BLOOD+ Volume 2

The first volume of Mark Mancina\'s BLOOD+ introduced a number of themes, including the two main themes (Saya\'s Battle theme and the Grand theme), and a number of subthemes (Saya\'s theme, the Vampires\' theme, and Diva\'s theme). This second volume picks up where the first left off, and expands the world of the last vampire.

"The Vampire\'s Conspiracy" opens the album on a dark note with the Vampire theme, creating a very gothic tone. A brief reprise of this theme comes in "Violent Vampires". A number of the cues in the beginning of the album, however, are generally ambient in nature, such as "Isolation" and "Twisted Tension". Others, like "BLOOD+ Attack" and "Violent Vampires" are percussive with little thematic development. With such a broad set of themes, the lack of their presence in many of Volume 2\'s cues is surprising. We get a bit of Saya\'s theme in "Saya\'s Joy". This theme, featured in some of the lighter cues on the first album, brings out the woman in Blood, contrasting her slaying vampire side.

The music is a bit more electronic-heavy on this volume of the score, and cues like "The Red Shield" and "Infiltration" feature ambient sounds with percussive elements. Only once in the former cue does Mancina hint at the rhythm that normally backs the Grand theme. Finally, "Squaring Off" features a very slow statement of the Grand theme, which continues into "Saya\'s Fear". An interesting cue is "Witness the Vampires", which does not contain their theme, but still evokes their gothic tone over light percussion.

The Diva theme returns in "Diva Awakens" and then the Battle theme comes in as a sort of reprise in "Saya\'s Battle Theme". This opens with just the percussive backing to the theme and then performs a full statement by the end. An instrumental version of "Diva" from Volume 1 closes the album. Overall, this second volume is darker and more synth-heavy. Fans of the first disc who want to hear more of this score fleshed out may enjoy it, but fans of Mancina\'s orchestral scores would probably do well to just stick with the first volume.