After their hugely popular initial album
Invincible and TSFH composer Thomas Bergersen's solo effort
Illusions, Archangel is the latest album by Two Steps From Hell. Following very much the same formula as their previous albums, this is once again full of epic orchestral and choral music.
I won't go into a track by track analysis of the album because of the huge number of tracks present, and also because each track is self contained opinion will vary considerably about what tracks you like best. That said, there were several standout tracks that deserve mention. Firstly, is track 2, "Archangel", which is probably my favourite track on the album. Frantic strings, awesome percussion and just after the half way mark is a brilliant solo female vocalist and a choir for extra punch, this is what makes Two Steps From Hell so good. Track 7, "Nero" contains some fantastic writing for piano and strings. Track 15, "Dragon Rider" sounds similar to the theme written by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell in "Escape from the Dragon" from Shrek, and I rather liked it. The final track Friendship to Last ends on a more tranquil note, with a good female soloist and a rousing melody to finish off the album.
The album duration is just over 70 minutes, and contains a massive 26 tracks. That's a lot of music for your money and there is certainly more than enough to justify the purchase.
I do think that Two Steps From Hell are probably the best group of composers of producing short epic trailer music style tracks. I don't think this album beats Invincible and Illusions in terms of quality, but it is a worthy equal, and anyone who likes these previous albums should not be without Archangel in their collection!