Rings of Power: A New Thread to Rule them All

[Ser Drewy]

Soundtrack details released

I like the two tracks they released earlier so I will be interested in hearing this. 

Also seems like Amazon are going for an Elf/Dwarf friendship with Elrond and Durin: 

 

[Myrddin]

I've been a fan of Bear McCreary since BSG. He's turned out some great themes over the years (even if nobody likes bagpipes). 

I'm looking forward to him carrying Shore's torch.

[Corvinus85]

6 hours ago, Myrddin said:

I've been a fan of Bear McCreary since BSG. He's turned out some great themes over the years (even if nobody likes bagpipes). 

I'm looking forward to him carrying Shore's torch.

He better have the hurdy gurdy.

[Calibandar]

21 hours ago, Ser Drewy said:

Soundtrack details released

I like the two tracks they released earlier so I will be interested in hearing this. 

Also seems like Amazon are going for an Elf/Dwarf friendship with Elrond and Durin: 

 

Pros: I like the actor portraying Gil-Galad,  that came across well

Cons: Elrond in a buddy buddy series with Durin, mirroring the Legolas-Gimli bond? Potential to be bad comedy, we shall see.

Its clear also from the snippets with Galadriel and Elrond that they have Elrond as one of the young Elves who still has a lot to learn and Galadriel and Gil-Galad as the senior ones. Which is understandable in a way, just unusual for the Elrond character.

[Ser Drewy]

3 minutes ago, Calibandar said:

Pros: I like the actor portraying Gil-Galad,  that came across well

Cons: Elrond in a buddy buddy series with Durin, mirroring the Legolas-Gimli bond? Potential to be bad comedy, we shall see.

Its clear also from the snippets with Galadriel and Elrond that they have Elrond as one of the young Elves who still has a lot to learn and Galadriel and Gil-Galad as the senior ones. Which is understandable in a way, just unusual for the Elrond character.

I've got to admit I find it really odd they're using Elrond for a dwarf friendship, which risks being a retread of Legolas and Gimli, rather than Celebrimbor. Wouldn't this "you're a bit dwarvish" thing make more sense with our Elven craftsman?

[Cas Stark]

21 hours ago, Ser Drewy said:

Soundtrack details released

I like the two tracks they released earlier so I will be interested in hearing this. 

Also seems like Amazon are going for an Elf/Dwarf friendship with Elrond and Durin: 

 

This looks terrible, come on.  The dialogue sounds like something out of a bad 80s fantasy show.  

[ASOIAFrelatedusername]

Leaving aside the questionable decision to use Elrond instead of Celebrimbor for that role, I really do not see how his friendship is supposed to conflict with his duties (whatever they are).

18 minutes ago, Ser Drewy said:

've got to admit I find it really odd they're using Elrond for a dwarf friendship, which risks being a retread of Legolas and Gimli, rather than Celebrimbor. Wouldn't this "you're a bit dwarvish" thing make more sense with our Elven craftsman?

It would, but the showrunners do not seem to care much about Celebrimbor to be honest. He is barely present in the marketing material and seems to be more of a side character for the Lindon group (Galadriel, Elrond, Gil-galad), when he should be a major player in his own right.

[Isis]

The Numenor theme is fantastic. Haven't listened to every single track yet but the rest of it sounds pretty good too. 

Shore's main theme is too subtle by comparison. I wanted more. Bit sad about that. 

[Werthead]

1 hour ago, Isis said:

The Numenor theme is fantastic. Haven't listened to every single track yet but the rest of it sounds pretty good too. 

Shore's main theme is too subtle by comparison. I wanted more. Bit sad about that. 

Yup. Howard Shore's theme was meh. To be honest, I think his powers were waning during the Hobbit trilogy, which lacked much in the way of original, powerful themes to compare with LotR (and too much reuse of LotR themes, like using the Nazgul theme at all when the Nazgul don't even show up apart from one scene on Dol Guldur).

Bear McCreary smashes it in most of the tracks here. He's kind of echoing Shore's OG work but brings a new sensibility to bear. Very impressive, given he's been whacking out reliably great stuff for 20 years now on multiple TV shows.

