Ruslan32
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@Sophie, I get your irony…
@Malte Muller, My country is going through a terrible tragedy—war. Everyone in Ukraine understands this…
As you correctly pointed out, some people are unable to perform military service. That is precisely why citizens have a constitutional right to alternative service. But right now, the government is simply denying this right.
As I recently learned, there have been some positive developments on this issue. In the near future, many people may have the opportunity to substitute military service with civilian (alternative) service. I hope this will happen…@KMCG, Thank you so much!
This disgraceful phenomenon even has its own name. There’s an entire Wikipedia article about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busification@KMCG, That’s exactly how it is…
@Thor, I sincerely offer my condolences, on the loss of your uncle…
I wish you strength and patience to overcome your life’s difficulties. And I hope that you will still be able to find the necessary medication to treat your tinnitus.
Looking at your problems, I realize that things are still relatively fine for me… Even though there is a war in my country, and on top of everything else, people are being brutally abducted on city streets almost every day. The authorities call this “mobilization”…
You may have heard these and similar reports, although the regime’s propaganda tries hard to keep this hidden.Thanks guys for the advice and feedback! I’ve tried to make some corrections based on your comments… 🙂
Great thread, Nicolai!
I’ve been thinking about this almost all day today. Personally, I found it quite difficult to choose just one special album… But that’s the beauty of it—it encourages me to reflect more deeply and figure out why a particular album is meaningful to me.
And that album is The Shrouds by Howard Shore.
First of all, I want to say that this score is very different from anything else he has composed—at least from the works I’ve been able to listen to. Perhaps Crimes of the Future has a somewhat similar atmosphere in terms of sound (which is also an excellent score, by the way).
Howard Shore used electronics earlier in his career, though I’ve always considered him primarily an orchestral composer. This score also stands out because of its very strong and expressive atmosphere.
The synthesizers are fascinating and sound beautiful. I’d really love to know exactly which synths he used. The music relies more on atmosphere and the harmonic qualities of the sound palette than on memorable themes, but for me, that is not a drawback at all.
The main theme, which reappears several times throughout the album, immediately establishes the right tone and mood. There are hints of Vangelis and a very Blade Runner-like atmosphere (Thor also mentioned this in his brief review on the site). In places, the music becomes gloomy and tense.
The track “Fluid of Grief” is an especially touching and sorrowful piece. The title alone already says a lot.
The track “Karsh” feels calm, reflective, and filled with musical silence. In fact, throughout the album, Shore uses silence and pauses masterfully. I would even say he makes perfect use of the soundscape: nothing feels overloaded, yet the music seems to dissolve directly into the listener’s mind.
“Becca” has a similar mood. It feels like a quiet and mournful ode to loss—to the loss of love and meaning in Karsh’s life.
Most of the remaining tracks convey the atmosphere of a technologically advanced future world while also supporting the film’s more tense and unsettling moments.
I truly love this score. I love listening to it from beginning to end without skipping tracks or getting distracted. For me, there are no weak or mediocre pieces here. I’ve listened to the album many times over the past few months, and I know I will continue returning to it.
It’s a completely electronic score, although some of the violin textures sound close to orchestral ones.
Maybe I’m one of the few people who genuinely loved this score. Howard Shore is mostly celebrated for his large-scale orchestral works, so I understand why this album might not appeal to everyone.
I became so interested in the music that I eventually wanted to watch the film itself and see how the score functioned within it. And honestly—it fits perfectly. I’m always amazed by how composers can capture visual imagery and translate it into music so effectively. I’m sure David Cronenberg was very pleased with the result, because the music conveys the emotions flawlessly.
And I’m probably also one of the few people who actually liked the movie itself. For some reason, many Cronenberg fans seemed disappointed by it, even though it contains many of the director’s signature stylistic elements and themes.
Of course, there are some uncomfortable, strange, and even unintentionally funny moments (anyone who has seen the film probably knows exactly what I mean 😉).
To me, the meaning of the story feels quite clear: Karsh never truly came to terms with his wife’s death, and over time that grief evolved into obsession.
What makes this album special to me is its atmosphere—an atmosphere of bitterness, grief, loss, and love. The soundscapes are mesmerizing. I simply lose myself in them and, at times, they help me mentally escape from oppressive reality.
Thor was absolutely right when he said that Howard Shore has an underrated talent for electronic music.
I don’t have a favorite label right now. But there are some small labels that (quite unexpectedly) release exactly what I’ve been wanting. It’s not always in a format that’s convenient for me, but that’s what matters most to me. After all, I collect music first and foremost, not plastic and paper. But I’m always ready to support a label and buy (for example) a CD to support them.
