MP3: Legend of Hercules (2014)

April 3, 2014 | By

 

LegendOfHercules_2014_sScore: Very Good

Label: Lionsgate

Released:  January 27, 2014

Tracks / Album Length:  12 tracks / (58:34)

Composer: Tuomas Kantelinen

Special Notes:  n/a

 


 

Review:

After hammering out the film’s main theme – a heroic track that shares a bit of David Arnold’s Stargate (1994) theme, plus a melodic denouement evocative of Basil Poledouris’ Conan the Barbarian (1982) – Tuomas Kantelinen settles into more solid dramatic material, developing the meat of the score with lengthy build-ups and pensive sections, and theme iterations featuring some really beautiful orchestrations.

Kantelinen’s writing feels both physically and emotionally epic, and from the lengthy cues which make up this engrossing album, it seems he was given liberties to ease into his material in slow waves, moving carefully from gentle to brooding sections (“Intervention of the Gods”), or assemble a great blend of organic sounds to evoke an ancient era using wooden, metal, and classical orchestral elements, especially in pulsing tracks like “To War.”

In addition to obligatory main theme quotations –  the opening heroic piece, the love material, and a foreboding motif at the beginning of “Captivity” are very lovely – Kantelinen drifts through various moods, often showcasing ancient woodwinds or unique choral effects (some of which crest with a strange yet effective accent from shrieking brass).

Legend of Hercules is extremely grand without being bombastic, and a cleanly engineered soundtrack where every nuance is crystal clear – although the album could benefit with a more warm bass for extra resonance.

 

 

© 2014 Mark R. Hasan

 


 

Additional Links:
Composer on IMDB  —  Composer Filmography —  Soundtrack Album
 

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Amazon.ca Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk — BSX — Intrada — Screen Archives Entertainment

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Category: Soundtrack Reviews

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