Reign of Fire
Edward Shearmur
" Dark foreboding score no melodic pleasure, but demanding treasure nonetheless "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Reign of Fire (from X-Files director Rob Bowman) takes place in England during the year 2020. Dragons have taken over the earth as the dominant species and hunt the few remaining people who are battling for their very existence. Starring a wonderful cast including Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Gerard Butler and Izabella Scorupco, it was a bleak gray movie that delivered its punches gritty but successfully. Receiving generally mixed reviews, it did do good enough at the box office, giving ample time to let the people come in contact with an atonal powerhouse effort of a score, namely Edward Shearmur's all conquering effort of 2002.
The score is a tough cookie nonetheless. Whoever expects to get something tuneful or melodic here will run away faster than expected the moment you start getting the one atonal track after the other. No Reign of Fire is not for the fainthearted. But those who want to experience an experience unlike any other will happily relive a composer's voice that sounds as demanding as it is interesting. The score perfectly captures the gray bleak mood of the film, and ignites every attack, murder and will to survive with a relentless powerhouse cue. By the time you've heard "Prologue" and its atonal brother "Enter the Dragon", you will have realized that this is the tone you're stuck with.
"An Early Harvest" and "Field Attack" flow into another, delivering the audience the first true atonal whopper of the evening. Rhythmic horror, shrieks and blasts, overpowering trumpet shrills and endless gritty matter appear to deliver one atonal festivity of suspense that will make people relive those happy memories of Aliens and Elliot Goldenthal in general. It's especially thrilling once the drums ignite the fire at the end.
The entrance of the American army in "Marauders" show us no change of pace, but the suspenseful tone does show they mean business. And business it definitely is once you experience the powerful dark theme for the leader in "Meet Van Zan". Here Shearmur goes for the same dark sound of the entire score, but he dares to show you a sole returning theme representing the commander of the army. And the build up to his ultimate performance is once again over conquering to say the least.
"Archangels" dares to change the tone ever so briefly by inserting brief electronics into an otherwise atonal festivity. Once again does Elliot Goldenthal pop into the mind (Sphere) during the powerful attacks of the orchestra. "Dawn Burial" and "A Battle of Wills" slow the experience down a bit. During the first track we mourn alongside Van Zan's theme, all the while "A Battle of Wills" is a soft moody piece that dares to let the characters do the talking for once. But beasts never listen, especially not in "Inferno" once we receive once again Shearmur's fanfare for the death and destruction they bring.
And so there is nothing left than to do it the old fashioned way. Go out and kill the leader of the pack. In "Return to London" we set the tone, in "Magic Hour" we unleash hell. For those who aren't with us anymore, this is the crowning jewel of the score. A pure atonal rhythmic bombast of shrieks, stings and blasts that lead to this score's biggest fanfare of all, once we see Van Zan's heroic action fade into the sharp teeth of the beast. And when Shearmur sings off with that brief choral climax, you have just witnessed the reason why I love this score so much. Luckily after so much bombast comes a breath of relief, when Sheamur paints us for a moment a hopeful future in "Rebirth" (aka the perfect finale of the score).
In the end you have to marvel at the attempt of Edward Shearmur. While Reign of Fire could easily be dismissed as a boring, moody and gritty atonal festivity, it is harder to appreciate the true meaning behind it all. But once you do, you'll get the satisfaction out of it for sure. This is a score I happily revisit during my yearly listen of the old classics, because for me Reign of Fire has a lot to offer. First of all, this is dark, powerful stuff that dares to say something differently, but also succeeds in bringing something demanding. Like Elliot Goldenthal's entrance with Alien 3 and Sphere, it is that time tells us Edward Shearmur was nothing more than a moody mastermind when he breathed fire into an already explosive entry like Reign of Fire.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (3.22)
2. Enter the Dragon (3.18)
3. An Early Harvest (2.42)
4. Field Attack (4.11) Excellent track
5. Marauders (2.47)
6. Meet Van Zan (3.49) Excellent track
7. Archangels (3.57)
8. Dawn Burial (3.02)
9. A Battle of Wills (5.31)
10. The Ruins at Pembury (2.11)
11. Inferno (3.23)
12. Return to London (4.11)
13. Magic Hour (5.23) Excellent track
14. Rebirth (2.40) Excellent track
Total Length: 50.38
The score is a tough cookie nonetheless. Whoever expects to get something tuneful or melodic here will run away faster than expected the moment you start getting the one atonal track after the other. No Reign of Fire is not for the fainthearted. But those who want to experience an experience unlike any other will happily relive a composer's voice that sounds as demanding as it is interesting. The score perfectly captures the gray bleak mood of the film, and ignites every attack, murder and will to survive with a relentless powerhouse cue. By the time you've heard "Prologue" and its atonal brother "Enter the Dragon", you will have realized that this is the tone you're stuck with.
