Hellboy II: The Golden Army (soundtrack)

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Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Hellboy II.The Golden Army (soundtrack).jpg
Film score by
ReleasedJuly 8, 2008
Recorded2008
Studio Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre Film score
Length44:58
Label Varèse Sarabande
Producer Danny Elfman
Hellboy soundtracks chronology
Hellboy
(2004)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
(2008)
Hellboy
(2019)
No.TitleLength
1."Introduction"3:37
2."Hellboy II Titles"1:18
3."Training"1:50
4."The Auction House"2:28
5."Hallway Cruise"1:35
6."Where Fairies Dwell"4:17
7."Teleplasty"1:21
8."Mein Herring"1:05
9."Father and Son"6:02
10."A Link"1:29
11."A Troll Market"1:21
12."Market Troubles"3:41
13."A Big Decision"1:10
14."The Last Elemental"4:11
15."The Spear"1:47
16."A Dilemma"2:55
17."Doorway"3:35
18."A Choice"3:58
19."In the Army Chamber"5:47
20."Finale"6:06
Total length:59:33

Deluxe edition

No.TitleLength
1."Introduction (from Hellboy II)"3:39
2."Hellboy II (Main Theme)"1:18
3."Enter Mr. Wink"1:55
4."Auction House"2:34
5."Hallway Cruise"1:34
6."Intro Big Red"0:38
7."Domestic Fight"1:50
8."Where Fairies Dwell (Unedited Original Version)"7:12
9."Red's OK"0:43
10."Royal Family"1:21
11."A Big Decision"0:22
12."Manning Ridicule / Father and Son"5:16
13."Mein Herring"1:04
14."Teleplasty"1:19
15."Intimidated? / Secret Agent Suite"1:05
16."Entering Troll Market / Marketplace Suite"1:21
17."Troll Market Source"0:56
18."Troll Market Source (Alternate Version)"1:11
19."Princess and Abe"0:28
20."Search and Interrogation"1:51
21."Reading Each Other"2:28
22."Market Fight / Ground Wink"2:29
23."Little Informants / The Bean Suite"1:19
24."Birth of a God"0:41
25."Elemental Flight 1 & 2"2:55
26."The Last Elemental"4:13
27."Big Decision"1:12
28."A Link"1:28
29."F**k – Used"0:36
30."He's Here"0:52
31."Spear (Film Version)"2:00
32."The Dilemma"2:53
33."Recollection"1:57
34."They're Off"1:01
35."Doorway – Pts. 1-3"3:31
36."A Choice"3:42
37."Decision Made Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 Suite"1:11
38."Army Chamber / Kill Them (Film Version)"6:02
39."Finale (from Hellboy II) (Film Version)"3:46
Total length:81:53

Reception

Mark Morton of AllMusic wrote "Following his heart-stopping, action score for Wanted, Elfman gets right back on track to make Hellboy II: The Golden Army a jostling ride through chilling adventures." [8] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks wrote "Hellboy II: The Golden Army represented an overdue return to Elfman's often beautiful gothic tendencies in most of its length, but it may not resonate with the same success as the best music from his early days." [9] In contrast, Sean Cameron of BBC wrote "At its high points Hellboy II: The Golden Army feels like a retread of his better work; making little impact and failing to work as an album in its own right." [10]

Critic Roger Ebert had noticed "hints of John Williams’ “ Star Wars ” score in the score by Danny Elfman, especially during the final battle. Not a plundering job, you understand; more of an evocation of mood." [11] Tom Joliffe of Flickering Myth called it "a fantastic Elfman score that feels inherently him but also defiantly different from his Batman and Spidey work. It still needs those identifiable marches and quirks but there’s a classic adventure score feel beneath those Elfman specialities and even some great use of taiko drums and striking percussive tracks." [12] Olly Harris of Comic Book Resources considered this film and the predecessor to have best superhero scores, with both Elfman and Beltrami "do a great job of creating a dark gothic atmosphere, and it really enhances the moody visuals of the films" capturing Hellboy's world. [13]

Additional music

List of songs featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack: [14]

Personnel credits

Credits adapted from liner notes: [16]

Orchestra
Choir
Management

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef.
International Film Music Critics Association Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film Danny Elfman Nominated [17]
Motion Picture Sound Editors Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature Film Shie Rozow (supervising music editor)Nominated [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Koppl, Rudy (August 1, 2008). "Hellboy 2 – The Science of the Supernatural". Music from the Movies. Archived from the original on September 1, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lankester, Ben (August 14, 2008). "Interview: Del Toro talks Hellboy". Den of Geek . Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music . July 8, 2008. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  4. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Deluxe Edition)". Apple Music . February 23, 2024. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  5. "Danny Elfman – Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (Original Motion Picture Score – Deluxe Edition CD)". Concord International. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  6. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Deluxe Edition 2LP". Varèse Sarabande. Archived from the original on November 11, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  7. Cavanaugh, Patrick (July 17, 2024). "Hellboy II: The Golden Army Score Getting Deluxe 2-LP Vinyl Release". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  8. Morton, Mark (2008). "Hellboy II: The Golden Army [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Review". AllMusic . Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  9. Clemmensen, Christian (July 26, 2008). "Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Danny Elfman)". Filmtracks . Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  10. Cameron, Sean (2008). "Review of Danny Elfman – Hellboy II". BBC . Archived from the original on February 13, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  11. Ebert, Roger (July 10, 2008). "What fresh Hellboy is this?". RogerEbert.com . Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  12. Jolliffe, Tom (September 5, 2024). "The Essential Danny Elfman Film Scores". Flickering Myth. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  13. Harris, Olly (April 28, 2022). "10 Best Superhero Movie Soundtracks". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  14. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army". Tunefind . Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  15. "Starting at 38:35 in the movie "Poet in Process - Why"". YouTube . August 15, 2008. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021.
  16. Danny Elfman. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Varèse Sarabande.
  17. "2008 IFMCA Awards". International Film Music Critics Association . January 4, 2010. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  18. "2009 Golden Reel Award Nominees: Feature Films". Motion Picture Sound Editors . Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2018.