Lakeshore Records release Atli Örvarsson's original score for Bilal: A New Breed of Hero. A thousand years ago, one boy with a dream of becoming a great warrior is abducted with his sister and taken to a land far away from home. Thrown into a world where greed and injustice rule all, Bilal finds the courage to raise his voice and make a change. Inspired by true events, this is a story of a real hero who earned his remembrance in time and history. The animated film is inspired by the true story of Bilal Ibn Rabah, a freed slave of Ethiopian origin who converted to Islam and became a trusted companion of the Prophet Muhammad after his emancipation...

Atli Örvarsson delivers some impressive themes with his score for Bilal: A New Breed of Hero. Given the movie's setting it's not surprising to note there's a lot of cliched cues that bring to mind images of ancient Egyptian. When I say "cliched" I mean that as no disrespect, it's just that these are tried and trusted ways to quickly establish the right setting.

I was reminded of Greg Edmonson's work on Uncharted 3: Jake's Deception on a number of occasions as well as Jerry Goldsmith's music for The Mummy. This was most evident on the track 'City of Makkah'.

The album contains 15 tracks (45 min, 46 sec) and there isn't a dull segment of music to be heard. If I had to pick a couple of essential tracks, then I'd have to chose 'Bilal the Horseman' and 'Madina'. But if I'm being totally fair, I couldn't find a track that I didn't enjoy.

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Darren Rea