Lakeshore Records has released two new scores for Netflix's The Dragon Prince, with original music composed by Frederik Wiedmann. In the show, a catastrophic war looms between two sides: the magical land of Xadia and the Human Kingdom. Three kids from opposite sides of the conflict -- two human princes and the elven assassin who was sent to kill them -- discover a secret that could change everything. They decide to join forces and go on an epic journey that may be their only hope of ending the war and restoring peace to both their worlds...

Following on from the score for The Dragon Prince: Season 1, Lakeshore Records has also released the music for Season 2. While I thought the music for Season 1 was near perfection, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the release for Season 2 is even more impressive.

Over the years I've reviewed quite a few of Frederik Wiedmann's scores (The Damned; Duell der Brüeder; Dying of the Light; Field of Lost Shoes; Green Lantern: The Animated Series; Hostel: Part III; Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox; Justice League: Gods and Monsters; Justice League: Throne of Atlantis; Justice League vs Teen Titans / Batman: Bad Blood; Scorpion King: Book of Souls; The Seal of Confession; Spectrum). His name attached to a project is pretty much taken as a badge of excellence. No modern composer does "epic" like Wiedmann. But he's equally adept at turning in melancholic and memorable themes as he is delivering superhero-esque motifs, which he's become synonymous with in recent years.

This time around Wiedmann builds on some of the themes used in the first release, which helps to bring a little familiarity to the listening experience. But he mostly delivers a huge amount of new themes. Whereas some composers would see this as a chance to make some easy money by rehashing the music from the first season, Wiedmann spoils the listener with a constant barrage of new and exciting themes.

Talking about the score, Wiedmann said: "The Dragon Prince provides a wonderful canvas for me to explore a very colourful musical pallet. We wanted to give this world its own identity, so we decided to blend various ethnic and unorthodox instruments with a conventional orchestral sound. The use of a variety of live instruments was key to this, so we spent a great deal of time recording soloists all across the series, and for some parts we recorded a 40 Piece string orchestra for important scenes that needed it".

The 37 tracks (1 hr, 11 min, 28 sec) once again illustrate why Wiedmann is at the top of his game. A truly incredible soundtrack that works its magic in the show, but as a standalone album of beautiful music this can't be beat.

10

Darren Rea