Ok, So I’ve talked about Trailer Music and its awesomeness. But I think this is deserving of its own post. Immediate Music recognized how popular its music had become, and decided to refine it for a mainstream audience. Building upon the already fantastic instrumental and choir pieces in their “Themes for Orchestra and Choir” series, they created something new. A genre they call “Epic Rock.”
Basically, its a rock band. With 130 people, including a full orchestra and choir. And I absolutely love them, which is uncharacteristic for me to say. After all, they have a singer! The singing on the part of the main singer is decent – not fantastic, but certainly not bad. Were it just him singing with the usual assortment of a few electric guitars and a drum set, I would write the whole thing off. But its not. Instead you get the choir and orchestra adding to the song, which can stand on its own without lyrics (after all, that was their initial version), which I think is characteristic of most great songs.
It sounds epic. When you have a choir in the background adding to the lead singer, it creates an experience unlike anything I have ever heard before. It becomes incredibly more moving, more profound and powerful. What I can’t figure out is why I’ve never heard anything like it before, and why it’s not more popular. My theory is money- its hard to get 130 people together for something like this – an opportunity a production music company had.
In any case, ill stop blabbing and let you decide for yourself. I think their best song is “Europa” – with the choir I get the feeling that I’m hearing not one or two voices, but the whole of europe crying out, all the men and women who died in centuries of war. And that, my friends, is something that most bands cannot match. Take me Away also feels like a desperate prayer from a crusader or something.
Here are some links to their songs on Youtube. Try to ignore the mullet and the kind of un-fitting imagery in some. I have no idea whats going on.
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Orchard of Mines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvepGKH4hds&feature=related
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Crusaders of the Light http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poxwbXC0icU&feature=related
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Take Me Away http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6KilO_AiZU
So, the question I pose to you is this: Does anyone know of any other groups that have lyrics with a full orchestra and choir? I suppose thats assuming I have readers!
