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The Soundtrack |
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Topic Started: 26 May 2014, 12:57 (13405 Views)
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Zer0x
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26 May 2014, 12:57
Post #41
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[b]Banhammerdragon [/b]
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- TheCube42
- 26 May 2014, 15:12
It's lost a lot of Star Wars-era John Williams DNA and gained much more Hans Zimmer. Which... I don't really like.
Take "The Kill Ring" from 3:08 till the end, for instance. The energy is just so immense, with double-tongued brass notes, almost trembling string passages, and numerous countermelody entrances that add to the chaos. At 3:19, the "Soaring" theme settles the chaos a bit, but it slowly reapproaches as the modulations lead to 3:38, where basically the entire orchestra is engaging in a 3 vs. 4 or 3 vs. 2 syncopation. The strings are playing consistent triplet divisions, then the wind/brass section hits you in the face with ascending duples in chromatic harmony that are just so "beautifully ugly" (as one of the conductors I've worked with said of the Korngold violin concerto). The harmony here is just amazing, too : B diminished chord (third omitted) with added ninth and thirteenth in the strings, clashing with all the brass notes. This section is something you will expect from a Star Wars score. There are other sections in the score that show off this trait, too -- Powell's team went insane on harmony, and crafted one of the most symphonic orchestration settings in the film score scene (IMO right up there with The Red Violin's score).
This trait seems to have gone away largely in the second film's score, and the rhythms for the new melodies are simpler, too. The new motifs are mostly pentatonic (except for one) and they mostly fit into a very, very tonic harmonic progression. The instrumentation force has actually decreased in versatility: Except for very few moments, I don't feel like the music was written aptly for a full orchestra. There's also the issue that aside from the melodies, the rhythmic phrases and combinations just aren't as invigorating as the first film's rhythm choices.
Normally, when I judge orchestral film scores in terms of how they stand on their own, I ask myself this question: "Would I love it if I heard it in a concert hall?" For the first film, the answer was a big "Yes" all the way through. For the second film, it's... "Eh." It's also weird that the parts that genuinely excite me in the second film's score for the most part feature the first film's themes.
Which brings me to the question: How much of this was, to borrow what Powell said in an interview once, "ripp[ed] off the temp [track]"? If many of the passages from the first film reused in the second film were orchestrated very smoothly, and received a lot of Zimmer-esque (in this case, as in "epic") ideas in terms of rhythm and orchestration, one has to wonder if the temp tracks were a mix of first film's score passages and more conventional film scores.
No words. 
As someone who is more into the acoustical reproduction of recorded music than the actual process of producing, it is still very good comprehensible and gives a look behind the curtain of film scoring.
Even if not everything is positive in your review, I'm now even more exited to finally listen to new score in cinema and on my own system.
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UNAMUSED
No, I'm serious....stop it..
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Quincy Dan
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29 May 2014, 02:33
Post #42
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The real Hiccup
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- eret
- 25 May 2014, 04:28
- quincydan
- 24 May 2014, 22:34
The only songs that sound like they are out of the first film is the Battle of the Bewilderbeast, and Dragon Races. They have similar themes which is just common sense in the music world for writing for a sequel. Other than that, there's almost no similarity aside from the basic theme riff.
I don't know if I would have even recognized quite a few of the tracks as something out of HTTYD if I hadn't known better.
By this you mean you agree that they are similar or that I don't know what I'm talking about? It's not that they are exactly the same, but as far as playing them, it's like moving them up or down the staff or just changing the pace of them. I guess I should have been more clear that they are not necessarily OUT of the first, but the themes, melodies and time signature are very much the same. I like this soundtrack a whole lot more than the first.
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Sabrina
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08 Jun 2014, 20:17
Post #43
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Terrible Terror
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I'm disappointed on the soundtrack. The first was better, for me. I even would rather the music from the trailer #2 (Wings of Glory) instand.
Also, I'm okay about the mix of john powell and jonsi, but I'd prefer this song to be at the end of the movie (credits). Test drive should have played ALONE in Toothless and Hiccup flight scene.
I hope that when I watch the movie, I change my mind.
Sorry if I sound too negative, but I just wanted it to be a continuation of the first OST. But it was just a mix version of it, and without the bests songs. I miss New Tail and Forbidden Friendship. 
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 "Pain... love it."
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HideousZippleback
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08 Jun 2014, 20:26
Post #44
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[color=blue]I'm just here for Snotlout. [/color]
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- Sabrina
- 09 Jun 2014, 00:17
I'm disappointed on the soundtrack. The first was better, for me. I even would rather the music from the trailer #2 (Wings of Glory) instand.
Also, I'm okay about the mix of john powell and jonsi, but I'd prefer this song to be at the end of the movie (credits). Text drive should have played ALONE in Toothless and Hiccup flight scene.
I hope that when I watch the movie, I change my mind.
Sorry if I sound too negative, but I just wanted it to be a continuation of the first OST. But it was just a mix version of it, and without the bests songs. I miss New Tail and Forbidden Friendship.
Yeah no matter what I say to people they all believe HTTYD2's soundtrack is better but some how I can't agree with that.
I mean Forbidden Friendship is one of the best songs around and there are NONE like it in HTTYD2's soundtrack...
