This album features a selection of fantasy film scores written by composer Chris Ridenhour, best known for his score for The Asylum. We get suites for The 7 Adventures of Sinbad, Merlin and the War of the Dragons, Dragonquest and The Land That Time Forgot.

This is a good way of collecting together the highlights of some of Ridenhour's scores which we otherwise wouldn't get the chance to hear - and lets be honest there probably isn't enough general interest in to release individual albums.

This album contains suites from four of Ridenhour's scores. And at almost 1 hr, 20 mins in length this is quite a neat package.

'The 7 Adventures of Sinbad' (21 min, 25 sec) doesn't lean on the usual convention - which in itself makes this interesting listening. The whole thing kicks off with a powerful energy, moves over into the vein of Brad Fiedel's score for The Terminator and builds to a powerful crescendo.

'Merlin and the War of the Dragons' (23 min, 19 sec) has moments where it sounds like the best of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and a hint of Danny Elfman thrown in for good measure.

'Dragonquest' (17 min, 09 sec) is possibly the most impressive score here. It includes some beautiful themes and is more gentle than the other tracks on this album. although, towards the end, I could have sworn that Ridenhour slung in a bit of Klingon opera - of course I could be mistaken.

'The Land that Time Forgot' (16 min, 46 sec) has the most filmic opening, for me. It feels big and bold and really gets off on the right foot. This houses a powerful collection of themes that don't let up for a second. Although I could have done without the average singing segment towards the end. It just didn't feel right being included here.

'Trailer Music for Merlin and the War of the Dragons' (1 min, 16 sec). Which is short and sweet.

Unfortunately Ridenhour seems to employ the same sampled instruments that I've heard previously on game soundtracks including Tommy Tallarico's score for Advent Rising. It's such a shame that Ridenhour's work here wasn't for a big enough production to warrant a full orchestration as I know his music would sound much more incredible and emotionally charged.

For those that have seen the movies involved this is the perfect chance to listen to Ridenhour's incredible scores in isolation.

7

Darren Rea