Vanquish | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 2, 2016 | |||
Length | 1:08:04 | |||
Producer | Thomas Bergersen, Nick Phoenix | |||
Two Steps from Hell chronology | ||||
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Vanquish is the ninth studio album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released on 2 December 2016. [1] It consists of 17 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. [2] The album is the first major public release to include no material from industry album releases. [3] It was recorded live by Capellen Orchestra under the supervision of Petr Pololáník, and features vocal performances by Felicia Farerre, Asja Kadric, Jenifer Thigpen, and Linea Adamson. [4] [5] [3]
The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore. [5] The album was made available to the industry via Extreme Music on January 4, 2017. [6]
The album is dedicated to Phoenix's late son, Jack, [4] who was killed in a hit and run incident a year before its release aged 15. [7]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Fall of the Fountain World" (feat. Felicia Farerre & Asja Kadric) | Nick Phoenix | 4:37 |
2. | "Pegasus" (feat. Felicia Farerre) | Thomas J. Bergersen | 4:29 |
3. | "Vanquish" (feat. Felicia Farerre) | Nick Phoenix | 3:15 |
4. | "New World Order" | Thomas J. Bergersen | 3:21 |
5. | "Future Guardian" (feat. Felicia Farerre & Asja Kadric) | Nick Phoenix | 4:13 |
6. | "Enchantress" | Thomas J. Bergersen | 8:17 |
7. | "Final Kingdom" (feat. Felicia Farerre) | Nick Phoenix | 2:33 |
8. | "His Brightest Star Was You" (feat. Felicia Farerre) | Thomas J. Bergersen | 3:19 |
9. | "Siege" (feat. Felicia Farerre) | Nick Phoenix | 4:15 |
10. | "Evergreen" | Thomas J. Bergersen | 3:02 |
11. | "The Ring of Winter" (feat. Felicia Farerre & Asja Kadric) | Nick Phoenix | 2:37 |
12. | "Stallion" (feat. Jenifer Thigpen) | Thomas J. Bergersen | 4:00 |
13. | "Turin" (feat. Felicia Farerre & Asja Kadric) | Nick Phoenix | 3:55 |
14. | "High C’s" | Thomas J. Bergersen | 5:39 |
15. | "Forge" (feat. Felicia Farerre & Asja Kadric) | Nick Phoenix | 4:10 |
16. | "Dangerous" (feat. Linea Adamson) | Thomas J. Bergersen | 3:56 |
17. | "Inferni" | Thomas J. Bergersen | 2:21 |
Clothilde Lebrun of Trailer Music News was favourable, describing the album as "epic and bombastic at times, inspiring and sweeping at others", albeit not having "the dramatic intensity that some previous industry releases had". Considering the latter, she said it offers "a more diverse listening experience, with very elaborate compositions by Nick Phoenix and more experimental ones by Thomas Bergersen", concluding, "Vanquish is a welcome sequel" to SkyWorld and Battlecry . [5]
The review by Brigid Ehrmantraut published in The Princeton LP was also favourable. She claimed the album was "finessed in comparison with some of the group’s earlier releases". She was most critical of the album's lyrical tracks, calling them an "iffier proposition" compared to tracks featuring choirs. Overall she felt "last year’s output was more compelling" ( Classics Volume Two and Battlecry ) but that both of the aforementioned "lacked finer points of instrumentation compared with Vanquish". Ehrmantraut concluded: "If Two Steps from Hell classically delivers slices of larger stories and flashes of unfinished dramas, then quite excitingly, Vanquish’s longer numbers, more extensive lyrics, and subtler orchestrations may, in places, be a little closer to offering us fully-fledged plotlines." [8]
IFMCA-associated reviews website, MundoBSO, [9] rated it seven out of ten stars. [10]
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Two Steps from Hell is a production music company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2006 by Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, a pair of composers born in Norway and England respectively. The two friends created the company to make trailer music demos to be circulated exclusively within the movie advertising industry for the purpose of licensing; they are partnered with Extreme Music who handle licensing arrangements. The duo are among the most successful in their field, having supplied background tracks for thousands of film trailers and TV commercials. They compose separately but release their creations together. Typically, their music is orchestral and choral based, but with modern complements and structured similar to pop songs. The stentorian nature of their works has led the frequent use of a contemporary label, "epic music", to define their style.
Invincible is the first public album by the group Two Steps From Hell, released in May 2010. It consists of 22 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The tracks are a collection of fan favourites from prior demonstration albums previously only available to the industry, "represent[ing] the very best of Thomas and Nick’s first few years at Two Steps From Hell". Two tracks, however, are brand new compositions.
Thomas Jacob Bergersen is a Norwegian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and the co-founder of the production music company Two Steps From Hell. He is among the worlds most streamed artists in the classical crossover genre, and has over 2 million streams per month on Spotify. Bergersen's compositions have featured in many motion picture campaigns, such as Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Twilight Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code, The Mummy, The Dark Knight, Tron: Legacy and hundreds more. Bergersen has scored over one thousand soundtracks and film trailers.
Nick Phoenix is a British composer, pianist, and co-founder of the production music company Two Steps from Hell. He has written music for a number of trailers, with over 1,200 scores and placements in total.
