A/N: I'm back. So the Volume 8 soundtrack has been out for over a month now and seeing how the soundtrack was the last aspect of RWBY that has gone downhill I wanted to talk about it. This discussion will go over each lyrical song on the Volume 8 soundtrack (excluding the sole remix), grading each song on lyrics/instrumentals, placement in the volume, story/character implications, and memorability alongside my final thoughts. At the end of this discussion, I will rank the best and worst songs of each RWBY soundtrack, the best overall volume soundtrack, what made each RWBY soundtrack work and what didn't, my thoughts on RWBY's music as a whole and where it can go from here.
So looking back on a previous comment I made on RWBY's music in volume 8 I said how the songs felt repetitive and stale and how volume 8's soundtrack is the weakest (statements I still agree with). However I want to go more in depth with the songs aside from just blindly praising or bashing the music, the former of which I had done for a long while.
Even though I am not an expert on music I am going to go over the soundtrack the best I can.
(Note: I can hear most of the songs in RWBY clearly with their lyrics easy to hear for me on the first time with some exceptions. But I get why people don't agree and the mixing at some points could be fixed.
Ranking is on an "A to F scale"
For Every Life
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
Being the intro for volume 8 and the first dark intro since volume 3, it's lyrics describe the events of the volume very well. I ended up liking the first verse of lyrics more than the second verse of lyrics. The first half involved the characters lamenting how their idealistic goals could not stop the chaos and doom coming towards them. The second half comes off as them trying to say how unfair it is how they did the "morally right thing" yet they still failed through no fault of their own (more on that later). The lines like "What we thought would change the world was just a childish dream" and "We sacrificed, pledged our souls and gave up everything. But in the end there's only failure, only suffering." say a lot about the confusing way the lyrics should be interpreted. The pre-chorus that ramps up the tempo and instrumentals of the song is my favorite part of the song. The chorus is mediocre but it is obvious how they are straining Casey's voice to hit the high notes and the bridge just feels boring. Instrumentals overall are decent even if they sound like most of the darker songs through the RWBY soundtracks.
Ranking: C (73%)
Placement in the volume/Memorability:
With the intros they have the best placements out of all the soundtracks due to no other song other than the intros fitting for the start of each episode. What I mean to say is that every time I hear this song it makes me want to watch the episode which makes this the most memorable song. This intro's placement is no exception (although the second half does drag the song back a bit due to it being weaker than the first half)
Ranking: A- (91%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
Within the story it hammers home the fact about how everything is going wrong as Salem is here in Atlas and ready to invade. It is obvious this is from the heroes perspective (like all the intros are save for When it Falls) as things were going wrong. I would have preferred the heroes not be entitled pricks to match how the heroes want to genuinely save people instead of them being on their high horse, but that was more on the overall volume rather than the song. It would be nice for the intros to have specific points of views instead of just being general but that is just me.
Ranking: B+ (87%)
Final Thoughts:
Overall this intro is pretty good and out of all the songs it has the least amount of flaws to it. However it is not my favorite song on the soundtrack. Most of the flaws were mainly due to the 2nd half of the song and how it is weaker than the first half of the song. Not mention the writing of the show affecting the song since the shows the heroes making enemies of what should have been allies. But other than that the song is really god
Final Ranking: B (83%)
The Sky is Falling
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
With this song the lyrics are the most literal out the entire soundtrack and alongside with the instrumentals makes the song very aggressive and action-like which goes well with the song. The 2 main verses in the song paint an interesting image that like with "For Every Life" show how the worst case scenario for the heroes comes to pass. But here it is more immediate and desperate which I like more than "For Every Life" but I can see why people prefer "For Every Life" to this song. The chorus is alright but it is mainly carried by the instrumentals. Lyrics like "The horror just won't stop; an endless scream" and "No sudden death, we're trapped in slow decay" are some of my favorite lines in the verses. The most interesting lyrics however come from the pre-choruses are really good although I thought the change from an instrumental to another line of the pre-chorus did feel off at first. Then we get to Lamar's rap and it is easily my favorite part of the song, and it might be my favorite verse from him. The piano in the background as it transitions to the guitars is great to hear along with seeing him be more restrained in a style we haven't seen from him since volume 2's "Caffeine".