For instance, labels like BSX Records, Dragons Domain Records, and Terror Vision have released things over the past few years that I thought were highly unlikely.
For example, Dragons Domain released the amazing Volume 2 of David Michael Frank’s music, and especially Volume 3, which included the hidden gems “Call Me” and “Poison Ivy.”
I hope Volume 4 will follow in the future, as there are still some very good action-style electronic scores by Frank.
And Terror Vision released The Wraith. I had already given up hope that it would ever be officially released…
They also released one premiere score each by such excellent composers as Charles Bernstein and J. Peter Robinson. They’ve composed quite a lot of interesting music for television. I hope that labels like these will be able to release more material in this genre as much as they can. Although it’s obvious that even many fans of electronic soundtracks aren’t particularly interested in this. But they’re banking on vinyl, cassettes, and digital formats, and those formats are more or less paying for themselves. I’m happy with any format as long as it’s something that interests me! These days, releasing apremiere scores is a real rarity…
Larger labels like Varèse haven’t released anything particularly interesting to me in recent years. La-La Land (like Intrada) has mostly focused on reissues. It’s also clear that the number of La-La Land releases has dropped significantly… They’ve concentrated on big-name composers.
But I was pleasantly surprised that La-La Land released the premiere score for BB-2, and Intrada released Flatliners.
I take a realistic view of the situation and understand that, in all likelihood, much of what I want will never be released.
For example, I’d love to finally get the two missing Faltermeyer scores in my collection: Fatal Beauty and Fletch. I haven’t given up hope that La-La Land will release at least one of them someday. After all, they’ve released more of his scores than anyone else.
Sorry for the long comment. I just needed to get that off my chest! 🙂I agree with you, Thor… Previously (these were the first years of my fascination with scores), I wasn’t particularly interested in these two scores. But then I decided to watch the films themselves, and unexpectedly, the music seemed appealing.
And now I still enjoy listening to them from time to time. Unlawful Entry has a great minor-key main theme, based on lively piano and dark synths. My favorite track is Pete’s Passion – Horner builds tension masterfully and skillfully in it. I especially like the section from 4:04 to 4:26. The synth strings create a wild tension. For some reason, I find it very cool and effective! Its electronic, quite minimalist. I like that.
Essentially, the same can be said about Jade score. It’s restrained, minimalist, but effective. It has many familiar sound techniques that Horner used in his other works. My favorite track is “Matt Gets Turned On.” Great string chords!
I’m pretty sure many Horner fans avoid these two scores because they lack the lush, loud orchestra with complex themes. Plus, they might be allergic to electronics;)1. Harold Faltermeyer
2. Sylvester Levay
3. Brad Fiedel
4. J. Peter Robinson
5. James Newton Howard
6. Charles Bernstein
7. Hans Zimmer
8. Jack Nitzsche
9. Jerry Goldsmith
10. Basil Poledouris
The list has changed slightly over the past few years, but the top spots are still occupied by the same names…)Titanic and Commando remain my absolute favorites and the scores I listen to most often. You could say that Titanic was what first introduced me to Horner’s music. What a beautiful ballad! I took notice of Commando almost immediately. I remember being amazed even back then that the same composer had written the music for both films!
Over the past year or so, I’ve gotten hooked on Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and Jade.
Here are my favorites:
Titanic
Commando
Casper
Gorky Park
Jumaji
Unlawful EntryAlso very good are The Bicentennial Man, Field of Dreams, 48 Hours, Dad, The Name of the Rose, Ransom, Red Heat, Legend of the Fall, and Jack the Bear
I’m so excited that this score is finally being released! I’ve loved it since I saw the film.
I had the isolated tracks version from the 2021 Blu-ray release. Interestingly, the official release offers 38 minutes of music, while the Blu-ray edition had 28 minutes.
I’m really looking forward to May 22nd!@Jon Aanensen, I think I misled you unintentionally. I need to learn English…) What I meant was that I cancelled my cassette order because I later saw that the label had released the score in digital format.
@KMCG, sorry, I didn’t notice…
A few words about the upcoming album INTERNAL AFFAIRS 2: Diplomatic Immunity… The promised album didn’t come out in the fall or winter (2025–2026). In one of the comments under his Instagram video, Mr. Glass once again “promised” that the album would be released this year, and no later than the “release of GTA 6.” (That’s almost a direct quote from him.) In other words, he promises to release it no later than November 2026.