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Berserk Shieldmaiden
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08 Jun 2014, 20:50
Post #45
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Superior Warriorness
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Just pre-ordered the soundtrack on Amazon
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Sabrina
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08 Jun 2014, 21:03
Post #46
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Terrible Terror
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- HideousZippleback
- 09 Jun 2014, 00:26
- Sabrina
- 09 Jun 2014, 00:17
I'm disappointed on the soundtrack. The first was better, for me. I even would rather the music from the trailer #2 (Wings of Glory) instand.
Also, I'm okay about the mix of john powell and jonsi, but I'd prefer this song to be at the end of the movie (credits). Text drive should have played ALONE in Toothless and Hiccup flight scene.
I hope that when I watch the movie, I change my mind.
Sorry if I sound too negative, but I just wanted it to be a continuation of the first OST. But it was just a mix version of it, and without the bests songs. I miss New Tail and Forbidden Friendship.
Yeah no matter what I say to people they all believe HTTYD2's soundtrack is better but some how I can't agree with that.
I mean Forbidden Friendship is one of the best songs around and there are NONE like it in HTTYD2's soundtrack...
The soundtrack is the soul of HTTYD, every scene is amazing with the sound of it. Forbidden Friendship is THE TRACK and they just let it out. This is somewhat unforgivable. It seems like they do not realize how much this song means to the fans.
They made an whole unforgettable soundtrack, becames forgettable in HTTYD2. I hope they fix it in the third movie.
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"Pain... love it."
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TheEleventhViking
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09 Jun 2014, 07:05
Post #47
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Terrible Terror
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- Sabrina
- 09 Jun 2014, 01:03
- HideousZippleback
- 09 Jun 2014, 00:26
- Sabrina
- 09 Jun 2014, 00:17
I'm disappointed on the soundtrack. The first was better, for me. I even would rather the music from the trailer #2 (Wings of Glory) instand.
Also, I'm okay about the mix of john powell and jonsi, but I'd prefer this song to be at the end of the movie (credits). Text drive should have played ALONE in Toothless and Hiccup flight scene.
I hope that when I watch the movie, I change my mind.
Sorry if I sound too negative, but I just wanted it to be a continuation of the first OST. But it was just a mix version of it, and without the bests songs. I miss New Tail and Forbidden Friendship.
Yeah no matter what I say to people they all believe HTTYD2's soundtrack is better but some how I can't agree with that.
I mean Forbidden Friendship is one of the best songs around and there are NONE like it in HTTYD2's soundtrack...
The soundtrack is the soul of HTTYD, every scene is amazing with the sound of it. Forbidden Friendship is THE TRACK and they just let it out. This is somewhat unforgivable. It seems like they do not realize how much this song means to the fans.
They made an whole unforgettable soundtrack, becames forgettable in HTTYD2. I hope they fix it in the third movie.
But again if they overused it, it would draw the magic away from it. I like that Forbidden Friendship is exclusive to that one scene, it makes it special in a way 
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HideousZippleback
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09 Jun 2014, 13:47
Post #48
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[color=blue]I'm just here for Snotlout. [/color]
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- TheEleventhViking
- 09 Jun 2014, 11:05
- Sabrina
- 09 Jun 2014, 01:03
- HideousZippleback
- 09 Jun 2014, 00:26
Yeah no matter what I say to people they all believe HTTYD2's soundtrack is better but some how I can't agree with that.
I mean Forbidden Friendship is one of the best songs around and there are NONE like it in HTTYD2's soundtrack...
The soundtrack is the soul of HTTYD, every scene is amazing with the sound of it. Forbidden Friendship is THE TRACK and they just let it out. This is somewhat unforgivable. It seems like they do not realize how much this song means to the fans.
They made an whole unforgettable soundtrack, becames forgettable in HTTYD2. I hope they fix it in the third movie.
But again if they overused it, it would draw the magic away from it. I like that Forbidden Friendship is exclusive to that one scene, it makes it special in a way
Yes but some many of the other songs were overused also. Like Counter Attack is literally "Two New Alpha's" and nothing else.
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TheCube42
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09 Jun 2014, 14:17
Post #49
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(As Not Seen on TV)
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- HideousZippleback
- 09 Jun 2014, 17:47
Yes but some many of the other songs were overused also. Like Counter Attack is literally "Two New Alpha's" and nothing else.
I don't understand what you mean by that. There is a segment of "Counter Attack" (0:40 - 1:12) that gets recycled in "Two New Alphas," but the later portions of the second film's score concerns itself mostly with the new themes (which are, to be honest, a bit bland and restrictive).
What I liked about the first film's score was that it was a tour de force of melodic storytelling, messing with tonality to create tension, etc. Heck, one of the themes becomes tonally ambiguous during the middle because it just goes through a series of diminished seventh chords (which have no definite tonal center, as they are symmetrical).
I was able to write around 40 pages of commentary on the first film's melodic narrative because I was genuinely compelled to. I'm not so sure about the second film.
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Σ (a sigma-ture)
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Zer0x
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09 Jun 2014, 20:39
Post #50
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[b]Banhammerdragon [/b]
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I really hope that the score will make it to the next 'Hollywood in Vienna' concert.
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UNAMUSED
No, I'm serious....stop it..
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