Customer Reviews

Trailerhead

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Please note I'm relatively new to the category of "trailer music," thus my reviews are based solely on my own enjoyment/experience of the product.

Firstly, I'd like to correct a couple of Amazon listing mistakes regarding this CD. The category it's in, "Ireland," is incorrect, as is the artist title--it's just "Immediate," as in "Immediate Music," NOT "The Immediate." Somehow this CD has gotten lumped together with an Irish band by the same name when the two are not related as far as I know. This CD would be better placed in the soundtrack, classical, or instrumental category.

I wondered why Amazon kept recommending me this weird-looking CD called "Trailerhead," until the "Trailer" in the title finally occurred to me and I looked into it, then promptly purchased it. "Trailerhead" is put out by the same people who gave us Globus's "Epicon," Imperativa Records, associated with Immediate Music, who do lots of that fantastic, dramatic music you hear in movie trailers (namely--gigantic orchestras and Latin-singing choirs)--hence the CD's title. I was unaware when purchasing "Trailerhead" how closely it corresponds to "Epicon." Some of the tracks on this CD are basically shortened/edited instrumental versions of some of the "Epicon" tracks. The corresponding tracks that I can recognize are:

Trailerhead--Epicon:

Lacrimosa Dominae--Preliator
Serenata Immortale--Orchard Of Mines
Prelude To Paradise--Prelude (On Earth As In Heaven)
Spiritus Omnia--Spiritus Khayyam
Fides En Lucius Dei--Diem Ex Dei
Shield Of Faith--Take Me Away

As already mentioned, these seem to be shortened versions of some of "Epicon's" tracks, minus vocals aside from the choir. The rest of the tracks on "Trailerhead," as far as I know, are original to this CD (and to the trailers/commercials they appeared in--I believe "Prometheus Rising" was recently heard in the TV commercial for the movie "Defiance").

The "recycled" music however is not a drawback in the least; fans of "Epicon" will enjoy the edited versions if only for comparison's sake, and there's plenty of other music on the CD. The later tracks in particular, such as "Generations" and "Age Of Discovery," have an especially epic quality and can easily be pictured in a movie soundtrack. The only drawbacks are the short length of the CD itself ("Epicon" is much longer) and of most of its tracks; I would have preferred full-length instrumental versions of the tracks above (especially the utterly gorgeous "Serenata Immortale"), the better to correspond to their vocal versions, but this is trailer music, after all.

The recording quality of "Lacrimosa Dominae" also seems to be somewhat fuzzy, but I'm not sure on whose end the blame for that would be.

If you're a fan of "Epicon" (which has more of a focus on English-language lyrics) you should definitely love this CD. According to Imperativa's website, they should be releasing another CD soon, by composer Larry Groupe; here's hoping it's as good as the first two are.

Other CDs you may enjoy if you enjoy "Trailerhead":

*Globus--"Epicon" (the original 2006 release featuring (Latin/Roman?) lettering on the front, not the re-release sold by Amazon, which omits certain tracks)
*E. S. Posthumus--"Unearthed" and "Cartographer"
*Nightwish--"Dark Passion Play" (two-disk set with the instrumental version)
*Hans Zimmer--"King Arthur," "The Da Vinci Code," "Batman Begins," and other soundtracks
*Adiemus/Karl Jenkins--"Songs Of Sanctuary," "Cantata Mundi," "Dances Of Time," "The Eternal Knot," and "Vocalise"
*Lesiem--"Times" (also released as "Auracle"), "Mystic Spirit Voices," and "Illumination"
*Era--"Era," "Era 2," "The Mass," "Reborn"

As other reviewers have noted; the track names appear to have been confused on the mp3 release. (the same has occurred at E-music) The iTunes release does not seem to have this problem. The correct track names should be:

# TITLE IS: =============== TITLE SHOULD BE:
1. Prometheus Rising ========= Prometheus Rising
2. An Epic Age ============= Fides en Lucius Dei
3. Lacrimosa Dominae ======== Shield of Faith
4. Serenata Immortale ======== Onward to Freedom
5. Imperitum ============== Empyrean Mercenaries
6. Trial of the Archangel ======= Generations
7. Prelude to Paradise ======== Age of Discovery
8. The Reluctant Warrior ======= An Epic Age
9. Spiritus Omnia =========== Lacrimosa Dominae
10. Fides en Lucius Dei ======= Serenata Immortale
11. Shield of Earth ========== Imperitum
12. Onward to Freedom ======= Trial of the Archangel
13. Empyrean Mercenaries ===== Prelude to Paradise
14. Generations ============ The Reluctant Warrior
15. Age of Discovery ========= Spiritus Omnia

That administrative glitch aside, this is a highly anticipated, powerful and splendidly produced album.