Ranking: B+ (88%)
Placement in the volume/Memorability:
The song placement of the volume is good as it takes place in one of the few good action scenes in volume 8 which is the Jaune, Ren, and Yang chasing after Oscar and the Hound. I also like how it is the first song we hear in the volume aside from the intro as it shows how bad things are with a new type of Grimm and Salem almost ready to breach Atlas. Unfortunately I think this is the second least memorable song for most people in the soundtrack (the least memorable song I will get to later). The straightforward nature of the song works against this song as it sounds the same as many of the darker (villain) songs we see throughout RWBY. Also while I like the instrumentals they do sound almost like all the other instrumentals in other songs. Yes they do things to the instrumentals in this song to make it different but I don't think it was enough.
Ranking: B (83%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
While this song is not an official character song like "The Truth" and "Friend", I think "The Sky is Falling" is a song from Oscar and Ozpin point of view venting about Salem's arrival (and in Oscar's case how he will be merged with Ozpin losing himself as we see his thoughts after the volume 7 finale). There are lines in the chorus such as "Better cover up your eyes, my friend, thе sky is falling; Can't outrun the ruin of our lives" and all of verse 2 like the lines "A curse that's never-ending, a path with no escape; No sudden death, we're trapped in slow decay". Those lines seem like Oscar and Ozpin talking about how fucked up this cycle of "reincanration" (which is actually possession) is. Then we have the rap from Lamar which takes place completely from Oscar's point of view showing his fear and anguish about the situation he finds himself in post volume 7 and Oscar eventually losing himself as he merges with Ozpin. I would say that the chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus 2 is from Ozpin's point of view, while the bridge (Lamar's rap), verse 1, and pre-chorus 1 is from Oscar's point of view. It was really interesting to see two normally calm, passive characters get a sound that sounds angry and desperate (too bad most other character songs sound identical to each other). As for the story implications "The Sky is Falling" is supposed to be a dark reflection of "Touch the Sky" from volume 7. "Touch the Sky" is mainly about team RWBY, while "The Sky is Falling" is about Oscar and Ozpin. While "Touch the Sky" is more upbeat, more wordy, and more "flowery", "The Sky is Falling" is more pessimistic, less wordy, and more direct. Even though both songs are more general songs both of them have heavy character implications, I can see why some people see these songs as separate as neither of them feel like the same song.
Ranking: A (96%)
Final Thoughts:
Despite other people's opinions, "The Sky is Falling" is my favorite song in the Volume 8 soundtrack (save for OK Goodnight's Awake), however I do think the song has more overall problems than "For Every Life". The song is less memorable, the lyrics can be straightforward to a fault, and on the surface kind of basic. However the song has better character/story implications, better executed lyrics, and better instrumentals. So while I can see people liking "For Every Life", "The Sky is Falling" is better in my opinion.
Final Ranking: B+ (89%)
Be Strong and Hit Stuff
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
For this song the first thing I want today is how fast the instrumentals are especially for the verses. It's easily the fastest song of the entire volume and it's really hard to follow along with the song. The song feels shorter despite being 4 minutes long because of this I could barely make out the lyrics. Normally I was able to hear the lyrics for songs on the first try but this is the first song since "This Time" where I could not hear the lyrics clearly right away. Even still the lyrics feel generic, it is supposed to be a Nora song (although it is about her talking to Emerald) not to mention the first Nora song that is not about Ren but the lyrics seem off. The lyrics try to paint it like it is some sort of empowering song but it just falls flat compared to other songs of the name nature. The bridge is good since it leads into the chorus unlike most songs in the RWBY soundtrack and there is not much in the lyrics to make the song a good character songs (more on that later). The instrumentals are nice but don't do much to save the song because it just sounds like all the other RWBY rock songs
Ranking: C- (71%)
Placement in the volume/Memorability:
This song has the second worst placement in the volume (with the worst being revealed soon), why is this song supposedly about Nora placed during a fight scene (being team ORNJ and Winter and Emerald vs Ironwood) where Nora does not do anything important in the fight aside from one hit. Keep in mind Nora was bedridden for most of volume 8 so honestly I think this song would have been better off in volume 9 or 10 (whichever volumes focuses on the survivors of the Fall of Atlas making their way to Vacuo). In volume 8 Nora has split up from the group (episode 1), overcharged her semblance in an attempt to see herself as her own person (episode 3), talked down Penny (episode 8), talked to Ren about how she wants a break from their relationship (episode 11), fought Ironwood (episode 12), led people to Vacuo (episodes 13 and 14). When looking at this Nora really didn't do anything substantial in the volume aside from episode 3 and episode 11, two episodes out of 14, and even then Nora was bedridden for half of the volume. Having a Nora song inserted in volume 8 the way that it was is just jarring, even though "Red Like Roses Part 2" was put in a fight scene at least Ruby Rose herself gets to do the finishing move and it is a much better song than "Be Strong and Hit Stuff". As for memorability the only thing the song has going for it is that it is a Nora song that tries to talk about Nora outside of her relationship with Ren but like Nora's character without Ren, the song is bland and soulless to the point where the song can be applied to any character.
