric discussion. I could have used a better word to express it but I don't know how to describe it, best of my the language skills.

I have a trained ear and enjoy quite a big range of music styles but yes, I do enjoy a good "atmospheric" music as well. It's not about slow or anything. For example, a good atmospheric music producer is Ulver. My opinion wasn't affected from songs being slower or faster.

Since music It's an art form it's perfectly fine for anybody to like or dislike another work or opinion. In the example of Shattered, you give "wasn't this is a 3 minute build up too?" It's absolutely not! Shattered is a good example of how to do good atmospheric songs. It's moving, has few moments where It shines and most importantly not filled with radio noise with few seconds of notes as I described one by one.

As for the COH2 music is fitting story argument, I simply cannot agree; COH2 story was all over the place. COH2 story is one of the weirdest stories in COH franchise. There are lots of topics they touched but never grasped. It needed more missions and cutscenes to really tell about all topics Relic childishly touched. So since there is no vision to the story I highly doubt there is a connection to the story too.

If you enjoyed it and thinking minutes of radio noise mixed with choir and occasional notes playing in the background (not saying to demoralize just to point out the fact) making you think about "...waiting to die in the war times" It's perfectly fine.

I just think it's lazy and bad work which doesn't inspire me as COH1 did.

CoH1 is better than CoH2 when it come to music, not only the content but also how it works.

In CoH1, US and Wehr use the same bgm, and not that noticable because of its dark and grim. However, PE and Brit, each has different series of bgms and all play nicely, fits their style to the core.

In CoH2, only one USF bgm, and the rest is Soviet bgms. You hear it again and again until you get bored, regardless of faction you play.

And I would rank BGM like this:
1/CoH-Opposing Force
2/vCoH2
3/vCoH1
4/CoH2-WFA

Btw, vCoH1 credit bgm is so OP.

I don't want to give hate to CoH 1 or smth but CoH 2 has some great improvements. Some people just can't move on from a great game of the golden era of strategy games and I am fine with that. What I want to bring up is the best thing that CoH 2 brought, witch is the blizzards, the fearsome cold from 1942 that no one who knows history can forget. That is where CoH 2 nailed it and CoH 1 can't achieve it with no mod. Also the unit bar and the more natural flow of the battle where people don't spam 6 snipers and bunkers. It is a lot more interesting than CoH 1 witg it's spam like battles.

Now back to music and bgms ( sry lost track ) everyone tells about CoH 1 great music that goes all the time... What about the moment that there is noa fight well here the great ambient sounds that CoH2 has come in play. You here mg's, arty explosions and birds, snow and cracks from the trees. But the build up songs are there to cook a good intro for the good musis that happens while you look at how units fight. Taste is another thing so please no hate for saying CoH 2 has kinda better music( btw I like CoH 1 music a lot).

Oh and about the story. If no one really saw the real deal behind it then let me clearit for you. I think u know what happened after german failled to take stallingrad. The story goes throughout this with stalingrad included. Also it shows the crimes against the russian soldiers. No one step back! That thing was the best part of the whole campaing. Also the story about Ania and the poland rebels that appear in the theather of war ( another great thing implemented ). So to wrap this part up too, CoH2 was about heroism just seen through other eyes. The eyes of the Red army and his infamous General's.

So both games are really great. You just need to know how to look at them. As a big fan of the series I can tell more difference in many parts as gameplay, effects and such but this was about bgm and somehow story.

The CoH2 soundtrack captured the grittyness, sadness, dispair and horrible conditions that were the Eastern front perfectly. When I listen to it, I feel all those emitions come up.

CoH OF soundtrack hits the same aspects but for the Western front completely.

Apples and oranges.

I won't say that CoH2 has a bad soundtrack, but it certainly didn't make a strong impression on me. Who cares what it's supposed to capture? It's not going to matter if I can't even remember anything.

coh2's and vCOH music both were great for different themes and games.

However, I no longer hear coh2's music, a thousand hours has erased any impresion it has/had on me.

i can't remember if i have heard any soundtrack while playing 1v1 but the music did play every map on 4v4