[Ser Drewy]

Listening to the soundtrack. So far very good. Weirdly, Shore's main theme is pretty forgettable. The Khazad-Dum theme on the other hand is very effective at conveying a sense of grandeur and power. And as much as I dislike the name 'Nori Brandyfoot' she has a great theme. Some very interesting vibes on the Numenor track. In the Beginning was also quite epic. 

And dammit, Harfoot Life is pretty awesome as well. 

[RhaenysBee]

2 hours ago, Calibandar said:

Its clear also from the snippets with Galadriel and Elrond that they have Elrond as one of the young Elves who still has a lot to learn and Galadriel and Gil-Galad as the senior ones. Which is understandable in a way, just unusual for the Elrond character.

It gets weird with the compressed timeline. Isildur’s lifetime is the time of the Last Alliance by which time Elrond was 4000ish, hardly a junior apprentice. Also where’s at least Celeborn in the timeline of this thing, not to mention Celebrian…? Maybe it’s something they save for later seasons but man the problems it’s going to cause… 

[Corvinus85]

Thoughts on the soundtrack and how it may relate to some story aspects:

- The Harfoots themes are the best because they have BAGPIPES!!! 

- Nah, the Dwarven themes are my favorite. Khazad-dum captures the grandeur of the place extremely well.

- The main theme is good, but definitely not at the same level as some of Shore's best from LOTR.

- the Numenor theme is also good, and I like the Mediterranean/Middle-eastern motifs. 

- Oddly, the last song on the album, "Where the Shadows Lie" sounds the most inspired by Shore's LOTR soundtrack.

- "The Stranger" certainly doesn't make me think of Sauron, strongly pointing towards a Gandalf identity. But maybe that's on purpose and it really is Sauron/Annatar.

- I quite like "The Wandering Story" song with the vocals, and it's likely sung in a scene in the show. Which is in keeping with the spirit of Tolkien's writings, at least.

- Bezgoth kept a gem for himself, "Find the Light"  i.e. it's an Amazon Music exclusive, and I think the only song where I discerned the hurdy gurdy. Luckily, it's not the greatest gem.

- Halbarad's theme indicates that he's likely a Northman or perhaps a long lost descendant of one of the Edain houses from Beleriand.

- Some of the themes are reminiscent of McCreary's Outlander soundtrack, and not just the ones with bagpipes.

Overall, I like it.

[Ser Drewy]

52 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

Thoughts on the soundtrack and how it may relate to some story aspects:

- The Harfoots themes are the best because they have BAGPIPES!!! 

- Nah, the Dwarven themes are my favorite. Khazad-dum captures the grandeur of the place extremely well.

- The main theme is good, but definitely not at the same level as some of Shore's best from LOTR.

- the Numenor theme is also good, and I like the Mediterranean/Middle-eastern motifs. 

- Oddly, the last song on the album, "Where the Shadows Lie" sounds the most inspired by Shore's LOTR soundtrack.

- "The Stranger" certainly doesn't make me think of Sauron, strongly pointing towards a Gandalf identity. But maybe that's on purpose and it really is Sauron/Annatar.

- I quite like "The Wandering Story" song with the vocals, and it's likely sung in a scene in the show. Which is in keeping with the spirit of Tolkien's writings, at least.

- Bezgoth kept a gem for himself, "Find the Light"  i.e. it's an Amazon Music exclusive, and I think the only song where I discerned the hurdy gurdy. Luckily, it's not the greatest gem.

- Halbarad's theme indicates that he's likely a Northman or perhaps a long lost descendant of one of the Edain houses from Beleriand.

- Some of the themes are reminiscent of McCreary's Outlander soundtrack, and not just the ones with bagpipes.

Overall, I like it.

I agree with this. I think it's a very good soundtrack with a lot of interesting new identities and a good sense of scale. I like the tone of the Numenor tracks, they feel like they could fit into something Roman or Greek - which is appropriate. Also, while I'm not keen on the storyline, I did enjoy the Harfoot music. Not a fan of the "not all those who wander are lost" line being used (unless my ears mislead me) as a generic hobbit saying, given its LOTR context. "The Mystics" opening reminded me of the Sons of the Harpy track from GOT at the beginning. I also really like "Plea to the Rocks" - Nomvete has a good voice. The dwarf music was also awesome. "In the Beginning" "Water and Flame" and the like are all suitably epic. 