Ranking: D (63%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
Like with the last section "Be Strong and Hit Stuff" has the second worst story implications/character implications in the volume soundtrack (the first I will get to eventually). Since this is a more overt character song (unlike "The Sky is Falling"), lets see what this says about Nora… it says very little. There are two ways to interpret the lyrics either as Nora talking about herself or Nora talking to Emerald. If this is about Nora addressing Emerald it does not make sense because the only time Nora and Emerald could have interacted with each other is between the events of episode 11 and 12 (so about 5 to 10 minutes worth of interaction). Even if it is only about Nora the lyrics and the way the instrumentals portray Nora's character are generic and can be applied to any of the protagonists aside from Nora. The lyrics "Ain't nobody doubtin' you but you; Ain't nobody who don't believe in your greatness; We see what your fate is." and all of the 2nd verse (and even the pre-chorus and bridge) and more sound so basic and can apply to any of the main protagonists at this point in the show (specifically the main RWBY girls). It's sad that "Boop" and "Let's Get Real'' give more personality to Nora's character despite both of them being about Nora's obvious crush on Ren yet the song specifically about who Nora is without Ren says very little about Nora as a person that is exclusive to her. Take the songs "Big Metal Shoe" and "Fear" for example. While "Big Metal Shoe" is in my opinion the least favorite song of volume 6, Cordovin (the character the song is about) is in only 5 episodes of the show, and the fact that the nursery rhyme gimmick was not executed well, I can at least tell that it is a Cordovin song. "Fear" by contrast is my opinion is my favorite song of volume 7, Oscar (the character the song is about) is in 4 VOLUMES of the show at the point the song released, but there was nothing to indicate that the song is about Oscar (I had to find out this song is about Oscar from the RWBY wiki). That alone shows how character perspectives in RWBY's songs have been severely lacking recently and unfortunately, this song is the biggest example to how generic the character songs have become.
Ranking: F (59%)
Final Thoughts:
Nora deserved a better song than this, the lyrics very uninspired and the placement is just atrocious. I hate how all the character songs sound the same at this point. Why not have different genres of music for different characters instead of just generic "RWBY (butt)rock". Even though Nora was the most recent victim of this decline of quality in RWBY's music, Weiss is an interesting case as her songs go from classical opera and into rock as she breaks free from her family. But it's a shame that her songs just go into the generic rock songs that RWBY has for all of the characters. If it's about reclaiming the Schnee legacy instead of just abandoning it as completely bad then Weiss should keep the classical opera vibe in her songs but switch it up to make it more varied. But I doubt we will see that in the next Weiss song (assuming we get a song with Weiss giving a damn about the complete destruction of her home country).
Final Ranking: D (64%)
The Truth
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
Okay I am not going to sugarcoat it, this song is unfinished. I understand that Jeff and Casey had family issues to work out but come on. Frankly this shouldn't even count as an actual song due to the full version being less than a minute long, if this was just a part of the score for the episode "Midnight" then I would be okay with this but no this sorry excuse of a music number is counted as a stand alone song. I never thought after watching Cinder's "backstory" episode and hearing this song that what I heard in the episode would be all the content I would be getting for the song. Songs with minimalistic lyrics like "Red Like Roses" or "Mirror, Mirror" are miles better than whatever "The Truth" is supposed to be. I think this song is the worst when it comes to raw lyrics because at least with "Be Strong and Hit Stuff" it is trying to mask the generic lyrics with a decent beat. "The Truth" is just point blank just stating the obvious about how Cinder was treated directly at you with no flair or style at all. And unlike "The Sky is Falling" the direct use of lyrics was not done well at all. Lyrics like "Scrub the dishes in the sink; No one said that you should think." are just points to what happens in the episode with ZERO subtitlety. I get what they were trying to do with this song but Volume 5's "Smile" did this concept better. Now with the instrumentals I heard that the instrumentals for this song were taken from the volume 2 song "Sacrifice" (which I see as Raven's character song), and Roman's instrumental theme. Regardless, the fact that the instrumentals for Cinder's song are not at least varied enough to differentiate from other villain songs says a lot about the production of this song.
Ranking: F (49%)
Placement in the volume/Memorability:
With this song I can at least say the placement makes sense as "The Truth" first appeared in episode 6 of volume 8 which is Cinder's "backstory" episode and by that I mean an episode that should have been shown 4- 5 volumes ago. I mean this song should have been placed in volume 4 when Cinder is recovering from volume 3 to show how Salem is no better than the woman who abused her back at the Atlas hotel. Seriously though for an antagonist who have been in every volume of the show so far it is pathetic that her backstory and by extension her song is placed so late in the show (especially since the backstory is hot garbage). Plus this song (and the episode) is there to make us sympathize with Cinder yet let us hate Ironwood (and other male characters) who have done much less than her. As for memorability it is memorable for all the WRONG reasons, as everyone knows about it only for how short it is, how on the nose it is, how it just relies on the source material to carry the run time, and how overall disappointing it is. Too bad I am only giving credit for songs that are memorable for the RIGHT reasons.
Ranking: D- (61%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
This is technically Cinder's character song (despite the fact that "When it Falls" or OK Goodnight's "Awake" are better candidates for Cinder's character song), yet it just feels like a song I would find in a cheap "Cinderella" remake. There is nothing unique to Cinder that does not apply to any other versions of Cinderella, and nothing that talks about present day Cinder Fall. It is just "I am abused" the song with nothing to make it seem like RWBY. If the song was longer maybe it could have a verse about her life with Salem, the dark progression of Cinder's psychopathy, and even a verse about how Cinder treats Emerald just like the Madame treated Cinder but no. The 1950s Disney version of Cinderella (and it's songs) is more nuanced than RWBY's take on Cinder.
Ranking: F (57%)
Final Thoughts:
What is there to say about this song that hasn't already been said. This song is the perfect example of how troubled the volume 8 soundtrack production was. It does not deserve to be a lyrical song on the soundtrack and should have just been a part of the score. Everything about this song is below average at best or horrible at worst. The lyrics especially suffer from this because even when volume 8 was still airing it's episodes many people criticized the song and how on the nose it is. To conclude… this song sucks.
Final Ranking: F (55%)
Treasure
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
While the lyrics are technically sound and have no overt problems with them (unlike "Be Strong and Hit Stuff" and "The Truth"), the way it is presented is just boring. Lyrics like " Hour after hour; I spend dreaming that your voice will wake; My slumbering ear; Numb and lost I wander; With no place to go, just aimless 'til; You reappear" are nice but feel hollow. It's a good concept but bad execution, even more so than "The Truth". "Home" is the reuniting song done much better. People have interpreted this as a breather song to have characters reflect emotionally particularly for ships like Bumblebee and ReNora but like I said "Home", "All That Matters", and even "Forever Fall" did this better. Also the way the lyrics are broken up for me is not as effective as other slow songs. The biggest thing is that this song tries WAY too hard to be sentimental and emotional especially during the bridge. All the other slow songs were able to get across how sad (Cold, Forever Fall, Until the End), or hopeful (Wings, All Our Days, Home, All That Matters) are without feeling boring. Not to mention the song drags WAY too long with the instrumentals. With the amount of lyrics and the pace it was sung the song could have been 3 and a half/4 minutes max but it is 5 minutes long. When the other slow songs had instrumental breaks (or instrumentals in general) it felt accurately paced. This may be the worst paced song in the soundtrack with the verses not being lingered on enough but the bridge and even the chorus being emphasized too much. When the song first premiered in episode 10 (the second worst episode of the volume) I could barely hear it, too bad the song itself just feels like a worse, hollow, drawn out version of all the other slow songs that tries too hard to be sentimental. While the lyrics are technically competent that is not saying much compared to most of the songs on this soundtrack.
