On a technical level, in terms of compositional intellect,
Priest is nowhere near being Young's most complex creation
(
Drag Me to Hell arguably prevails in that department), but its
fluid streamlining of his own style for this assignment makes this score
among his most (if not the most) enjoyable of his career. There has been
a substantial amount of film music collector discourse in the 2010's
about how many of the industry's most talented composers with an
orchestra have succumbed to the techniques made popular during the era
by the Hans Zimmer/Remote Control blockbuster sound machine. Overbearing
synthetically-enhanced bass, an emphasis on lower brass, and the
omnipresent cello ostinato all represent this influence, and outside of
the Zimmer clone factory, you hear studios and filmmakers pushing this
sound on composers that have already proven their chops in the more
purely orchestral realm. To a degree, Brian Tyler has lost his own
musical identity to this phenomenon, though Patrick Doyle impressively
proved with
Thor in 2011 that the Zimmer/RC sound can indeed be
utilized by a composer without sucking all of the dynamism,
intelligence, and personal style out a score. This point is reinforced
by Young in
Priest, the composer's trademarks easily dominating
the score despite the application of all the popular, mainstream
techniques mentioned above. Whereas some listeners claim that Doyle went
too far in "selling out" to this style, there is no doubt that Young has
found the right balance in
Priest. He begins with his standard
orchestral ensemble in full bravado and majesty mode and layers it with
tasteful electronic rhythms, organic choral tones, solo female voice,
and synthesized accents in such a way as to always place the performance
emphasis on the orchestral players. The pulsating electronic
pace-setter, emerging as an important contributor especially in the
latter half of the score, is remarkably similar to the one employed by
James Horner for the end titles of
Apollo 13 (under Annie
Lennox), effectively supplying a muscular, modern bass edge without
sacrificing the whole soundscape. The vocal layers in
Priest do
indeed include a massively layered ensemble of singers and the typical
mourning female wails that some find insufferably overused these days.
But even here, Young adds a twist. The female soloist is none other than
Lisa Gerrard, uncredited on this score but providing the same
intoxicating tones from
Gladiator to this context. In addition to
her, Young carries over some of the same unusual vocal techniques from
Drag Me to Hell, including some outstanding throat singing in
several cues.
The remaining electronic elements in
Priest are
handled with just as much care as the vocals, an electric guitar applied
as almost a source of ambient dissonance to create tension and terror in
the background of softer moments. It seemingly meanders through the
background of the Priestess material as to generate almost an alluring
haze of uncertainty. A few of the meatier cues use a blatantly synthetic
edge in keyboarded contributions to afford the scenes an appropriate
technological emphasis. The last minute of "Detuned Towne" cranks up the
volume of this element, but not even this muscle can overshadow an
immense choral and orchestral crescendo to conclude the cue. In the end,
however, it's the organic pieces that make
Priest really work. An
Armenian Duduk in "Eclipsed" is one of those unnecessary but pleasantly
creative surprises. A wild percussion section is another outstanding
asset to the score, emulating Brian Tyler's best ethnic tendencies at
times. The pure "Youngisms" in this score are the real treat for his
collectors, though, starting right off the bat with rhythmic devices in
"Priest" that will remind heavily of
Species. And even if the
puffed woodwind and struck woodblock rhythms don't identify this score
as Young music for you, the beefy low brass theme sharing melodramatic
progressions with the title identity from
Drag Me to Hell
definitely will. Young's presentation of the primary theme in this cue
is typical to his past as well, a slowly growing series of presentations
of the theme eventually yielding to an interlude that bursts with organ
and choir straight from
Hellraiser II: Hellbound. The closing
performance of the score's themes in "A World Without End" contains
powerful trombone and horn counterpoint that is another striking
reminder of Young's past and is perhaps the most clearly enunciated such
brass usage since Debbie Wiseman's sleeper hit,
Lesbian Vampire
Killers. The relentless action sequences also carry Young's usual
sense of rhythmic momentum, bursting for minutes of explosive force that
never loses focus. The opening minute of "Detuned Towne" contains high
choral hints of Craig Armstrong's work, but the driving,
percussion-backed rhythms sound like the kind of ruckus that people
expect to hear more out of Brian Tyler. The snare drum sets a fantastic
pace in
The Vampire Train, though "I Have Sinned" and "Sacrosanct
Delirium" are a little more haphazard in their shifts of direction. The
action music in
Priest is generally more palatable for non-horror
fans than Young's often shrieking and challenging music for that genre.
When the choir enters the fray in full singing mode, you can't help but
recall the most immense highlights of Don Davis' sequel scores for the
franchise of
The Matrix.
Thematically,
Priest is as satisfying in a
gothic sense as you'd expect Young to be in this circumstance. As
mentioned before, the title theme in "Priest" owes quite a bit to
Drag Me to Hell, though in fainter references, as on piano in
"Never One for Love," the resemblance is less of a factor.
Interestingly, the score's two secondary themes actually overshadow the
primary one. The first is the heroic major-key idea that announces
itself in the middle of "Faith, Work, Security" and, with its brass
counterpoint, is quite optimistic. In this cue, "Cathedral City Blue,"
and "A World Without End," this theme is ultimate redemption, using
trilling woodwinds and shifts from major to minor keys that are once
again pure Young in style. The length of this theme's development in "A
World Without End" is very satisfying. The final major theme in
Priest is its most intoxicating and, unfortunately, its most
infrequently conveyed. This idea for Priestess is the domain of
Gerrard's vocals and receives an absolutely gorgeous series of
renditions in "Fanfare for a Resurrected Priestess," one of those cues
that uses a ton of stereotypical ingredients but somehow manages to
entice you nonetheless. The theme comes in two parts, its initial half
for elegant solo voice heard in this cue and foreshadowed at the end of
"Blood Framed Hell" with stunning full choral and gong accompaniment.
Over the thumping bass pacer, the theme's second half is explored in
"Fanfare for a Resurrected Priestess," and despite the melody's strange
Irish style and a sequence in the middle that seems to have had Gerrard
in mind from the get-go because of its similarity to "Now We Are Free"
from
Gladiator, it cements the score as a clear winner. Gerrard's
distinctive contributions extend into the opening and closing portions
of "A World Without End," her tone in this cue a bit more recognizable
in its wailing mode. That track does end curiously, however, with Young
choosing to simply fade out the cyclical phrases of the theme without
coming to any definitive conclusion. Perhaps that's recognition that the
film leaves its story open for a sequel (however unlikely) at the end.
Overall,
Priest may not be the intellectual marvel of
Drag Me
to Hell, but it's even more entertaining. Its well-balanced
55-minute album is a download and Amazon.com "CDr-on-demand" product,
and the latter option is very highly recommended. The sound quality of
Priest is extremely impressive, with a wet ambience supplying
ample reverb to the mix without losing individual accents, and this fact
alone should merit your interest in a lossless presentation. Most
importantly, like Patrick Doyle earlier in the same year, Young proves
that the fads in today's blockbuster film score conventions can be
re-packaged in ways that diminish the lesser composers who rely solely
upon them.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
