Centurion
Ilan Eshkeri
" Gritty percussive score "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Ever since the success of Gladiator, directors have been searching for that potent mix of raw grittiness and dramatic development in a sword and sandal film. The latest to give it a try is Centurion, directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday) and starring Michael Fassbender, Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko. Reaction has been mixed concerning the film, but I'm here to talk whether Ilan Eshkeri could surprise us with another wonderful (aka Stardust) score.
Well, forget everything you know about Stardust, because Centurion is the opposite of that. Stardust was adventurous, happy, delivering orchestral brevity and pompous material in a lighter/darker approach. Centurion delivers it raw, brassy, meaty and mysterious. In fact, you can occasionally hear the similarities with Stardust once the orchestra is pounding away, but it takes you right back to reality due to the lack of thematic writing and interesting variations. Of course Centurion doesn't need to be colorful and sprightly, but a hint of difference between all this dark writing could have been helpful. Now we stand between some impressive orchestral grittiness and a monotonous listening experience.
For instance we open with "Centurion", offering a solo vocal that surely wants to remind us of Gladiator's intriguing opening. The sound continues due to the sudden rise of a brassy theme. The theme itself is rather decent but doesn't return that much as well, especially not in the action moments of the score. In fact, it only appears in the second track "Fort Attack", when it underscores ethnic instrumentation on a bed of percussive rhythm.
This track and all the upcoming action tracks show the Stardust rhythmic approach without stating its adventurous thematic writing, because Centurion wants to keep it raw and colorless. In "The Ninth Ride Out" a brief main theme statement is noticed alongside the solo vocal (watch out for the Stardust suspenseful Dracula approach), and "Quintus Escapes" ignites the danger by an extra use of strings heightening the already on edge brass.
And so Centurion continues to deliver you powerful action music, but all based on rhythm, power and grittiness, instead of more thematic material. This gives you the impression most of it is exciting but similar in taste and presentation. Stuff like "On the Run" continues to use the cellos and brass to state their rhythmic behavior. The same for "We Are the Prey" and "Waterfall", yet those tracks include various ethnic instruments and solo voices into the progressive rhythm to make it a lot more interesting. "Waterfall" especially dares to incorporate some epic development in the second part of the track, making it the most memorable. The same for the rhythmic attack on the senses during the propulsive "Battle at the Fort".
The dramatic elements deliver the right kind of relief without stating colorful diversity or over emotional sentiment. "Arianne" is a nice calm track for Celtic harp, and the solo vocal is stated during the eerie "Funeral" as in the mysterious "A Sacred Rite" track. And finally nice moments are discovered in "Necromancer" and "Quintus Returns" when the main theme returns on soft strings and that delightful Celtic harp.
Powerful exceptions are the moments in "The General Falls" and "Fate of the Ninth", giving you a dramatic progressive conclusion when rising strings continue to present the fate of a general and a group of warriors. The same for "She Wolf", presenting the rising strings after an aggressive opening.
So, Centurion is not a bad score at all, in fact it functions much better once you've experienced it a couple of times. But Centurion is not Stardust nor Gladiator nor any of those. It's grittier, mysterious and more thrilling due to its bleak propulsive writing. In fact, it will surprise more people once it delivers its delicate dramatic moments. It will do its job during the film but for interested buyers, it lacks diversity on album. So considering all this, it is safe to say that Eshkeri did an efficient job , sadly without offering those thematic ideas that Stardust surprised us with.