Ranking: C- (71%)
Placement in the volume/Memorability:
This song by far is the LEAST memorable song in the volume. Outside of it being the token slow song of the volume, there was nothing the song had for it to stand out from the rest of the soundtrack aside from it being another slow song. There are simply other slow songs that are better than this in my opinion that feel more authentic than this one. "Home" and "Until the End" are my two favorite There is a YouTube video that plays the songs "All That Matters" and "Treasure" (for the ship bumblebee) back to back and for the life of me instantly stopped caring when "Treasure" started playing. To be honest in this case no memorability is worse than being memorable for the wrong reasons (looks at "The Truth") As for the placement in the volume it is fine where it is as it is one of the few songs in the volume to make sense where it is placed (in where the two split teams established in episode one reunite). honestly having the songs place where they make sense in the story should be expected, not a luxury.
Ranking: D+ (68%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
Since this song is not about any specific character (or can be applied to a specific character like "The Sky is Falling"), this song would mainly be about how it applies to the story. When thinking about this within a macro sense, the song fits as it plays after Salem being temporary killed by Oscar's cane nuke and Yang's group. But with individual characters it is a mixed bag. On the one hand it makes sense since Yang's group came back from an encounter with Salem's herself ALIVE even though there should be no reason why anyone can leave an encounter with the BIG BAD completely unscathed (Oscar's injuries don't count because they do not get brought up in the final 4 episodes) and really appreciating the fact that they are reunited again. On the other hand, the "disagreement" Ruby and Yang had in the volume 8 premiere was lukewarm as it never got truly resolved, neither side received a mutual understanding of the other side's issue (aka RWBY hivemind), and not even mentioned most of the time during the moments of downtime (looks at Yang and Jaune's conversation in episode 4) especially in Ruby's group. Between the three groups, I think this category fares the best for "Treasure" but like "Be Strong and Hit Stuff" and "For Every Life" the content within the show holds the song back from reaching its full potential.
Ranking: C (74%)
Final Thoughts:
Out of all the songs on the soundtrack, "Treasure" was the hardest to articulate my feelings about. It is not a song I liked ("The Sky is Falling", "For Every Life", "Awake") or a song I hated ("Be Strong and Hit Stuff", "The Truth", "Friend"). It is a song that is average, however it should go without saying that "Treasure" is my least favorite slow song in the entire show. Hopefully the next slow song would be more memorable and not drag for so long.
Final Ranking: C- (71%)
Friend
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
Remember how I said "Treasure" felt like it was trying too hard and it's lyrics felt hollow, well it is even WORSE with "Friend". Only this time while it definitely succeeds in being about one character (this being Penny's character song) everything about the song is stale and hollow which is bad for the character who is portrayed to be just as human as the other humans in the show. Unlike "Be Strong and Hit Stuff" at least this song does do a good job with talking about Penny however the song feels manufactured and fake as it tries to make you feel a certain way about Penny (especially with how volume 8 turns out). The instrumentals are okay as they try to draw inspiration to "Pinocchio" (Penny's fairy-tale inspiration) but like "Treasure", "Friend" just feels like it is going through the motions as it also tries way too hard to make you care about Penny. The lyrics referencing lines from the earlier volumes is nice but it doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know about Penny, how she felt about any other person in the show (save for Ruby), or about the conflicting emotions between Penny and Ruby as Penny was REVIVED FROM THE DEAD back in volume 7. While the lyrics and instrumentals are shallow, bland, and manufactured, at least the song has decent lyrics and instrumentals but as Penny's permanent sendoff from the show it just falls flat.
