“Dragon” is Two Steps From Hell’s weakest album in a while, but it still has its highlights across its lengthy runtime.
This album released all the way back in January 2019, so to review it now in October might seem a little late. However, I didn’t have a chance to talk about it back then, but now I want to revisit it because I’ve been a huge fan of Two Steps From Hell ever since their very first public albums. Two Steps From Hell combines the minds of Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, two composers who came together to create music for film trailers, tv promos etc. It’s the kind of music that gets you excited and builds up tension, but often people don’t listen to that kind of music on its own. Two Steps From Hell were one of the pioneers of making so-called “trailer music” more than just that, essentially helping turn it into its own genre by combining classical and more modern sounds in an epic amalgamation of music. I think it’s often one of the more underrated styles of music, and Two Steps From Hell have consistently put out record after record full of songs that bring out every different emotion you could think of with their beautifully-orchestrated compositions.
“Dragon” is their latest album, and unfortunately it falls short of what they’ve released in the past. That’s not to say its bad – its still well made, and some tracks echo the same kind of heart-pumping feelings from much of their previous discography. Opener “Unbreakable” is an easy choice for the best track, with its trademark gorgeous vocals from singer Merethe Soltvedt. Often she helps make good Two Steps From Hell tracks great, and that’s exactly what happened here. It kicks things off in an extremely promising way, and although the follow-up “First Contact” isn’t too memorable, “Bravestone” continues this trend with another well-crafted, epic track that has some intense drums and powerful choir vocals – the perfect recipe for some of the best Two Steps From Hell songs.
Title track “Dragon” is probably Nick Phoenix’s best on this album – unfortunately that isn’t saying much as there are very few songs on here composed by him that I truly like. This has always been Two Steps From Hell’s biggest problem for me. Thomas Bergersen is usually outperforming himself with every album, and even the albums where he isn’t consistently amazing will still have some brilliant stand-out moments that make it all worthwhile. Nick Phoenix, on the other hand, seems to still exist in Bergersen’s shadow. Although the two are very much a pair, Phoenix’s work has never really exceeded Bergersen’s best in any way. I can only name a couple Phoenix songs that match the same kind of quality of Bergersen’s when he’s on form. This disparity between the songs composed by both artists is the tallest hurdle when listening to their albums in full. When Thomas puts out a mediocre track, it’s a surprise. When Nick puts one out, it’s nothing too out-of-the-ordinary.
Still, I shouldn’t be too hard on him, because it’s not like there’s a hugely significant gap between Nick and Thomas on this album. On “Dragon” we get some of Bergersen’s most forgettable tracks in years, like the inoffensive but fairly uninspired “Letters to God”. It’s fairly pleasant but not much more than that – I just want more from him than this. “Snowball Fight” is a similar effort and doesn’t do much for me either. Bergersen has essentially set himself such a high bar that I’m disappointing when he comes out with tracks that are just ok. They’re listenable, but he’s already released so many incredible songs resulting in these weaker ones just kind of fading away after hearing them. “Dragonwing” is an improvement, but the guitar solo at the end was a strange choice to end on – it could have evolved past that like after the solo on “Stallion”, a song which pretty much does what “Dragonwing” set out to do but better. Still, Bergersen is trying new sounds and experimenting in ways that few other artists would, like on the 11 minute “Emerald Princess”. Here he begins with a beautiful orchestrated piece that builds satisfyingly to around the 5 minute mark, but then the music starts to change and we get hints of synths before the bass drop signals the transition into a pure electro track. It’s bizarre, and not exactly a perfect combination of genres either, but I appreciate what he tried to do here and it’s certainly more memorable than most of the other tracks on the album.
There’s also not like in the way of an over-arching theme on this album – the title makes it sound like it should be far more ferocious and impactful than it is, but it ends up feeling more like a relatively pleasant adventure as opposed to an epic quest. “Unleashed” accomplished the adventurous tone extremely well, and felt like a more complete album because of it, but “Dragon” essentially tries to do the same thing and ends up feeling like ground already tread. Their albums don’t always have obvious themes or narratives, but this one especially seems to be lacking in that area.
If it sounds like I’m being extremely negative, it’s not because the album is bad, but rather because I wanted a lot more than this. I know that when Two Steps From Hell are on top of their game that they can release some of the most moving and mindblowing music imaginable, tracks that stick with you for years with their powerful orchestration and memorable melodies. “Dragon” sadly misses the mark a lot of the time, but it doesn’t really deliver anything significant in exchange. Hopefully this is just the result of a quicker turnaround between this album and their last, and I’m still looking forward to their future projects – Two Steps From Hell will always have a place in my heart, even if their albums aren’t quite as amazing as I know they can be.
Pros
- A few truly amazing highlights
- I appreciate that TSFH are still consistently trying new things
- At its worst it’s still pleasant to listen to
Cons
- TSFH have done better many times in the past
- A lack of memorable tracks
- Phoenix’s tracks have dipped in quality since Vanquish
Best Tracks?
- Unbreakable, Bravestone, Dragonwing, Skulls and Trombones, Believe
Worst Tracks?
- Riders Of The Apocalypse, Lonely Are The Brave, Nighthawk
Mercurial Media 