Illusions is the first studio album by Norwegian composer Thomas J. Bergersen, of Two Steps From Hell fame. It was released in June 2011. It consists of 19 tracks and features vocal performances by Vladislava Vasileva, Elitsa Todorova, Merethe Soltvedt, Kate St. Pierre, Jenifer Thigpen and Colin O'Malley, as well as instrumental performances by cellist Tina Guo, and the Capellen Orchestra. The album cover and artwork are designed by Jesper Krijgsman, inspired by visuals from Beauty and the Beast. Initially a digital release, the CD was made available in March 2012. It has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
Archangel is the second public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in September 2011. It consists of 26 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All the tracks are from prior demonstration albums previously only available to the industry; 14 are from the album, Nero.
Legend is a demonstration album by the music production group Two Steps from Hell, originally released exclusively to clients in the motion picture and advertising industry for the purpose of licensing in May 2008. It consists of three discs: two CDs and a bonus DVD. The former contain a total of 37 principal tracks; 20 on disc one and 17 on disc two. The latter includes a large collection of alternative versions; therefore, in total, Legend consists of 77 tracks. They are predominantly composed by the group's founding members, Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, as well as some by Troels Folmann. The album was recorded by Capellen Orchestra in Prague, Czech Republic and at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, United States. The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.
Power of Darkness is a demonstration album by the music production group Two Steps from Hell, originally released exclusively to clients in the motion picture and advertising industry for the purpose of licensing in March 2010. It was uniquely distributed on a flash drive, rather than a physical disc. It includes 32 principal tracks, split into two themed volumes. Additionally, it contains a large collection of alternative versions; therefore, in total, Power of Darkness consists of 77 tracks. They are composed by Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The album was recorded in Prague, Czech Republic, in Los Angeles, and in Utah, United States. The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.
Halloween is the third public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in September 2012. The album contains 48 tracks, written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All the tracks, apart from To Die on Halloween, are from prior demonstration albums previously only available to the industry. This is their first public album to feature tracks with English vocals.
SkyWorld is the fourth public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in October 2012; their third major release following the success of Invincible and Archangel. The album contains 22 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All tracks, except for "Dark Ages", are brand new original tracks. This is the second of their albums featuring tracks with English lyrics, namely Titan Dream, The End is the Beginning, and Back to the Earth. Recording took place in both Brno, Czech Republic and Los Angeles, United States.
Classics Volume One, also stylised as Classics, Vol. 1, is the fifth public album by the group Two Steps From Hell, released in June 2013. It consists of 23 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. This album is the first of their public albums available in lossless audio. All songs except "Return from Darkness" and "Path to Earth" are from their previous demonstration albums. The album also features an extended version of "Eternal Sorrow" from the Nemesis album, as well as tweaked versions of "Magnan Imus", "White Witch", and "The World Is Mind".
Miracles is the sixth public album by the group Two Steps From Hell, released in June 2014. It consists of 21 tracks written entirely by composer Thomas J. Bergersen. This album predominantly features material selected from earlier demonstration albums, including Dreams & Imaginations, Illumina, Two Steps From Heaven, and Volume One. However the title track, "Compass", and "Stay" are brand new tracks. The previously unreleased tracks "Sun Gazer," "Eyes Closing," "My Freedom," "Perfect Love", and "Wind Queen" appear with various tweaks and embellishments.
This is the discography of Thomas J. Bergersen, a composer whose music has been used in trailers of Hollywood blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar and many others.
Sun is the second studio album by Norwegian composer Thomas Bergersen, of Two Steps from Hell fame. It was released in September 2014. It consists of 16 tracks, featuring vocal performances by Merethe Soltvedt, Molly Conole and The Choir of Sofia, as well as instrumental performances by T-Rex, Chris Bleth and Bergersen himself. The album cover and artwork are also designed by Bergersen himself. The tracks "Empire of Angels," "Final Frontier," and "Starchild" were made available as preview tracks on iTunes prior to the full release.
Battlecry is the seventh studio album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released on 28 April 2015. It consists of 26 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The album features all-new tracks, except for Amaria from the demonstration album of the same name. It features vocal performances by Merethe Soltvedt, Nick Phoenix and Felicia Farerre.
Classics Volume Two, also stylised as Classics, Vol. 2, is the eighth public album by the group Two Steps From Hell, released in June 2015. It features 15 previously unreleased tracks from prior demonstration albums composed by Thomas J. Bergersen, and 10 entirely new tracks from Nick Phoenix. The album features tracks containing vocal performances by Felicia Farerre and Aya Peard.
Unleashed is the tenth studio album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released on 22 September 2017. It consists of 56 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The album is the longest released to the public by Two Steps from Hell. It features vocal performances by Merethe Soltvedt, C.C. White, Felicia Farerre, Úyanga Bold, Nick Phoenix and Linea Adamson. The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.
Dragon is the eleventh studio album created by the music production company Two Steps from Hell, released on 18 January 2019. It consists of 19 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, and features vocal performances by Merethe Soltvedt, Felicia Farerre and Úyanga Bold. Chris Bleth and Claudio Pietronik are also credited for specific instrumental performances. The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.
Myth is the twelfth studio album created by the music production company Two Steps from Hell, released on May 3, 2022.
Live – An Epic Music Experience is a live album created by the music production company Two Steps from Hell, released on November 4, 2022. It is distributed by Sony Classical Records digitally, on CD, and vinyl. It is the group's first live album.