Ranking: C- (72%)
Placement in the volume/Memorability:
This song without a doubt has the worst placement in the show out of all of Volume 8's songs, in fact it has one of the worst placements in the entire SHOW. This song was the CREDIT song for volume 8, the first volume since volume 3 that truly showed a loss for our heroes. We don't talk about how Atlas and Mantle are wiped off the map or how the villains won, or about Winter being the next maiden, or how ALL of Atlas' hunters and almost all of the military (save for Elm, Harriet, Marrow, and Winter) are dead. I have mentioned the placement of this song in my original volume 8 review but I will say it again. Since volume 8 is the first volume since 3 where the heroes lost there should have been a song lamenting the heroes loss or the villains celebrating their victory (like Cold and Divide in season 3). They try to do this with "Friend" as it is a funeral song for Penny but it does not work because it way too upbeat (not to mention how Penny died). Character songs work for volume credit songs (i.e. "Sacrifice", "Divide", "Armed and Ready", "This Time", "Nevermore", and "Fear") as they sum up the status quo that is now set after the events of their respective volumes. This is the first credit song to not fit the volume that it is placed in or reflect the status quo that is set after volume 8. Even "Wings" , a song that I wasn't the biggest fan of personally, is better than this. If it were up to me than they should used OK Goodnight's "Rebirth" as the credit song for volume 8. While the lyrics are minimalist, the lyric choice and instrumentals perfectly sum up the status quo after the events of volume 8. The point is "Friend" dropped the ball for a credit song. Also the song is not that memorable aside from how abruptly Penny (permanently) died in the volume 8 finale and the memorability the song does have is for the wrong reasons (as I explain in the next section). If they wanted the song in the show they should have placed it in volume 3 or volume 4 soundtrack when the characters were dealing with Penny's FIRST death (because bringing her back just to kill her off again is just manipulative in every way).
Ranking: F (51%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
Well this might be the most insensitive song in the show when it comes to the implications for the story and Penny's character. For the volume 8 finale, Miles, Kerry, Eddy, and Kersi had the "great" idea to turn Penny to an actual human in episode 12 only for her to commit SUICIDE 2 episodes later in the volume finale. Not to mention it was an ASSISTED SUICIDE thanks to Jaune Arc of all people, the same character who could heal an impalement wound when he JUST unlocked his semblance in the volume 5 finale. And of course this song played as the credit song to emotionally manipulate the viewers to feel sad about Penny's second death that was all around handled worse than her first death. As many people have pointed out, this unintentionally glorifies and romanticizes suicide as some grand sacrifice made for the greater good done by a character who has been beaten down by multiple circumstances throughout the volume. Like I others have said before, there is not much to add about how bad the decision to kill Penny again, especially in the way that it happened seeing how she was only brought back to redo her volume 2 characterization in volume 7 and to be a plot device in volume 8. Anyway like I said before the fact how the show ignores all the horrific actions and implications of RWBY's actions as they cause a world wide Dust crisis, destroy the country with the military and technology, uprooted millions of lives with no plans to help them to adapt, cause a refugee crisis as one country is suddenly expected the house foreigners that they won't and can't handle, etc. but no... we must have a tribute song for Penny.
Ranking: F (50%)
Final Thoughts:
This song could have just been average if the implications and placement didn't ruin the song but no. When volume 8 ended I knew something was not right about the soundtrack but this song in particular confirmed it for me. It is easily the worst credit song in all of RWBY and one of the most insulting and manipulative songs I have heard. If they tweaked the song to make the implications better and placed the song better it would have been fine. There is not much to say overall that has not been said already in this post or in my volume 8 review. The only reason this song is not the worst is because of a literal unfinished song being thrown in the soundtrack.
