SkyWorld

SkyWorld is the fourth public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in October 2012; their third major release following the success of Invincible and Archangel.[4] The album contains 22 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All tracks, except for "Dark Ages", are brand new original tracks.[4] This is the second of their albums featuring tracks with English lyrics, namely Titan Dream (feat. C.C. White and Nick Phoenix), The End is the Beginning (feat. Nick Phoenix), and Back to the Earth (feat. Nick Phoenix). Recording took place in both Brno, Czech Republic and Los Angeles, United States.[2]

SkyWorld
Studio album by
Two Steps From Hell
ReleasedOctober 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)[1]
RecordedJuly 2012[2]
Length1:15:56
ProducerThomas Bergersen, Nick Phoenix[3]
Two Steps From Hell chronology
Halloween
(2012)		 SkyWorld
(2012)		 Classics Volume One
(2013)

The cover and sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore, with the futuristic city illustration by Sergey Vorontsov.[3] The album was later re-released to the industry via Extreme Music,[5] featuring exclusive bonus tracks.

It had sold ~20,000 copies in the United States nine months after release, according to SoundScan.[6]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All is Hell That Ends Well"Thomas Bergersen3:53
2."Titan Dream"Nick Phoenix4:04
3."SkyWorld"Thomas Bergersen3:12
4."El Dorado"Thomas Bergersen4:14
5."The End is the Beginning"Nick Phoenix4:51
6."All the King's Horses"Thomas Bergersen2:06
7."Realm of Power"Nick Phoenix3:55
8."Winterspell"Thomas Bergersen3:20
9."Blackheart"Thomas Bergersen4:27
10."Juggernaut"Nick Phoenix2:34
11."Dark Ages (Remix)" (original version from Nemesis)Thomas Bergersen3:25
12."Our Last Hope"Nick Phoenix3:57
13."Icarus"Nick Phoenix2:53
14."For the Win"Thomas Bergersen2:12
15."Sun & Moon"Thomas Bergersen4:22
16."Big Sky"Nick Phoenix4:08
17."Starfleet"Nick Phoenix3:22
18."Queen of Crows"Nick Phoenix2:43
19."Blizzard"Thomas Bergersen2:53
20."Breathe"Thomas Bergersen2:56
21."Back to the Earth"Nick Phoenix4:24
22."Ocean Kingdom"Nick Phoenix2:20
Total length:1:15:56
Tracks exclusive to Extreme Music[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
24."Identity Crime"Nick Phoenix3:09
25."Beneath the Ice"Nick Phoenix2:02
26."The World is Mind" (later publicly released on Classics Volume One)Nick Phoenix2:39
27."Children from the War"Thomas Bergersen2:37
28."Requiem for Destruction"Thomas Bergersen1:30
29."The Colonel" (later publicly released on Classics Volume Two)Thomas Bergersen2:30
30."Stormwatch" (later publicly released on Classics Volume One)Nick Phoenix2:20
Cut track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
23."Freedom Fighters (Remix)"Thomas Bergersen2:34

Personnel

Per liner notes[3]

Core
Additional
  • C.C. White – vocals on "Titan Dream"
  • Aya Peard – vocals on "Titan Dream", "Our Last Hope", and "Ocean Kingdom"
  • Merethe Soltvedt[4] – vocals on "All the King's Horses", "For the Win", and "Breathe"
  • Carina Istre – vocals on "Sun & Moon"
  • Molly Conole – vocals on "Blizzard"
  • Tina Guo[4] – cello on "Titan Dream", "The End Is the Beginning", "Big Sky", and "Back to the Earth"
  • Shane Gibson – guitar on "The End Is the Beginning" and "Juggernaut"
  • James Rickabaugh – guitar on "Big Sky"
  • Tal Bergman – drums on "The End Is the Beginning", "Juggernaut", and "Our Last Hope"
  • Chris Bleth – winds on "Realm of Power", "Big Sky", and "Back to the Earth"

Critical reception

James Monger of AllMusic reviewed the album positively, claiming the tracks felt "like the best parts of a Hans Zimmer score condensed into three-to-four minute bursts of over the top tension and melodrama". He rated it four out of five stars.[8]

The critique at IFMCA-associated reviews website, MundoBSO,[9] was positive, saying, "orchestral, melodic, vocal and choral intensity is combined with lyricism and evocative force. It is very spectacular and contains very remarkable moments." It was rated seven out of ten stars.[10]

Charts

Use in media

Two Steps from Hell's music has been licensed for several trailers.

  • All is Hell that Ends Well and Titan Dream were used in some History Channel commercials.
  • Blackheart was used in a PlayStation 4 commercial and the cast introduction act from the main show of Mediacorp's premier annual television awards, Star Awards 2017.
  • For the Win was used in a trailer for the movie, Epic, a commercial for the Cartoon Network series, Ben 10: Omniverse, and a CNN commercial. It was also used by Kenichi Ebina in his performances en route to his victory in the reality show, America's Got Talent, and as the theme song to CTV/TSN’s coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
  • The Colonel was used in a commercial for the Disney XD show, Lab Rats, as well as a trailer for the Pokémon movie, Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel. It was used by Dream Theater, during 2017 as the opening song of the Images, Words & Beyond tour.
  • El Dorado was used in Sasuke as the theme song for competitor Tomohiro Kawaguchi.
  • Breathe was used in the movie Chateau de la Reine as a soundtrack cover towards the ending.
  • "Titan Dream was used in both the 2017 and the 2018 NBC Ironman (Kona) Triathlon broadcast.
  • El Dorado was used in the 2019 Persian Gulf Map release trailer [16] for DCS.

References
  1. "Film Music Site - SkyWorld Soundtrack". filmmusicsite.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  2. Lebrun, Clothilde (September 8, 2012). "Two Steps From… Heaven!". Trailer Music News. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. SkyWorld (PDF) (Official booklet). Two Steps from Hell. 2012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. Lebrun, Clothilde (October 28, 2012). "Two Steps From Hell: SkyWorld". Trailer Music News. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  5. "Free Listen to Two Steps From Hell's "Skyworld" including "El Dorado"!". Behind The Audio. November 19, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  6. "Week 26-2013 SoundScan Chartpack" (PDF). SoundScan. July 2013. p. 27. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  7. "SkyWorld on ExtremeMusic.com". Extreme Music.
  8. Monger, James Christopher. "Two Steps from Hell – Skyworld". Allmusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  9. "Members". IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association. January 11, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  10. "SkyWorld". MundoBSO. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  11. "Klassieke Albums - 3 November 2012". Ultratop (in Dutch). November 3, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  12. "Albums Classiques - 3 November 2012". Ultratop (in French). November 3, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  13. "Billboard Chart history for Two Steps From Hell". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  14. Goodall, Catherine (October 30, 2018). "Obscure Favourites: Blackheart by Thomas Bergersen". Splendid Fred Magazine. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  15. "Classical Crossover Albums - Week of February 2, 2013". Billboard. February 2, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  16. "DCS: Persian Gulf Map - Final Release Trailer". Youtube.
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