It is the year 1215 and the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John (Paul Giamatti) to put his royal seal to the Magna Carta - a noble, seminal document that upheld the rights of free-men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule. Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle, a place that would become the symbol of the rebels' momentous struggle for justice and freedom. Ironclad also stars Kate Mara, Brian Cox and James Purefoy...

I have to admit to being a huge fan of Lorne Balfe's work (with Hans Zimmer) on the console game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and I think it's fair to say that his score for Ironclad is very similar in style. Both 'The Battle Begins' and 'Insidiae' have the strongest links to Modern Warfare 2, but there are little bits in almost every track.

That's not to say Balfe is just revisiting familiar territory, rather that his familiar trademark style breaks through with a passion.

Another obvious influence is James Horner's soundtrack to Titanic - but this is more down to the instrumentation.

This is a strong, emotional score which has a number of strong themes and styles running throughout. This is a great, well rounded soundtrack which is well worth adding to your collection.

9

Darren Rea