Final Ranking: F (57%)
Awake (OK Goodnight)
Lyrics/Instrumentals:
Ever since OK Goodnight's second album "Under the Veil" came out in late 2020, I have been listening to this song ON LOOP. The lyrics have this elegance to it that says so much with little words. Lyrics such as "Still, our fragile lies in bones; Forever, we alone; Cannot escape this misery" and the bridge "Silence fuels the deadly cries; Ripped apart by knives in lovers' lies; Curse my innocence goodbye; Take my hand then take my life" are so evocative. The lyrics are not very wordy yet are paced just right so anyone can easily sing along to them. With the lyrics they have a deeper meaning that fits the song, yes the RWBY songs have this too but the vast majority of RWBY songs can only be truly enjoyed within the show's context, the only expectation being the volume 7 soundtrack (for the most part). "Awake" is about accepting your inner demons and learning to live with them, which was an interesting place to take the song. As for the instrumentals they are just as if not in some ways BETTER than the lyrics. When I first heard the instrumental intro I was instantly invested, the same feeling can be applied to the instrumentals played in the bridge of the song. While the rest of the instrumentals don't reach the heights of those two examples, the instrumentals of a whole are overall great. The lyrics and instrumentals work so well in harmony that it can't be truly described unless you hear it. Considering how the lyrics or instrumentals have some problems in other songs on the soundtrack (like with "Be Strong and Hit Stuff"), it is a breath of fresh air to see the lyrics AND instrumentals not only be consistently great but manage to compliment each other perfectly (again even more so than "The Sky is Falling").
Ranking: A+ (99%)
Placement in the volume/memorability:
Despite being placed in one of the worst and shortest fight scenes in the entire show (Cinder vs Rhodes), the placement of "Awake" fits perfectly with the fight scene as it is one of the two good things about the fight (the other being the buildup that happens right before the fight). The lyrics they went with (ie the bridge) lined up perfectly with the fight scene's tone (like with the line: "Take my hand then take my life" that plays when Cinder kills Rhodes). Not to mention how seamlessly the song is played during the fight. As for memorability, the song's appearance for me was a standout moment in a lackluster episode because of how no one expected the song to be included in the episode. Apparently it was a surprise from Casey Lee Williams to put one of her OK Goodnight songs into RWBY, but I also think it was to give more exposure to her band. After this I got to thinking about how I can insert the remaining 7 OK Goodnight songs into volume 8 soundtrack and future soundtrack. Some examples of this is having "Rebirth" be the volume 8 credit song or having "Day and Night" be placed somewhere in volume 9 (the volume where RWBY, Jaune, and Neo explore the mystery island). Granted I wish it didn't take this great song appearing in a bad episode in a horrible season for it to get the attention it deserves but apparently that is what happened.
Ranking: A+ (99%)
Story Implications/Character Implications:
This is NOT a RWBY song and it was not made with RWBY in mind, yet it fits well with Cinder's character. To be frank this should be considered as Cinder's theme song, because this definitely the closest we got to a Cinder song since the volume 3 intro "When it Falls". "All Things Must Die" doesn't count because it involved both Cinder AND Raven and the less said about "The Truth" the better. Even aside from the parts used in the actual episode, I can see the song playing in my mind as I see Cinder's backstory from being adopted from her Mistral home and sent to the Glass Unicorn in Altas as we see her life in the hotel (the intro music, first verse, and first chorus). Cinder meeting Rhodes and training under his wing to prepare for the Huntsman academy and then the eventual confrontation (second verse, second chorus, and intro music). We get Cinder vs Rhodes as the bridge plays, and finally Cinder leaving the Glass Unicorn for good (final instrumental break and final chorus). The lyrics like "Embers, sweet and unrefinеd; So bright but not so kind; Will start a fire in your mind" and "I feel alive; My self-portrait suicide; Tonight is no time to die; And now I'm awake" really help describe Cinder's character at that moment. Despite the song being only truly relevant in a backstory sense, it is an amazing song in that context.
Ranking: A+ (97%)
Final Thoughts:
After going through this entire soundtrack this song was a breath of fresh air as despite not being a RWBY song, it still feels like a RWBY song. Like a song from volume 7 it is an experimental song that is unlike the normal mold of previous RWBY songs. I already went over what makes this song great so all I have left to say is that aside from "The Sky is Falling", I think "Awake" is the best song of the soundtrack.