Tracklisting
1. Centurion (3.06)
2. Fort Attack (1.08)
3. The Ninth Ride Out (3.01)
4. Quintus Escapes (1.37)
5. Arianne (1.10)
6. The Ninth Marches On (1.34)
7. The General Falls (2.09)
8. On the Run (2.31)
9. The Village (2.49)
10. Funeral (1.18)
11. She Wolf (2.34)
12. A Sacred Rite (3.24)
13. We Are the Prey (2.26)
14. Waterfall (3.40)
15. Necromancer (2.58)
16. Wolves (2.51)
17. Battle at the Fort (3.57)
18. Quintus Returns (1.01)
19. Fate on the Ninth (2.03)
Total Length: 45.48
Well, forget everything you know about Stardust, because Centurion is the opposite of that. Stardust was adventurous, happy, delivering orchestral brevity and pompous material in a lighter/darker approach. Centurion delivers it raw, brassy, meaty and mysterious. In fact, you can occasionally hear the similarities with Stardust once the orchestra is pounding away, but it takes you right back to reality due to the lack of thematic writing and interesting variations. Of course Centurion doesn't need to be colorful and sprightly, but a hint of difference between all this dark writing could have been helpful. Now we stand between some impressive orchestral grittiness and a monotonous listening experience.
For instance we open with "Centurion", offering a solo vocal that surely wants to remind us of Gladiator's intriguing opening. The sound continues due to the sudden rise of a brassy theme. The theme itself is rather decent but doesn't return that much as well, especially not in the action moments of the score. In fact, it only appears in the second track "Fort Attack", when it underscores ethnic instrumentation on a bed of percussive rhythm.
This track and all the upcoming action tracks show the Stardust rhythmic approach without stating its adventurous thematic writing, because Centurion wants to keep it raw and colorless. In "The Ninth Ride Out" a brief main theme statement is noticed alongside the solo vocal (watch out for the Stardust suspenseful Dracula approach), and "Quintus Escapes" ignites the danger by an extra use of strings heightening the already on edge brass.
And so Centurion continues to deliver you powerful action music, but all based on rhythm, power and grittiness, instead of more thematic material. This gives you the impression most of it is exciting but similar in taste and presentation. Stuff like "On the Run" continues to use the cellos and brass to state their rhythmic behavior. The same for "We Are the Prey" and "Waterfall", yet those tracks include various ethnic instruments and solo voices into the progressive rhythm to make it a lot more interesting. "Waterfall" especially dares to incorporate some epic development in the second part of the track, making it the most memorable. The same for the rhythmic attack on the senses during the propulsive "Battle at the Fort".
The dramatic elements deliver the right kind of relief without stating colorful diversity or over emotional sentiment. "Arianne" is a nice calm track for Celtic harp, and the solo vocal is stated during the eerie "Funeral" as in the mysterious "A Sacred Rite" track. And finally nice moments are discovered in "Necromancer" and "Quintus Returns" when the main theme returns on soft strings and that delightful Celtic harp.
Powerful exceptions are the moments in "The General Falls" and "Fate of the Ninth", giving you a dramatic progressive conclusion when rising strings continue to present the fate of a general and a group of warriors. The same for "She Wolf", presenting the rising strings after an aggressive opening.
So, Centurion is not a bad score at all, in fact it functions much better once you've experienced it a couple of times. But Centurion is not Stardust nor Gladiator nor any of those. It's grittier, mysterious and more thrilling due to its bleak propulsive writing. In fact, it will surprise more people once it delivers its delicate dramatic moments. It will do its job during the film but for interested buyers, it lacks diversity on album. So considering all this, it is safe to say that Eshkeri did an efficient job , sadly without offering those thematic ideas that Stardust surprised us with.
Tracklisting
1. Centurion (3.06)
2. Fort Attack (1.08)
3. The Ninth Ride Out (3.01)
4. Quintus Escapes (1.37)
5. Arianne (1.10)
6. The Ninth Marches On (1.34)
7. The General Falls (2.09)
8. On the Run (2.31)
9. The Village (2.49)
10. Funeral (1.18)
11. She Wolf (2.34)
12. A Sacred Rite (3.24)
13. We Are the Prey (2.26)
14. Waterfall (3.40)
15. Necromancer (2.58)
16. Wolves (2.51)
17. Battle at the Fort (3.57)
18. Quintus Returns (1.01)
19. Fate on the Ninth (2.03)
Total Length: 45.48