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This 2024 anime soundtrack is for Solo Leveling, a show set in a world where hunters fight monsters to protect humanity. Within this context, a down-on-his-luck hunter named Sung Jinwoo must fight to survive. But his luck would change once he’s picked to gain some special powers where he can grow his abilities. With this newfound strength, Jinwoo continues his quest to fight against all enemies, but with the added goal of trying to unearth the secrets of the dungeons and the true source of his powers.
Hiroyuki Sawano‘s efforts for Solo Leveling aren’t a major departure from his previous works for anime. If he had used this same music, but put it in Attack on Titan, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. So if you’re looking for dark, ominous, intense music, this soundtrack has that in spades. Sawano fans will be perfectly at home with Solo Leveling.
XAI features on the opening track of this album. Her delivery is strained and heavy, which conveys a darker mood effectlively. The lyrics themselves speak of struggle and is a good depiction of Jinwoo’s circumstances.
The meat of this album comes in the form of a long symphonic suite. And when I say long, I do mean long. The “Symphonic Suite’s” presentation spans 10 tracks and none them are short like your typical anime BGM track. When you listen to them, be prepared to give them time to digest.
Furthermore, even though these tracks are titled “Symphonic Suite”, don’t expect the traditional orchestral setup. Instead, Hiroyuki Sawano does as Sawano is wont to do: deliver music with those thunderous orchestral bursts and throw in some heavy synth-y rhythms and beats. Heavy on the electronica, so not a pure traditional symphony. The overall character of this suite hits all the right epic notes that Sawano is known for, for better or worse. But as I stated before, Sawano fans will eat this up very nicely.
Solo Leveling‘s remaining tracks are varied in their approaches. “DunGeoN” maintains those ominous vibes, complete with a combination of organ and synth. “Am→Km” is a bit of a reprieve where XAI features on vocals once more. This time, however, her inclusion isn’t as prominent. The violin carries this song’s melodic focus, doing so in a way as to impart a sense of relief.
Finally, in the end, we have “4eVR”, a power pop duet involving Benjamin & mpi and Laco. The presentation here is flashy and emphatic. Listening to it gave me vibes similar to much of LiSA’s music. So with all that, “4eVR” serves the role of the energetic closer for Solo Leveling perfectly.