Customer Reviews

Reign Of Fire

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Edward Shearmur has again surprised us with an enormous sounding score to the underrated genre film "Reign of Fire". There is no pretty romantic themes here, not even a chance to take a breath during this recordings mass of pure action cues. If you enjoy well performed powerhouse orchestral music that hits you like a black metal band then this is for you. Certainly this score is not for everyone but if you are like me and saw the film and was taken by the score then what you heard in the film is what you get here, 50 minutes and 40 seconds worth of Fire- Breathing Sound

I have not been familiar with Edward Shearmur's scores until this one. I decided to give it a try just for the fun of it and I was blown away. This is awesome music that really burns. For the most part, the music contains tons and tons of brass, eerie electronics, wild string passages, wailing woodwinds, and tons of militaristic percussion, especially the snare drum. There is plenty of exciting action music, heroic passages, and driving rhythms in this score. A lot of what is heard in this score is similar to what Elliot Goldenthal writes largely because the orchestrator of this score, Robert Elhai, Goldenthal uses in just about every score. The London Metropolitan Orchestra performs this very difficult score with remarkable stamina and courage. Knockout and I do mean knockout action music can be found in "Enter the Dragon", "Field Attack", "Marauders",
"Archangels", "Inferno", and "Magic Hour". "Field Attack" contains some exciting and rhythmic string passages, along with driving and militaristic snare drums. "Meet Van Zan" contains the main theme which is found in other tracks as well. It is a majestic and noble horn motif played around a militaristic percussive rhythm. "Magic Hour" and "Rebirth" contain music that is more toward the lighter side, as the other tracks mainly focused on the darker side. The incredible brass fanfare main theme closes out the soundtrack in "Rebirth" that ends things in a heroic fashion. If you are into Elliot Goldenthal or like the score to The Matrix by Don Davis, then you will absolutely love this. This is superb and outstanding film music.

If you like your film music to be filled with lovely themes, rich harmonies and an all-round "nice feel" that makes you "feel nice" then do not touch this soundtrack! However, if you often feel in the mood for powerhouse action scoring in the vein of the Alien movie scores or similar violent film scores then grab this awesome soundtrack as soon as possible!
Like so many others I was wary of this one due to the past compositional styles of Edward Shearmur. But what I found was one of the most brilliant action/millitant/agressive scores to come out in years. It never becomes repetative or boring and it is often filled with rich orchestration and wonderful electronic sound effects. Shearmur has now moved up to the big leage in my opinion and I look forward to hearing his work in the future!

I think the music from this movie set a perfect pace for the events in the film. Its an action movie with an action score that goes with it well. I personally think that the music helped move the story along well and helped set the pace in what is a well thought out movie. (and it was a GOOD movie)

When I heard that the man who was going to compose the music for the ultra-cool blockbuster "Reign of Fire" was just Edward Shearmur, I was a bit disappointed. I had been hoping for Danny Elfman, Elliot Goldenthal, James Newton-Howard or some other great name to have that credit. Shearmur had landed on a project that most film composers only dream of doing, and (fortunatley) he took advantage of this opportunity very well.
What we are able to hear on this CD is mostly rather dark, agressive and sometimes eerie music. The opening track, entitled "Prologue", is very dark, with a low brass section and some percussion. The percussion stops entirly, but the dark strings continues into the spooky second track, to suddenly be interrupted by an enormous orchestral outbirst, as the fire-breathing dragon appears for the first time. "An Early Harvest" is an almost beautifull, but eerie cue at the same time, as if something is going to happen. "Field Attack" offers the meatiest brass and percussion we've heard since Howard Shore's "The Lord of The Rings". This is a great example of Shearmur action music when it is as best, a skillfull combination of electronics and orchestral fury.
"Meet Van Zan" is one of the highlights of the score. It begins rather emotional, and introduces the first statement of the main theme, which is both an emotional, powerfull and heroic theme, something which states that there is still some hope left for mankind. It builds upon this theme throughout the track, first into a militaristic march, then into some underscore, and then it finally segues into a heroic march, something which is telling me that the journey to save mankind has begun. This track also scores an important movement in the film, when Quinn meets the fierce american Van Zan for the first time. This theme returns in "Dawn Burial", which is the most emotional track on the CD. Here, the theme also makes you feel some hope when everything feels like it's just going to collapse.
"A Battle of Wills" perfectly scores the rivalties between Quinn and van Zan - they both want to kill the dragons, but they have different ways to do it. Sometimes, you can almost feel the same thing as Quinn does in the movie. "Return to London" offers another statement of the main titles percussion motif, which can be a pleasure to hear again. When this cue is heard, it feels like the characters really want to solve the conflict.
"Inferno" and "Magic Hour" offers more of the percussive, often extremly powerfull, brassy action music that raises this score to apocalyptic heights. They are composed with the same fury as the battle which is fought on screen.
And "Rebirth" begins rather emotional, with the main theme heard yet again, and then we hear some really powerfull string and brass music that raises to enormous heights. This marks the superb finale of a great musical adventure.

