(Zu) Fremde Gestade

The fact that the music of the Iron Harvest-addons Operation Eagle would be tonally oriental was a surprise to me, given the snowy cover image. I hadn't expected instruments such as the saz or kanun to dominate. That wouldn't be a bad thing in itself if the soundtrack didn't differ so fundamentally from that of the main game. Because the latter appeals to me with its heroic/epochal motifs, which are firmly anchored in the Eurocentric musical canon and create an atmosphere of conflict and, ultimately, world war - this does not.

To avoid any misunderstandings as to why this aspect is important to me - especially in view of the current situation in world affairs - I would like to briefly explain what I mean by this. When I say that this form of musicality appeals to me more, it has to do not only with my personal preferences, but also with the question of how the actual game deals with the subject matter. Are we looking at a deadpan shooter drama à la Call of Duty , or a humorous team shooter of the Team Fortress 2? Do we explore the suffering and individual fates of a few people, as in the tragically sad Valiant Hearts, or do we command soldiers and war machines on a macro level, as in Company of Heroes or Iron Harvest. These views dictate the nature of the music to a certain extent - or at least my expectations.

Now, I have absolutely no problem with conventions and especially tropes being broken. A wonderful example of this from the world of TV series is The Last Agni Kai from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Instead of the expected action fireworks, the final confrontation between brother and sister is accompanied by a subliminal, almost sad theme. What is irritating at first, however, has an effect within a few seconds. This gives the music a narrative element, it tells its own story parallel to what is shown. In terms of content, it is clear what is happening: two people are having a duel. In the music, however, the story of the two comes to the fore, the tragedy of this avoidable conflict: brother against sister. If they had gone down the action route, we would probably have got a cool fight track, but this is a memorable one.

So there is nothing wrong per se with deliberately subverting expectations. Sometimes this is even desirable. Only recently, in my review of Company of Heroes: Eastern Front , I was annoyed that it featured a male choir singing fervently, as this is a frequently used motif for Middle Eastern culture. Personally, I don't need that every time a game has anything remotely to do with Russia. Conversely, it doesn't bother me either, as long as it's done well. All you have to do is listen to Mother Rusviet from the original Iron Harvest-soundtrack. And that's the point: the quality. So what am I getting at here? After all, the addon seems to be set in warm desert regions. So the choice of instruments is absolutely logical and not really something I should comment on? And there are no noticeable compromises in terms of quality either; if you restrict yourself purely to the soundscape.

The music of Operation Eagle sounds like the Middle East. What it sounds less like, unfortunately, is Iron Harvest. The tone of the series was set in the music of the main game, this authoritarian, totalitarian, broad-shouldered self-image of the fictional world powers. Ironically, it is missing in this score, in which the US american counterpart enters the stage. Instead, we get an almost ironically exaggerated theme (Ode to the Union), which for me does not fit in with the serious nature of the game. The soundtrack is therefore by no means a total failure, but unfortunately there isn't a one real pearl among the twelve tracks.