Trailerhead
Immediate Music
" Blows out your windows "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Immediate Music, which is Yoav Goren and Jeffrey Fayman, is more or less legendary when it comes down to composing music for trailers. They are the ones that made sure original compositional music could be used for trailers, instead of already exciting music from other movies. Now both the music from other soundtracks and the music from other companies (X-Ray Dog, ...) are used to spice up the teaser or the trailer of a specific movie. But no other party has been as successful as Immediate Music. Even though their music became immensely popular, it was weird it took so long to get a CD of their trailer music made available. Now the ball has started rolling, the first CD is out and considering the immense tapestry of trailer selections, it is only a small yet desirable taste of the things to come.
When it comes down to the most legendary trailer pieces, two pieces have lingered in the mind the longest. The trailer music for Spider-Man 2 and The Island. In "Lacrimosa Dominae" the choir turns the trailer almost into story telling mode, hence the reason it is a piece you will not spot in other trailers. It was so perfect in stating the trailer's story that it will be hard to duplicate. The other famous piece is "Fides en Lucius Dei", used in the trailer for The Island. The most important quality here is the build up of this epic theme, and the send-off (with extra trumpets) at the end. It was a piece of trailer music that made the trailer even more famous than it initially was.
The album opens nonetheless with "Prometheus Rising", not one of their best but almighty enough in the use of choir and percussion. If you have a thing for liturgical choir, you'll surely adore the epic power of "An Epic Age". I always loved "Serenate Immortale" for its powerful emotional immortality. The added ending with electric guitar is new for those who know the piece.
The liturgical feel returns in "Imperitum", but this doesn't mean it will be done lightly. A cool rhythm sets the pace, joined later with an-all-over-the-place choir. The tone of this piece will surely remind many of the trailer music used in Spider-Man. While the use of the choir will certainly become too much for some, there is no escaping from it in "Trial of the Archangel", putting it through a mighty rhythmic "Red Point" spin. There is no rest for the choir-absent because in "Prelude to Paradise" it is conquering again, yet in a more emotional setting.
One of the pieces I didn't knew was "The Reluctant Warrior", and it became quite a rich experience. Composed in the same manner as always, the epic galore at times still continues to surprise me. The choir is powerful as always, and the build-up pays off. Fantastic Four's use of trailer music is known here under "Spiritus Omnia" and it is surely one of the loudest and most feisty electronic pieces of all.
As long as we're hopping into the direction of the feisty pieces, "Shield of Faith" is no slouch either. Building up with the orchestra and later the choir, this piece is simply powerful and rhythmic. "Onward to Freedom" surely should have been their final track on the album, because it has got such a quality by giving us that epic final finish. It is one I didn't spot yet in trailers, but it has a quality that can support a trailer, like it has a musical story to tell.
What follows next is not the quality of the ones before. "Empyrean Mercenaries" rolls over thundering choir to its explosive finish. It's strange to end this truly enormous explosive disc with two of the softest and most unknown ones of all. "Generations" is for once a piece not using choir at all, which would have made of it a perfect piece to calm down the nerves in between two bombastic choral pieces. "Age of Discovery" is quite nice, especially with the choral sound like Alan Williams' Amazon. But it doesn't give the album a resolving feeling.
This proves that I have several remarks about Trailerhead. First of all, I don't find the album that well arranged. Various explosive tracks after one another give you the "no rest for the wicked" feeling at times (especially in choral use) while an overly explosive album ends with the two softest pieces of all, leaving an impression that doesn't deliver the blow. Also, not all of their best selections are presented here. I was sadly missing some of my favourites. On the other hand, this doesn't change the fact that Trailerhead has so many advantages. The killer clear sound of the recording is enough to blow out your windows. It took them years to create a CD, and luckily, it holds just enough classy trailer music to promise us a second volume of their very best music. Because when it comes down to trailer music, they have written so much wonderful stuff that they certainly can compile more discs than just the one we're having now.
