• Composed by Panu Aaltio
• MovieScore Media / 2012 / 43:12

Dawn of the Dragonslayer is a family adventure film briefly released theatrically in Germany in 2011 and then more widely on DVD in 2012.  A young man goes on a quest to avenge his father’s death by dragon (I don’t think it’s a true story).  Talented young Finnish composer Panu Aaltio got some attention in the film music world back in 2009, when MovieScore Media released his music for The Home of Dark Butterflies, his first solo film score, anchored by a wonderful main theme.  This score is a very different beast – Aaltio aims for a rather epic sound, full of big music.  Sadly there wasn’t the budget for a live orchestra so samples were used instead, but they’re extremely high quality, and at times it becomes easy to forget that it isn’t a real orchestra.

The bizarrely eclectic list of influences Aaltio names in the booklet notes include Master and Commander, Mansfield Park, Moliere and How to Train Your Dragon; shortly into the opening “Paladin’s Theme”, by far the most significant influence seems to be Hans Zimmer – the orchestration, the harmonies, the vague semblance of Backdraft in the melody.  It’s not your typical MovieScore Media music!  As the score develops, it goes in more complex directions than Zimmer ever would, but there’s always a sense of Remote Control about it – fortunately, the good side of Remote Control, the side that makes tuneful, easy to enjoy music.  And that’s what this is – an enjoyable album from start to finish that is never too complex, but features stirring action adventure with an heroic sweep throughout.  ***

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