The Desolation of Smaug Score Review

The realm of Middle-Earth returns once again in musical form. And what a glorious visit it is. The incredibly talented Howard Shore has crafted yet another musical masterpiece. I was initially very hesitant to grab this soundtrack (don't mock me, guys) due to the little bit I had heard seeming rather bleak and dull. Several weeks ago, I finally decided to give it a try. Howard Shore, I'm sorry I ever doubted you.

If you are at all familiar with Shore's work, you know he consistently takes thematic approaches to whatever movies he scores. In the soundtrack for An Unexpected Journey (a review will be coming for that one soon, Lord willing), he established a vast number of new themes, but many of the ones we heard predominantly were from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here, this is absolutely not the case. Nearly every single theme we hear is a new one. The best of the lot is Smaug's theme. I could rave on about it for hours, but to put it briefly: It's incredible. Others that stand out are the theme for Laketown, the Dwarf theme, and several other character themes.

This journey to Middle-Earth feels very much unlike any of the previous ones. The music here is much darker, far more intense, and very emotional. There are moments where hope breaks through the shroud of evil, but they are far fewer than we've come to expect. However, this makes those moments far more powerful than they would be otherwise. I See Fire is a very different credits song. At first listen, I honestly was not very impressed with it. But after listening to it a large number of times, I can say that it's an excellent song. It just may take a few listens to adjust to it.

Highlights include: Flies and Spiders, Feast of Starlight, The Forest River, Kingsfoil, The Hunters, Smaug, My Armor Is Iron, I See Fire, and Beyond the Forest.

Overall, this is another incredible soundtrack from Howard Shore. I'm so tempted to rate it above what I actually can, but I guess I'll have to settle for giving it five raging dragons out of five.

You can buy it here.

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