Developed as both a SyFy television series and an immersive videogame from Trion Worlds, Defiance marks the first attempt to debut a franchise of this scale in two unique formats. The game and the series take place in a future Earth, terraformed by invading alien races known as the Votan. Themes of exploration, racial tension and frontier life have been transplanted from the western genre and fit perfectly in this strange new vision of our world...

Bear McCreary's original score for Defiance is a pretty flawless entry into the video game soundtrack genre. The album lasts for 1 hr, 31 min, 19 sec and contains 24 tracks, which weave together so many emotionally charged themes that I spent several days listening to this over and over and was constantly finding new segments that caught my attention.

Personal favourite tracks include 'Theme From Defiance' (which is the one theme that pops up occasionally throughout the album); 'Ninety-Niners' (a toe-tapping electronic track that is hard not to love); 'Tranquility' (a short flute and strings track that reminded my of Dennis McCarthy's work on Star Trek: The Next Generation); 'Angel Island' (which starts off with a hypnotic electronic theme which slowly builds); 'Attack At Marin'; 'Votan Romance' (which holds possibly this album's most beautiful theme); and 'Theme From Defiance (Extended Version)'.

Whether you're a fan of the game or have never even heard of it, this is a score that's well worth getting hold of. Once again McCreary works his magic.

10

Darren Rea