It's strange but whenever I review a new Hans Zimmer score these days, I inevitably begin by saying what a diverse composer he is, and how few people notice that. The "Media Ventures sound" he created is still heard in scores, but not usually those by him, and a quick look through some of his recent scores shows that really he has branched out extremely successfully. Invincible is the second collaboration between Zimmer and Klaus Badelt after last year's superb The Pledge and, if it doesn't quite match that score's quality, it is still a highly-impressive work.

The film is a Nazi drama directed by Werner Herzog and the music is I suppose vaguely reminiscent of Zimmer's score for another WWII movie, The Thin Red Line, mainly in the orchestrations; the melody is much more romantic. And the melodies are what makes this score really impressive: gorgeous pieces dominate every track. The emotional high-point is probably reached in "Souls", a simply wonderful piece of music. High strings dominate and it's a piece that demonstrates that music doesn't have to be compositionally complex to reach home.

Occasionally the "Media Ventures sound" I mentioned earlier is present, though really only because of the appearance from time to time of a male choir, notably in "Master of the Occult" and "Martha Lifts the Elephant". Again, the music is very beautiful, though more dramatic this time than romantic. Sometimes the music recalls the great German composers from centuries before Zimmer and Badelt, especially in the opening cue "The Journey" and the lengthy "Visions". And that's some compliment!

A word about the album: as with the last Zimmer/Badelt score, it's on Milan, and available only in Europe. The score runs about 35 minutes (just about right) and it's well worth picking up, if you can find it.

Buy this CD by clicking here!