Hearts of Iron IV Soundtrack: Empire of the Sun

All credits to Paradox Interactive / Andreas Waldetoft!!!

[Vmac]

You can say whatever you want about Paradox's game design these days but it's unquestionable that Andreas Waldetoft is an absolute treasure, he just keeps getting better and better at his craft and the results are amazing.

[yochaiwyss]

Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked...

[Maxwell-szlq]

This is my favorite background music in hoi. It has a very strong sense of history. From the tranquility of the end of the Shogunate period to the awakening of the Meiji Restoration period, to the romance of the Taisho period, the climax part fell into the madness of militarism, and finally Belong to silence. The climax of the song is very short, and it also reflects the fate of this young empire's radicalization that caused great harm to other countries while being countered by fascism. In the end, the cherry blossoms were fall wither

[red_amoguss]

“Even there can never be two suns in the sky.”

- Chiang Kai Shek

[deserk]

This is probably the greatest track I've ever heard of all the Paradox games

[makyc]

0:00 Silent blue ray permeates the paper doors.
Slowly but steadily, the dawn bring grace to the sleeping straw roofs.
Bestowing its glory to all beneath the heaven,
the Rising Sun awakes.

1:20 The thunder claps. Darkness looms around our sacred home.
The drums are pummelling. Our boots trek across the vast foreign land.
Though the march is cold and bitter with bile.
In our heart, a scenery - clear as crystal.
2:24 Our scared mountain, majestic and glorious, stands in eternal grace.

2:50 Steel hulls crash through the angry seas.
Steaming to meet an challenge unforeseen,
Flocks of iron bird obscure the yellow sun.
Their spirits white and hot as swords in forge.

3:08 Thus the great battles erupted.
Each step is a march into bloody swamp.
Each charge is a race toward fiery rain.
Divine will clashes against man-made beasts.
But as losses surge, so surge our strength.
3:38 The sons of the sword,
grind their teeth to endure the unendurable.

3:53 Brothers, this is our final calling.
The last honour remaining in our journey through fire.
Ready your bayonet, and pierce the furious waves.
Ready your body, for we shall meet the anger of the gods.
Ready your mind, for the sky shall crumble down.
Know where we shall meet again.
Banzai!

4:17 Silent blue ray permeates the paper doors.
Slowly but steadily, the dawn brings glory onto a framed photograph.
Incense smokes rise toward the heavenly grace,
then melt and join its warmth.
Where I shall, at last, find my eternal peace.

* this is a rewriting of my other prose.

[SirHellNaja]

What I can see in this song
0:00 Normal peaceful days during Meiji - early Showa periods
1:20 A rise of nationalism and tension over East Asia
2:50 Hundreds of planes over Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku, flying to Pearl Harbor, facing the rising sun
3:08 Japanese men are being recruited to fight in the war, to die. Countless skirmishes and battles over the Pacific
4:18 Japan at the later stage of the war, suffering losses and defeats.
4:50 Two big explosions over Nagasaki and Hiroshima and then finally the end of the war

[hazmatt]

I was just thinking that this game didn’t have this particular theme, since it’s in 2 and 3. Awesome score.

[MidnightStriked]

I always imagined this song as storytelling when certain parts would come on, i'll go ahead and put down the parts of history this song spoke to me about.

0:00 - 0:55 - 1933-1936 The period of peace and slowly expanding influence within China and overseas.

0:56 - 1:19 - The very unstable peace between China and Japan

1:20 - 1:40 - The Marco Polo Bridge incident 1937 July 7th - July 9th

1:41 - 2:02 - The Second-Sino Japanese war commences July 7th 1937 - September 9th 1945

2:03 - 2:22 - The Japanese capture of Nanking December 13th 1937

2:23 - 2:50 - 1938 - 1940 The Japanese Empire begins to stagnant as it's war in China begins to reach a stalemate and the War of resistance begins

2:51 - 3:07 - 1941 December 7th a date which will live in infamy, the Japanese navy delivers a decisive blow onto the Americans at Pearl Harbor

3:08 - 3:20 - December 8th, The Pacific war officially begins and the Philippines along with several other locations in the Pacific war attacked by the Japanese

3:21 - 3:37 - The Invasion of the Dutch East indies and other small key locations such as the Eastern Solomon islands are captured by the invading Japanese

3:38 - 3:56 - The Japanese attack on Midway commences and the tide of the Pacific war begins to change against the Japanese June 4th - June 9th 1942

3:57 - 4:11 - The Allies begin a counter-offensive against the Japanese with the Eastern Solomon campaigns January 1942 - August 1945

4:12 - 4:23 - The War in China turns into a desperate struggle to hang onto territory and a Soviet invasion of Japan is launched in August of 1945

4:24 - 4:28 - August 6th and August 9th, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the first in history and hopefully the last time in history to ever be hit by an atomic/nuclear weapon 1945

4:29 - 5:23 - September 2nd 1945 The Japanese officially surrender in Tokyo bay on the USS Missouri

[wildanfirly]

This music also fit perfect for future Victoria 3 game in scenario Meiji Restoration/Boshin War Theme In 19th century Japan between pro Emperor and pro Shogunate.. this music from beginning characterized edo period peace in traditional instrument, in the middle of music characterized bakumatsu era and boshin war with high tense traditional japanese drum to the late of the music with western orchestra to characterized succesfull meiji revolution and japanese westernization.. about how backward traditional east asia island nation engulfed in flame of civil war because struggle to transformed itself into modernized country.. I hope paradox can create Victoria 3 with japanese meiji restoration scenario and more asia country to play!

[Metlols]

2:50 Is probably one of my favorite parts of any song ever.

[Ace-rpvr]

I love the beginning how it starts very calm, like the humble beginnings of Japan, and how it gets more and more inteste shows there growing power and many victories over Russia and China

[jansenjunaedi]

2:50 when you landed your Japanese troops on the West Coast of USA.

[Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

*[desire to die honorably in the name of Emperor Showa intensifies]*

[simonnachreiner]

A strong tree blossoms

A strong wind came, blew it down

Torn down by its weight

[sahilrajput]

3:00 my whole body just got electric shock hearing that sound.

[malsypright]

All text on my screen is now in kanji and I'm surrounded by sushi rolls

[risingsun]

kek I played this song when I dropped nukes on San Francisco and Washington D.C. as Japan

[арбузочел]

До 0:57 эпоха сёгунов
0:57-1:06 Реставрация Мэйдзи и война Босин
1:06 - 1:20 Возрождение Японии
1:20 - 1:30 Война за Корею
1:30 - 1:41 Русско-японская война
1:41 - 2:22 Первая мировая и период Тайсё
2:22 - 2:48 власть милитаристов
2:50 - 2:58 вторжение в Маньчжурию
2:58 - 3:08 война с Китаем
3:08 - 3:38 Пёрл-Харбор и вторжение в Тихий океан
3:38 -3:47 битва при Мидуэй
3:47 - 3:57 Япония теряет инициативу
3:57 - 4:08 отчаянные бои за Филиппины, Гуам и Соломоновы острова...
4:08 - 4:23 2 ядерные бомбы и падение Квантунской армии
4:23 - 5:23 Развязка

[Shinn-khkt]

Best Remix of Japan Overture and Land of The Rising Sun