So… we’ll wait… and someday it will finally come out. The first album turned out to be very good and popular!I haven’t noticed anyone mentioning Red Dawn. Hmmm…
Apparently, it’s one of his more or less popular works. I remember it being discussed quite often on FSM. But personally, with the exception of the main theme (which is simply magnificent!), I don’t find the rest of the music particularly interesting to listen to. It’s kind of like Thor’s case (regarding Robocop).@Jon Aanensen, A great synth score. It’s a bit repetitive, but the main theme is magnificent, with powerful drums.
I hope it gets re-released someday.Hi, Guys!
I finally got to listen to the soundtracks for both Bad Boys movies. Bad Boys really does sound even better now—it’s in stereo and has better detail in the mix. For fans of the music from the first movie, this will be an even greater treat (especially the bonus/alternate tracks). But my opinion of the music from the first movie remains unchanged.
Bad Boys 2 is simply magnificent!! I’ll be playing this on repeat many more times! As I wrote earlier, the music is very diverse and dynamic. And in this new edition, it shines even brighter. I like that several other composers (including Mancini) contributed. Rabin’s tracks are awesome! But I also really liked tracks like Syd and Mike (Mancina)—very 80s-style: especially the electric piano, strings, and bass.
The track Causeway (Jablonsky)—so much energy and action.
As strange as it may sound, I really liked the track “Theme From Bad Boys (Bad Boys II Demo Version)” by Mark Mancina. I like this version of the main theme much more. It would be interesting to see what would have happened if Mancina had composed the entire score for the second movie…
Thanks to La-La Land Records for the release!Hi Thor!
That’s how I am, I write a lot first, and then I might delete it).
Regarding these two wonderful releases… I’m glad that Bad Boys will be re-released in an improved version. But I never really liked this score very much. The main theme is good, but the rest is a bit tedious to listen to. I’ve only listened to the entire score twice in my entire life.
But I’m especially happy and excited that Bad Boys 2 is finally coming out. I really like the cool mix of electronic/techno and orchestra in BB2. To my taste, the score is very dynamic and diverse. Much better than the first one.
I would buy BB2 without hesitation.Here’s another great album from Max Cruise: Neon Vice. It’s also very 80s and cinematic!
I’ll try asking him about it, but he’s like Sylvester Levay – he might take a long time to answer, or sometimes not answer at all!…)))
Hi Thor! I listened to ‘Saint’. What’s more, before listening to the soundtrack, I watched the film itself. I was just curious to see how much material was missing from the 1993 release. There are a couple of interesting moments – mainly variations on the main theme. It’s a pretty good score. Lots of electronics. In terms of style and presentation, it reminded me of Grand Canyon.
Thanks for the recommendation!I just wanted to remind you that this month Sunglasses Kid will be releasing the sequel to his album IA, titled Internal Affairs: Diplomatic Immunity.
P.S. Can’t wait!))
I deliberately didn’t mention this score because, for reasons unknown to me (LOL), I still haven’t gotten around to listening to it (even though I have it). I’ll definitely listen to it in a few days, and/or even watch the film. Judging by the plot, the film seems quite interesting.
Oh, one more thing…
I would love to see the release of 8 Million Ways to Die, Marked for Death, and Head Office someday (which is obviously highly unlikely)… I especially love the first two!Hello dear Thor, and all other visitors to the site!
After a long absence, I’m finally able to return here… I still love soundtracks, and I especially adore synthesizer music score.
I would like to add my two cents about the work of the talented and versatile composer James N. Howard. He is also one of my favorite composers. And one of the few whose scores I find interesting after the 2000s.
My favorites are The Fugitive, The Package, Off Limits, Primal Fear, Intersection, and Promised Land. These are the ones I listen to the most from his collection. I also like Dreamcatcher, [short score] Pretty Woman, Grand Canyon, Dying Young, Russkies, Falling Down, The Sixth Sense, Waterworld, I Am Legend, Blood Diamond, The Lookout, and Collateral.
I sometimes like to listen to Salt, Michael Clayton, The Interpreter, and Freedomland. On the other hand, I didn’t really like Diggstown (although there are some cool things on it). The same can be said about A Perfect Murder (I only listened to it twice, and it seemed to me that, given the good material that was there, James could have done even better).As for Intrada’s release of the Flatliners premiere score, it was one of my holy grails. I love every second of it. Perhaps this is also influenced by the fact that it is one of my favorite movies.
I hope that one day I will be able to afford to buy it. It’s a pity that there is no digital purchase option for it!
By the way, thank you for your review of Flatliners. I can’t say I agree with everything…)