HADES THEME Part I: Through The Valley Of The Kings

The sands of Cairo carry a massive host in the distance, which moves forward - as though sailing through the parched earth. The shape grows bigger and bigger as it approaches the pyramids. The behemoth object ceases to be a mirage and reveals itself through the wavering heatwaves as a gigantic schooner ship, but she is no ordinary schooner....

The ship carries the stench of death on her. Made of burnt black wood and rusting steel, she almost resembles a boat built around a gigantic rib cage. But even more curious, is the way she makes her way through the sands....

Thousands of men, or what once were men, carry the ship on their shoulders. They carry the rot of a thousand years and more on their bodies. Each one guilty of crimes against humanity so great, they were personally selected for this particular task. Rapists, murderers, the treasonous, the dictators. Each one retrieved from the darkest, vilest corners of history.

On the deck, stands a tall dark figure. With the horns and face of a goat, leering into the distance. The schooner is flanked by two horses on either side, carrying ghostly riders. These are named Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. The sun seems to grow dimmer, casting a deep orange glow over the procession.

Back on the deck, the goat figure swings a whip towards a captive man on the boat, contained by huge chains. He screams in pain and spreads a blood spattered pair of wings. The captive is Gabriel, who struggles to his feet, lifts a giant golden horn and blows. The noise is both deafening and terrifying. As the boat nears the city boundary, her name comes into view. It reads "Hades".

(THE MUSIC IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND WILL BE UPLOADED THIS WEEKEND. I WILL NOT UPLOAD IT, UNTIL I AM 100 % HAPPY WITH IT. BUT THE SECOND PART OF THE STORY HAS BEGUN AND "HERESY" WILL FINALLY REACH IT'S CONCLUSION.)

5 Favourites From Off The Beaten (Sound) Track

Soundtracks. We love 'em! But some soundtracks get a lot more love than others. We all have a soundtrack (or two, or three etc!) that ticks all the right boxes for us but never seems to receive the acclaim we feel it deserves.

Obviously there are some pure classics out there. The most identifiable themes probably belong to John Williams, but I'm just looking at some of the less lauded and potentially, not as well known, that have had a huge influence on me personally.

Number I - "Dances With Wolves" by John Barry. My father took me to see this film when it was released and I fell in love with the story, the imagery and the beautiful music. Here is my personal highlight from the soundtrack:

Number II - "Fright Night" by Brad Fiedel. Rented out on a VHS tape (remember them) way back in the early to mid 90's. Fiedel is generally revered, and rightly so, for his Terminator soundtracks - T1 & T2. But this soundtrack, awash with 80's idiosyncrasies (Fat synths, guitar with a brutally obvious chorus) spoke to me on another level altogether - particularly this piece:

Number III - "Candyman" by Philip Glass. Introduced to this in the early / mid 90's by a good friend of mine who lent me the VHS. I think what appealed to me was that it wasn't a typical horror/slasher soundtrack, it had more of Gothic fairytale vibe to it. My wife bought the vinyl as a Christmas present for me, just gone. Yeah, she's awesome.

Number IV - "The Edge" by Jerry Goldsmith. Ok, so Jerry Goldsmith is immediately synonymous with big budget, sweeping, grandiose soundtracks. Deservedly on a pedestal with Williams, Jarre et al. But I don't think this soundtrack gets half as much love as so many of his others. Bought this on, you guessed it, VHS when it was newly released. Just listen to that from 0.51. It positively soars and takes your soul and breath with it. You can almost touch the Alaskan wilderness....

Number V - "The Last Of The Mohicans" by Trevor Jones. Now funnily enough, the following piece was actually written by Dougie Maclean but is interspersed with the main theme from the film which was written by Trevor Jones. It's a perfect musical marriage. The whole soundtrack is absolutely stunning and well worth snapping up, should you feel so compelled. Nightwish clearly plagiarised the theme for their song "Stargazers". But that's none of my business. (Insert VHS viewing story here)