Final Ranking: A+ (98%)
Before talking about what I would do to fix RWBY's music for future volumes here is the overall soundtrack ranking (which averages each song's individual final rankings):
Soundtrack Ranking Version 1: With "Awake" and "The Truth":
For Every Life: 83%
The Sky is Falling: 89%
The Truth: 55%
Awake: 98%
Treasure: 71%
Be Strong and Hit Stuff: 64%
Friend: 57%
Final Soundtrack Score: C (73%)
Soundtrack Ranking Version 2: Without "Awake":
For Every Life: 83%
The Sky is Falling: 89%
The Truth: 55%
Treasure: 71%
Be Strong and Hit Stuff: 64%
Friend: 57%
Final Soundtrack Score: D+ (69%)
Soundtrack Ranking Version 3: Without "The Truth":
For Every Life: 83%
The Sky is Falling: 89%
Awake: 98%
Treasure: 71%
Be Strong and Hit Stuff: 64%
Friend: 57%
Final Soundtrack Score: C+ (77)
Soundtrack Ranking Version 4: Without "Awake" and "The Truth":
For Every Life: 83%
The Sky is Falling: 89%
Treasure: 71%
Be Strong and Hit Stuff: 64%
Friend: 57%
Final Soundtrack Score: C- (72)
So yeah that is how I would rank the soundtrack overall. At it's best (with "Awake" and without "The Truth") the volume gets a C+, but at it's worst (without "Awake" and with "The Truth" and the other scenarios are middle of the road.
The reason why I did versions with and without "The Truth" and "Awake" is because "The Truth" only counts as a song via a technicality and "Awake" was not made as a RWBY song or a song with RWBY in mind (ie composed, produced, written, and performed by a completely different band/crew other than the CRWBY). Even though the soundtrack got an average rating overall in my opinion I still think it is the worst soundtrack of the show.
For a long time the music in RWBY was the only consistently good thing about RWBY for me, but now with volume 8 that simply isn't true anymore. This also proves that any genuinely good things that RWBY had started out slowly faded away or was abruptly dropped out of nowhere the longer the show went on. Even before volume 8 people had issues with soundtracks but at least they had at least 1 standout song that everyone universally loves, but now that is not really the case.
What CRWBY should do now is hire more permanent composers/vocalists for RWBY's vocal songs instead of just relying on Jeff and Casey. Just look at volume 7 where we had guest vocalists (Hero, War, Celebrate), different composers (Let's Get Real, Until the End), and songs with a different feel to it (Brand New Day), and even the more traditional RWBY songs on the volume 7 soundtrack (Trust Love, Touch the Sky, Fear) feel more fresh than the soundtracks adjacent to it. If CRWBY (and to a greater extent Rooster Teeth) prioritized their budget than there should be more people to help on the soundtrack. Even though the score by Alex Abraham still sounds good (despite not giving the scores for volume 8 individual names for some reason) Alex, Jeff, and Casey have been carrying the RWBY soundtrack for years on their own (and Lamar to extent but he only does 1 song per soundtrack).
More variety is obviously needed and a good example of this would be the soundtracks for Red vs Blue season 9 and 10. Red vs Blue was Rooster Teeth's previous cash grab before RWBY and during its peak (Season 9 and especially Season 10) it featured soundtracks written by Jeff Williams before composing/writing songs for RWBY and it had various vocalists and not just Casey (at that point Casey was really young and only did small parts in certain songs and only did one song on her own). There were different song that felt varied, this includes songs such as "Falling Towards the Sky", "On Your Knees", "Bow Chicka Wow Wow Wow", "Can't Trust Anybody Now", "The More", "Terrify!", "Pray", "Forever", etc. Going back to the Red vs Blue season 9 and season 10 soundtracks and then going to the later RWBY soundtracks feels insanely different.
I think both Jeff and Casey should not be involved with the volume 9 soundtrack whatsoever as they take the year off from making RWBY music and find other vocalists and composers for Volume 9. They could at least place old songs into Volume 9 like OK Goodnight's "Day and Night" (since the group are in a mysterious island) but I doubt any of this will happen. So yeah that is my thoughts on the RWBY volume 8 soundtrack.
A/N: Going forward I am going to continue with finishing RWBY REBN season 1 hopefully by the end of the spring/start of the summer. I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long, but hopefully I can make up for it (assuming people are still reading at this point). But maybe all of the different fanfics will interest you, also disregard what I said in the previous author's note last chapter about reaction fics, for I found a way to do it (which is also in my profile). Until next time…