Over all, "Reign of Fire" is probably Shearmur's best work to date, and brings the composer forwards in Hollywood. He is clearly a rising talent in the world of film music, and I really hope many more directors wants to collaborate with him in the future.
But beware!I think that I am actually one of the rather few people that really enjoys this kind of post-modern scores. For many, they may just be an endless array of crashes and bangs and never having time to relax. But if you're a fan of Elliot Goldenthal's "Alien 3" and "Final Fantasy", or Don Davis' "The Matrix", I think this is some real treat for you!

When I heard that the composer was doing the score for Reign of Fire, I was dissapointed. I was because most of the other scores that he had done werent anything like Reign of Fire. They were average and some were just plain boring, like one of his earlier ones Species 2. He just did a terrible job,very boring. No power and no real structure. But when I saw the movie (AND I LIKED IT) I was amazed at how different it was from some of the other bland scores he had produced. I knew I had to get this one just like I knew I had to get James Horners Aliens. It had one of those type qualities to it. I would reccomend this score to anybody that is a fan of fast action film music like Aliens. It is a very powerful and surprising score....You can trust me because I have over Four Hundred and Fifty film scores in my collection. Enjoy!

I can't believe more people haven't talked about this killer cd. I've never heard of this composer before, but he's churned out one fantastic soundtrack to one of the most original movies I've seen in a long time. This score is dark, brooding, and heavy. The thing just crushes you like a tank rolling over bones. From beginning to end it never gets dull or repeditive. And it's almost an hour long, so you get your money's worth. The best track is deffinitely "Meet Van Zan," but almost any are great. If you like dark, moody scores that like to get loud too, like Hannibal, Aliens, or Predator 2, then give this one a listen.

The reason I went and watched this show is that I was attracted by the poster.

In the whole show, there is only one helicopter! I felt so fooled to be cheated by the poster!

The score is bad as there is no sound of dragon barking at all!

Edward Shearmur did an excellent job at composing "Reign of Fire." He fuses strings, synths and heavy brass with a treat of choir here and there to create the final product of an amazingly action-packed score. It's complete with a mournful theme and a frightening composition of brass and choir to magnify the dragons and their destructive power. Here are my song ratings:

1) Prologue - 4.5/5 the first half starts out eerie and mysterious and the second half is the low brass theme of the dragons; good track
2) Enter The Dragon - 6/5 by far one of the best tracks of the album with frightening choir and brass creating one of the most intense tracks I've ever heard
3) An Early Harvest - 5/5 one of the best tracks ending with a creepy choir build up leading directly into the next track
4) Field Attack - 5/5 starts out very intense and leads into an action-packed track
5) Marauders - 5/5 I can see this track appearing in a trailer for a war movie in the future; a great military-style theme
6) Meet Van Zan - 5/5 the main theme (or theme of Van Zan) incorporated into another military-style track
7) Archangels - 5/5 starts out with an awesome techno style drum section and then gets into the action; intense track!
8) Dawn Burial - 5/5 this is one of the warmest tracks on the soundtrack with the gorgeous theme and music for the tension between characters
9) A Battle of Wills - 4.5/5 the very beginning of the track gets a little annoying but the rest of the track is great - especially the ending
10) The Ruins at Pembury - 5/5 this is another one of those intense tracks that starts out slow and then goes straight into the action
11) Inferno - 5/5 a good track; extremely intense and frightening
12) Return to London - 4/5 nice and creepy track; nothing too amazing though
13) Magic Hour - 6/5 this is probably my favorite track which goes with my favorite scene of the movie; definitely the most intense with scary strings and heavy brass
14) Rebirth - 5/5 a very happy track that gives a feeling of relief; a great ending track for the movie

I do think this is one of those soundtracks where you either love it or hate it and I get the sad impression that I'm one of FEW who really enjoyed this soundtrack, but if you like choir and loud brass or frightening scores, be sure to pick up a copy.