This score came out of nowhere for me and really impressed me. Multiple themes, quiet emotional passages, big choral music and everything in between. It makes me wonder what Gabriel Yared wrote to get rejected because this is one of the best scores I've heard from hollywood this year.
1 Clary Theme 2 City of Bones 3 Your Secret Is Safe 4 The Clave's Curse 5 Pretty Far from Brooklyn 6 Close the Dome 7 The Mortal Cup 8 The Angel Rune 9 Madame Dorothea 10 Magnus Bane 11 Demon Doll 12 Where's the Cup 13 You're a Morgenstern 14 J.C. 15 She's Not a Mundane 16 Valentine 17 Midnight in the Garden 18 Vampires vs. Werewolves
The score album is out on Milan Records. Last time i checked, I can't find the CD on Amazon but the score is available digitally on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.
I'm looking forward to checking this one out. I'm waiting for the physical CD though...no digital downloads for me. Atli Orvarsson is the only composer out of Hans Zimmer's MV group that I've really taken a liking to. There have been others who have written an isolated good score or two, but Orvarsson is consistantly good and manages to avoid sounding just like Zimmer.
I really love THE EAGLE and THE FOURTH KIND. Two very different scores, one for a really good movie and one for an utter crap one, but both excellent listening.
I'm looking forward to checking this one out. I'm waiting for the physical CD though...no digital downloads for me.
Hmm. My copy of the physical CD arrived about a week ago, so I hope they don't keep you waiting too long!
I've listened to this a couple times, and it's not year's best material for me but it's easy enough to listen to. Certainly worlds better than Örvarsson's earlier fantasy effort this year!
Wow! Bought this album this morning after reading sirusjr's glowing recommendation and I'm with him, this is really vital, memorable stuff! I became a fan of Orvarsson after really enjoying his trashy fun score to Hansel & Gretel, but this is by far his best work yet!
Just got this in the mail today. Giving it my first listen to right now. I saw the movie with my daughter over the weekend, she loved it and I enjoyed it too. The music worked really well in the movie and sounded great!
Just got this in the mail today. Giving it my first listen to right now. I saw the movie with my daughter over the weekend, she loved it and I enjoyed it too. The music worked really well in the movie and sounded great!
Well... based on your recommendations I've ordered this CD so it better be good . Not released in the UK for another week or so, so I still have a while to wait to find out...
I'm looking forward to checking this one out. I'm waiting for the physical CD though...no digital downloads for me. Atli Orvarsson is the only composer out of Hans Zimmer's MV group that I've really taken a liking to. There have been others who have written an isolated good score or two, but Orvarsson is consistantly good and manages to avoid sounding just like Zimmer.
I really love THE EAGLE and THE FOURTH KIND. Two very different scores, one for a really good movie and one for an utter crap one, but both excellent listening.
I ordered this CD today. You say you really love THE FOURTH KIND, what am I missing. I have all of his scores that are available on CD and THE FOURTH KIND is his weakest score. I agree with you that Orvarsson does not sound like Zimmer, which is a good thing, but I just can not listen to THE FOURTH KIND.
I have given it two listens so far...and it is really good. Like I said, I enjoyed it in the movie when I saw it...and I am enjoying it outside of the movie as well. Good stuff!!
(first off, huge kudos to sirusjr for creating this thread and championing the score from the outset!)
I first heard this score when it came out a few years ago, and I did really like it. Interestingly, though, the score didn't really take hold of me until this year when I revisited it...and then revisited it again, and again, and again. Now it has complete hold over me! My favorite score from 2013.
The Fourth Kind was previously my favorite Orvarsson score, but now it's The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. What a powerful, epic, gorgeous, exciting score. One of those works that really covers every avenue and does it so well, with awesome composition, excellent (and memorable) themes, impressive contemporary synths, and a spine-tingling choral component.
This score is just so special to me. I really just feel like there isn't a weak spot, and each note, each sound, each color really aligns exactly with what I love about film music (the one part of the score that didn't work for me was the techno-orchestra moment at the beginning of "Vampires & Werewolves" which is very brief -- interestingly, it is an alternate version of the cue from the film version). I just got finished watching the film, and it was presented and mixed wonderfully. Unfortunately, there is a ton of unreleased music in the film! I'd guess a good 30-40 minutes more than the already 63-minute CD (fyi the film itself runs 132 minutes and is pretty packed with score -- not a complaint). The unreleased material is not just disposable stuff, either -- although I'm biased through my love of the score -- but wonderful extensions of thematic material and exciting action music. EDIT: Just read an online interview with Orvarsson wherein he mentions he wrote and recorded 120 minutes of score.
As I watched the movie, I rearranged the CD tracks into film order, as that's how I prefer to listen to this score. If anyone is interested in the film chronology of the CD tracks, let me know and I'll post it.
If I had to pick one contemporary composer that people around this website shockingly just don't seem to be interested in, it'd have to be Orvarsson. He has grown tremendously as a composer and consistently delivers prolific and accomplished tunes. Although H&G: Witch Hunters wasn't that great to me, his recent disparate efforts Colette, A Single Shot, Evidence, Chicago Fire and Mortal Instruments are all first-rate and well-worth checking into. In digging up this old thread I'm surprised so many people (relatively speaking) posted about the score considering his name is barely mentioned on this site. There may have been one (possibly two) members who posted in the recent Chicago Fire Seasons 1 & 2 threads from the past few months. While that's not his best work, it represents an apathy towards Orvarsson that perplexes me.
***** If you've read all of this post and take nothing else from what I said, at least do yourself a favor and check out Atli Orvarsson's masterpiece The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones!!! *****
PLEASE, SOUNDTRACK LABELS: RELEASE AN EXPANDED/COMPLETE THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES!
Epic, grand thematic choral finale:
Thrilling thematic and choral action/adventure/fantasy:
Nice thoughts! Now you made me curious as well. Of course, the film is directed by Norwegian Harald Zwart (as was HANSEL & GRETEL, in which he also collaborated with Örvarsson), but I've steered clear of since it looks rather crappy.
Anyways, Örvarsson is great. I hung out with him during the Nordic film music days in Helsinki last year -- cool guy! And incredibly talented. His COLETTE was proof that he's able to do so much more than just emulate the Zimmer sound.
Nice thoughts! Now you made me curious as well. Of course, the film is directed by Norwegian Harald Zwart (as was HANSEL & GRETEL, in which he also collaborated with Örvarsson)
Hansel & Gretel was directed by Tommy Wirkola, not Harald Zwart
Nice thoughts! Now you made me curious as well. Of course, the film is directed by Norwegian Harald Zwart (as was HANSEL & GRETEL, in which he also collaborated with Örvarsson)
Hansel & Gretel was directed by Tommy Wirkola, not Harald Zwart
Great post Deputy. Glad you found this score to be interesting. I would absolutely like your film order because i don't think I will be watching this movie anytime soon.
. Not released in the UK for another week or so, so I still have a while to wait to find out... 
It is interesting to read a bit more detail about the score that I would have hoped to get from liner notes.