"An Early Harvest" and "Field Attack" flow into another, delivering the audience the first true atonal whopper of the evening. Rhythmic horror, shrieks and blasts, overpowering trumpet shrills and endless gritty matter appear to deliver one atonal festivity of suspense that will make people relive those happy memories of Aliens and Elliot Goldenthal in general. It's especially thrilling once the drums ignite the fire at the end.
The entrance of the American army in "Marauders" show us no change of pace, but the suspenseful tone does show they mean business. And business it definitely is once you experience the powerful dark theme for the leader in "Meet Van Zan". Here Shearmur goes for the same dark sound of the entire score, but he dares to show you a sole returning theme representing the commander of the army. And the build up to his ultimate performance is once again over conquering to say the least.
"Archangels" dares to change the tone ever so briefly by inserting brief electronics into an otherwise atonal festivity. Once again does Elliot Goldenthal pop into the mind (Sphere) during the powerful attacks of the orchestra. "Dawn Burial" and "A Battle of Wills" slow the experience down a bit. During the first track we mourn alongside Van Zan's theme, all the while "A Battle of Wills" is a soft moody piece that dares to let the characters do the talking for once. But beasts never listen, especially not in "Inferno" once we receive once again Shearmur's fanfare for the death and destruction they bring.
And so there is nothing left than to do it the old fashioned way. Go out and kill the leader of the pack. In "Return to London" we set the tone, in "Magic Hour" we unleash hell. For those who aren't with us anymore, this is the crowning jewel of the score. A pure atonal rhythmic bombast of shrieks, stings and blasts that lead to this score's biggest fanfare of all, once we see Van Zan's heroic action fade into the sharp teeth of the beast. And when Shearmur sings off with that brief choral climax, you have just witnessed the reason why I love this score so much. Luckily after so much bombast comes a breath of relief, when Sheamur paints us for a moment a hopeful future in "Rebirth" (aka the perfect finale of the score).
In the end you have to marvel at the attempt of Edward Shearmur. While Reign of Fire could easily be dismissed as a boring, moody and gritty atonal festivity, it is harder to appreciate the true meaning behind it all. But once you do, you'll get the satisfaction out of it for sure. This is a score I happily revisit during my yearly listen of the old classics, because for me Reign of Fire has a lot to offer. First of all, this is dark, powerful stuff that dares to say something differently, but also succeeds in bringing something demanding. Like Elliot Goldenthal's entrance with Alien 3 and Sphere, it is that time tells us Edward Shearmur was nothing more than a moody mastermind when he breathed fire into an already explosive entry like Reign of Fire.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (3.22)
2. Enter the Dragon (3.18)
3. An Early Harvest (2.42)
4. Field Attack (4.11) Excellent track
5. Marauders (2.47)
6. Meet Van Zan (3.49) Excellent track
7. Archangels (3.57)
8. Dawn Burial (3.02)
9. A Battle of Wills (5.31)
10. The Ruins at Pembury (2.11)
11. Inferno (3.23)
12. Return to London (4.11)
13. Magic Hour (5.23) Excellent track
14. Rebirth (2.40) Excellent track
Total Length: 50.38