I'm not sure any tracks said "Ring creation" to me. Which makes me wonder if we'll see it in the first season.  The titles of the tracks makes me think it might end with Sauron beginning to build Mordor - "where the shadows lie". I'm disappointed Celebrimbor didn't get his own theme. 

[Clueless Northman]

23 minutes ago, Ser Drewy said:

I'm not sure any tracks said "Ring creation" to me.

"True creation requires sacrifice". Works well for Sauron actually - title-wise, musically it really doesn't fit and must relate with something else. The forging of the Three maybe?

 

Numenor theme sounds midway between Rome Total War and Kingdom of Heaven. Maybe not what I would've thought of at first, but interesting and reasonably grand music.

 

5 hours ago, Werthead said:

Bear McCreary smashes it in most of the tracks here. He's kind of echoing Shore's OG work but brings a new sensibility to bear.

[Ser Drewy]

32 minutes ago, Clueless Northman said:

"True creation requires sacrifice". Works well for Sauron actually - title-wise, musically it really doesn't fit and must relate with something else. The forging of the Three maybe?

Yeah, I did wonder when I first saw the titles if that would be something related to the One. But musically it didn't seem right - at least in my mind. Could be the Three.

Relatedly, does anyone else think Celebrimbor has been a bit absent from the show's promotion? If they wanted us to get to know anyone, I think it'd be him? The Durin/Elrond bit with Elrond being "a bit dwarvish" and rock-smashing feels like he's getting what should've been Celebrimbor, the actual blacksmith's, role in the story?

[Werthead]

4 minutes ago, Ser Drewy said:

Relatedly, does anyone else think Celebrimbor has been a bit absent from the show's promotion? If they wanted us to get to know anyone, I think it'd be him? The Durin/Elrond bit with Elrond being "a bit dwarvish" and rock-smashing feels like he's getting what should've been Celebrimbor, the actual blacksmith's, role in the story?

I'm starting to wonder if the forging of the Rings is even in Season 1 and will instead be the main storyline of Season 2.

The only problem with that is that it makes the War of Sauron and the Elves the focus of Season 3, meaning you then have to rush through Sauron's imprisonment, corruption, the Downfall, the escape, the founding of the Realms in Exile, the Last Alliance and the final battle in two seasons, which would be very rushed.

[Corvinus85]

Sadly I think Celebrimbor isn't the major character due to his name. Someone at Amazon may have felt that the titular character shouldn't have such a mouthful for a name. They even made up a whole new elf with a shorter name and made him a major character.

[Clueless Northman]

2 hours ago, Ser Drewy said:

The Durin/Elrond bit with Elrond being "a bit dwarvish" and rock-smashing feels like he's getting what should've been Celebrimbor, the actual blacksmith's, role in the story?

Maybe there'll be no Celebrimbor and his role will be taken over by Elrond? Can't wait to see Elrond's dead body paraded in front of Sauron's armies :p

[Corvinus85]

1 hour ago, Clueless Northman said:

Maybe there'll be no Celebrimbor and his role will be taken over by Elrond? Can't wait to see Elrond's dead body paraded in front of Sauron's armies :p

ha, no. We've seen Celebrimbor in promo photos.

[Isis]

7 hours ago, Clueless Northman said:

"True creation requires sacrifice". Works well for Sauron actually - title-wise, musically it really doesn't fit and must relate with something else. The forging of the Three maybe?

 

Numenor theme sounds midway between Rome Total War and Kingdom of Heaven. Maybe not what I would've thought of at first, but interesting and reasonably grand music.

 

The opening of the Numenor track gave me big Arabian Nights vibes, making me think of north Africa/Mediterranean places. That all scans with the inspiration for Numenor. It's perfect. 

Re. Celebrimbor (or 'Brimby'), he doesn't get his own theme music (like Gil-Galad) which may hint that he's not playing a big part in the S1 storyline. But he's definitely there for all the promo stuff happening around the world right now.