Record Label: Hollywood Records
Genre: Film Score
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James Horner has worked with Mel Gibson in the past, and has been very successful with scoring his movies. I’m talking about Braveheart; I believe that is Horner’s best score and others may agree with me as well. Horner didn’t score the Passion but I’m curious as to what he might have done with that movie. Since Braveheart, James Horner has used similar styles in his scores and score fans don’t necessarily like that all the time (for some reason). I see it as being his style, because as soon as you hear it, you know it’s a James Horner score. Once you hear the score to Apocalypto, you’ll know it’s by Horner.

“From the Forest” begins the album and is similar to The New World score Horner did last year. The music starts out quiet, with the soft touch of birds chirping; then you hear a man chanting. That track on a “The New World” score is by favorite because it’s just so peaceful. You get that same feeling about that opening track until you hear the man singing. Then you realize this isn’t going to be a peaceful movie. The film score is very percussion and flute heavy, which really is a no-brainer since it’s a Native American movie. The trademark flute flare (“The Holcane Attack”) that Horner is known for shows up many times throughout the score as well. I love the throat singing on many of the tracks, and gives the music an eerie feeling. It almost sounds like a didgeridoo (which is also used in some tracks) but the only instrument is the man singing from the throat. It’s hard to describe I guess.

The movie score is very quiet at times, and then action-packed the next. The overall feeling is very creepy or mysterious. I haven’t seen the movie yet so not sure if it works or not. It sounds like the score fits Apocalypto though, and I’ll probably end up liking this even more once I see the movie. If you like James Horner’s music in the past, you’ll certainly like this album as well!

Bottom Line: A good stand-out score from Horner.
Notable Tracks: From the Forest, Storyteller’s Dreams, Words Through the Sky
Overall Rating: