{"id":5724,"date":"2012-11-19T13:32:33","date_gmt":"2012-11-19T18:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5724"},"modified":"2012-11-19T13:32:33","modified_gmt":"2012-11-19T18:32:33","slug":"cd-angels-demons-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5724","title":{"rendered":"CD: Angels & Demons (2009)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>A<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Rating: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label: Sony Classical\/ Released: May 12, 2009<\/p>\n

Tracks & Album Length: 9 tracks \/ (54:17)<\/p>\n

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Special Notes: Full colour booklet.<\/p>\n

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Composer: Hans Zimmer<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Hans Zimmer\u2019s latest theological thriller score is showcased on Sony Classical, and like his eighties soundtrack albums, the score is presented as a series of fat suites mimicking dramatic chapters for this sequel to The Da Vinci Code <\/strong>(2006).<\/p>\n

Zimmer\u2019s rock background is very prominent in Angels & Demons<\/strong>, but there\u2019s also far more prog rock ingredients here than in his recent work. The title cut (\u201c160 BPM\u201d) starts the album off with a stirring statement of the film\u2019s brief theme, using keyboards, fat bass, and an off-kilter rhythmic couplet that figures throughout the rest of the score.<\/p>\n

Keeping in line with the story\u2019s Vatican location and its history, there\u2019s an emphasis on rock instruments pared with orchestral samples, and the fusion works as an evocation of subterfuge and intrigue contrasted with the formal comportment of the Vatican elite, and the physical artifice of the massive marbled city.<\/p>\n

One also notices the score bears some striking similarities to Goblin\u2019s Suspiria<\/strong>, of which the most overt are a looped chiming theme (as in \u201cAir\u201d), and the repeated subtraction and addition of specific tones and frequencies designed to cheat the listener into a state of stability or minor unease before the might of the orchestra are thrust with forceful chorals.<\/p>\n

Zimmer\u2019s instrumental palette features a blurry mix of classical and digital, and the effect is otherwordly; if the potent rhythm doesn\u2019t infer something\u2019s amiss, then the liturgical prog rock fusion should, even though Joshua Bell\u2019s violin solos give the score a smidge of classicism, as in \u201cGod Particle,\u201d which quickly morphs into a techno cue with drones, whiny elastic tones, and waves of vocals enhanced with digital pulse clusters \u2013 stylistic enhancements also present in the score\u2019s co-composer, Atli Orvarsson (Vantage Point<\/strong>, Babylon A.D.<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

As theological thriller score, Angels & Demons<\/strong> is fun, but it lacks a strong theme, as well as a more layered approach towards dramatizing the politics, the murky religion, and the conflicts at play. Jerry Goldsmith\u2019s Omen<\/strong> scores may have given elegance to ostensibly body-count films, but the music had distinct material for the warring factions. Zimmer\u2019s efforts still tend to emphasize loudness, processed slams, and rumbling reverb after a monotonous action montage and crashing finale (if he could throw in the sound of a shattering kitchen sink, he probably would), but the score\u2019s best parts involve subtle passages that deal with suspicions, stalking and sadness (like the delicate \u201cImmolation\u201d).<\/p>\n

The bombast is part and parcel with Zimmer & Co., but at least in his latest work there\u2019s some interesting vocal effects \u2013 male and female chants on opposing stereo channels \u2013 and Bell\u2019s violin solos that waft in and out of the prog rock cloud like a haunting lament.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2012 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/p>\n

IMDB <\/a>— Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0A<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews \/ A . Rating: Very Good Label: Sony Classical\/ Released: May 12, 2009 Tracks & Album Length: 9 tracks \/ (54:17) . Special Notes: Full colour booklet. . Composer: Hans Zimmer . . Review: Hans Zimmer\u2019s latest theological thriller score is showcased on Sony Classical, and like his eighties soundtrack albums, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1636,162],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1uk","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5724"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5728,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724\/revisions\/5728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}