Tracklisting
1. Prometheus Rising (2.48)
2. An Epic Age (3.50)
3. Lacrimosa Dominae (2.56) Excellent track
4. Serenata Immortale (2.57) Excellent track
5. Imperitum (2.36) Excellent track
6. Trial of the Archangel (2.33)
7. Prelude to Paradise (3.49)
8. The Reluctant Warrior (2.49) Excellent track
9. Spiritus Omnia (2.28)
10. Fides en Lucius Dei (3.45) Excellent track
11. Shield of Faith (3.01) Excellent track
12. Onward to Freedom (3.53) Excellent track
13. Empyrean Mercenaries (3.42)
14. Generations (2.22)
15. Age of Discovery (2.28)
Total Length: 45.57
When it comes down to the most legendary trailer pieces, two pieces have lingered in the mind the longest. The trailer music for Spider-Man 2 and The Island. In "Lacrimosa Dominae" the choir turns the trailer almost into story telling mode, hence the reason it is a piece you will not spot in other trailers. It was so perfect in stating the trailer's story that it will be hard to duplicate. The other famous piece is "Fides en Lucius Dei", used in the trailer for The Island. The most important quality here is the build up of this epic theme, and the send-off (with extra trumpets) at the end. It was a piece of trailer music that made the trailer even more famous than it initially was.
The album opens nonetheless with "Prometheus Rising", not one of their best but almighty enough in the use of choir and percussion. If you have a thing for liturgical choir, you'll surely adore the epic power of "An Epic Age". I always loved "Serenate Immortale" for its powerful emotional immortality. The added ending with electric guitar is new for those who know the piece.
The liturgical feel returns in "Imperitum", but this doesn't mean it will be done lightly. A cool rhythm sets the pace, joined later with an-all-over-the-place choir. The tone of this piece will surely remind many of the trailer music used in Spider-Man. While the use of the choir will certainly become too much for some, there is no escaping from it in "Trial of the Archangel", putting it through a mighty rhythmic "Red Point" spin. There is no rest for the choir-absent because in "Prelude to Paradise" it is conquering again, yet in a more emotional setting.
One of the pieces I didn't knew was "The Reluctant Warrior", and it became quite a rich experience. Composed in the same manner as always, the epic galore at times still continues to surprise me. The choir is powerful as always, and the build-up pays off. Fantastic Four's use of trailer music is known here under "Spiritus Omnia" and it is surely one of the loudest and most feisty electronic pieces of all.
As long as we're hopping into the direction of the feisty pieces, "Shield of Faith" is no slouch either. Building up with the orchestra and later the choir, this piece is simply powerful and rhythmic. "Onward to Freedom" surely should have been their final track on the album, because it has got such a quality by giving us that epic final finish. It is one I didn't spot yet in trailers, but it has a quality that can support a trailer, like it has a musical story to tell.
What follows next is not the quality of the ones before. "Empyrean Mercenaries" rolls over thundering choir to its explosive finish. It's strange to end this truly enormous explosive disc with two of the softest and most unknown ones of all. "Generations" is for once a piece not using choir at all, which would have made of it a perfect piece to calm down the nerves in between two bombastic choral pieces. "Age of Discovery" is quite nice, especially with the choral sound like Alan Williams' Amazon. But it doesn't give the album a resolving feeling.
This proves that I have several remarks about Trailerhead. First of all, I don't find the album that well arranged. Various explosive tracks after one another give you the "no rest for the wicked" feeling at times (especially in choral use) while an overly explosive album ends with the two softest pieces of all, leaving an impression that doesn't deliver the blow. Also, not all of their best selections are presented here. I was sadly missing some of my favourites. On the other hand, this doesn't change the fact that Trailerhead has so many advantages. The killer clear sound of the recording is enough to blow out your windows. It took them years to create a CD, and luckily, it holds just enough classy trailer music to promise us a second volume of their very best music. Because when it comes down to trailer music, they have written so much wonderful stuff that they certainly can compile more discs than just the one we're having now.
Tracklisting
1. Prometheus Rising (2.48)
2. An Epic Age (3.50)
3. Lacrimosa Dominae (2.56) Excellent track
4. Serenata Immortale (2.57) Excellent track
5. Imperitum (2.36) Excellent track
6. Trial of the Archangel (2.33)
7. Prelude to Paradise (3.49)
8. The Reluctant Warrior (2.49) Excellent track
9. Spiritus Omnia (2.28)
10. Fides en Lucius Dei (3.45) Excellent track
11. Shield of Faith (3.01) Excellent track
12. Onward to Freedom (3.53) Excellent track
13. Empyrean Mercenaries (3.42)
14. Generations (2.22)
15. Age of Discovery (2.28)
Total Length: 45.57