These days, the only thing louder than the explosions in your average action/adventure/fantasy/science fiction film trailer is the music. After experiencing German composer Carl Orff's 1937 cantata Carmina Burana paired with slow-motion shots of men preparing for battle for the umpteenth time, composers Nick Phoenix and Thomas J. Bergersen decided that they would create their own production company, Two Steps from Hell, and create their own original trailer music. Skyworld, the company's third collection of compact bombast, is also its first to be widely available publicly (the previous two outings were marketed directly to film studios). The 22 tracks, all of which (as of 2012) have yet to find their celluloid soul mates, feel like the best parts of a Hans Zimmer score condensed into three- to four-minute bursts of over the top tension and melodrama, resulting in the perfect audio companion for a summer blockbuster fan in the doldrums of January, or an extreme sports enthusiast, conspiracy theorist, or necromancer.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo