But this shouldn’t detract from the quality, which is purely outstanding. In context, this can almost be a little too on the back of the time, so some helpful thought in the programming here will assist. This library is about sonority and darkness, not epic volume, so you wouldn’t expect the legato movement to be too fast: rather, just on the back of the time, to make it sound realistic.

Now, this effect is always a difficult thing to achieve, as the movement from one note to the next has to be treated carefully, especially when trying to take the specifics of the original instrument into context – and what we have here is something which is, by design, a leisurely movement from one registration to the next. Starting with the strings, these are organised into High, Mid and Low assignments, so starting with a High patch, I was immediately treated to a level of legato assignment which, frankly, is a bit special. Helpfully layered into usable sections, the 21 instrumentation assignments are allotted to ‘Districts’, in some post apocalyptic, Hunger Games-esque categorisation, beginning with District One – which offers the main orchestral samples, drawn from strings, wind and brass. Metropolis Ark 2 is billed as offering ‘low dynamic epicness’, and in keeping with its beautifully Germanic roots, offers a palette with far more than simply pure Wagnerian dark sonority, thanks to some really useful and interesting inclusions. This stunning library, which is loud and epic in nature, is now followed by Metropolis Ark 2 – something completely different. German-based company Orchestral Tools has managed to establish an excellent reputation within a short space of time with its ever-expanding libraries of predominantly orchestral flavours, but having covered the main symphonic bases, the company took the decision about 18 months ago to release Metropolis Ark 1.

Metropolis ark 1 vs ark 2