In essence, these are all fresh, high-quality recordings of Immediate Music's signature tracks from their "Themes for Orchestra and Choir" compilations. From Lucius Dei to Serenata, they're all there, in their pure, rousing, and epic orchestral form.

The electronic underscore is strong, the orchestration aggressive, and the choral re-recordings (from a 70-piece choir, no less) all come across as well-staged, imbuing the rising thematic chords with the necessary gravitas.

There are a couple of surprises here and there (a guitar solo during Serenata Immortale!) and a few new gems have made the cut (eg. Prometheus Rising & Generations) so there's plenty of fun for aficionados as well as new fans.

If you enjoy epic score, Globus' "Epicon" album, or if you have obtained Immediate Music's work in the past by - ahem - shall we say 'less than reputable means', then buy this album without hesitation - you owe them!!

Was introduced to this CD by a workmate and I haven't stopped listening to it at work and home since.It's amazing to think of the pure genius of those that compose and put these pieces together...and to have it all on one album...wow, one couldn't ask for more. Great stuff

Sometimes I play music while doing household chores. These songs make mundane chores like dishwashing and laundry feel like they are relevant to the fate of the universe.

I really liked the Epicon album by Globus (in effect, the same people who made this CD), but like at least one other reviewer for that album noted, the pop-ish vocals were a bit lacking. I even said in that review that I wished they had replaced the pop vocals with epic-sounding chorus. I got my wish with this album; no pop vocals, only dramatic choruses.

A number of the tracks on this CD are remixes of ones on Epicon. In my opinion, they are still worth the purchase. For anyone wishing to know which ones aren't remixes from Epicon, they are tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, and 12.

An amazing album with amazing tracks. On one hand, the album is one of the most epic pieces of music I have ever heard. Each track takes you on a journey like you've never gone on before with powerful choral melodies and enchanting orchestration. If you're into movie trailer music or even rock music then this album is a must for you.

On the other hand, the album is a bit too short with each track only about 3 or 4 minutes long. Still though the album is very epic and is extremely powerful. It is a must for any music lover of any genre.

The reason I still give it 5 stars is because (as I've already said) it is very emotionally powerful. And if this album isn't enough then I would suggest ALSO buying Epicon from Globus, which has some of the same songs longer and more powerful. There is no doubt that the two albums should be bought together.

You can hear Immediate's music in trailers, but this CD presents the songs in an uncut format. Their music has a huge orchestral sound, with an accompanying choir, which makes for an extremely epic and beautiful sound.

This CD is definitely worth purchasing, if you like film scores, video game music, classical, and just good music in general.

The trailer music company behind this release is putting on a concert on June 27, in Santa Monica, California called Trailer Music Live. They will be playing tracks from this release, live with a full orchestra.

www.TrailerMusicLive.com

It's sure to be an awesome experience, because these tracks are so powerful and moving.

OK, I've collected soundtrack scores for years and never realized trailer music is what I should have been searching for. I've actually purchased soundtrack scores thinking the trailer music was from the movie and then been disappointed. I'm a writer and use music to inspire and this album, hands down, is the best I've ever heard. If you are not moved and inspired listening to this album then you need to check for a pulse!

This album is some of the best, most dramatic music ever produced. I can't stop listening to it. It is invigorating, inspirational and it definitely strikes chords that resonate with the soul in many places, the way powerful music is supposed to. All the selections are great but number 4 (Serenata Immortale) conjures images of heaven and eternity like no other music I've heard. This company should really advertise their product more because this album could easily go platinum. If you buy no other musical score albums this year, buy this one.

The quality of the music is excellent...love it, the problem is it ends before I'm ready for it to end. The pieces are all kind of short for my taste.

I've always thought this kind of music must be somewhere. Now that I've found it and the other related 'trailer' artists...I like it. I plan on buying more. Definitely recommend if you listen to and like the samples.