View source for 300: Rise of an Empire (soundtrack)

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}{{Infobox album|cover=300 Rise of an Empire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).jpg
| name         = 300: Rise of an Empire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| type         = film
| artist       = [[Junkie XL]]
| released     = {{Start date|2014|03|04}}
| genre        = [[Film score]]
| length       = {{Duration|m=67|s=51}}
| label        = [[WaterTower Music]]
| producer     = [[Junkie XL]]
| misc         = {{Extra chronology
| artist = [[Junkie XL]]
| type = film
| prev_title = [[Paranoia (2013 film)|Paranoia]]
| prev_year = 2013
| title = 300: Rise of an Empire
| year = 2014
| next_title = [[Divergent (soundtrack)|Divergent]]
| next_year = 2014
}}
}}

'''''300: Rise of an Empire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''''' is the score album to the [[300: Rise of an Empire|2014 film of the same name]] directed by [[Noam Murro]], a [[Sequel|follow-up]] to the 2006 film ''[[300 (film)|300]]''. [[Zack Snyder]], who directed the first film, served as the screenwriter and producer for the sequel. The score is composed by [[Tom Holkenborg]], known under the stage name [[Junkie xl|Junkie XL]], as credited in the album. The film marked the beginning of a collaboration between Snyder and Holkenborg where the latter would work on Snyder's future directorial ventures, beginning with ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice]]'' (2016). The album featuring 16-cues of Junkie XL's score running for one-hour and seven minutes, released through [[WaterTower Music]] on March 4, 2014, in digital and physical formats.

== Development ==
{{Quote box
| quote = "''300'' is not your bread and butter history film. It takes place in a certain time period, but for me, a movie like that is more about something else.  It’s the art of the visuals and how to tell a story through the art of the visuals. If you look at it from that point of view, you can take some liberty with the music, I feel. It’s different from I would almost say ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'', which feels more like an historic drama."
| source = — Junkie XL, on the context that served for writing the film's music<ref name=":0" />
| align = right
| width = 25%
}}
Junkie XL was offered to score the film when he assisted [[Hans Zimmer]] on [[Man of Steel (film)|''Man of Steel'']] (2013), thereby getting in touch with Snyder. He intended for a "strongly rhythm orientated" score using original instruments from that time period and culture, and felt that "this is not like your typical traditional, historical drama, but this is like a comic book in live action version". Hence, the music needed to be modern as well as traditional at the same time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Sheila |date=2014-03-18 |title=Junkie XL Talks 300, Divergent, Mad Max, Interstellar and More |url=https://collider.com/junkie-xl-mad-max-300-rise-of-empire-interview/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Busch |first=Anita |date=2014-03-10 |title=Hot Featurette: '300: Rise Of An Empire' Composer Junkie XL's Piano Creation |url=https://deadline.com/2014/03/300-rise-of-an-empire-junkie-xl-featurette-696495/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

When he saw the film first, he felt that most of the incidents taking place at the sea and the sound effects of the waves had a rhythm to them. Hence, he decided to make rhythm for the waves, so that it would underscore multiple themes for the score. For the traditional instruments, he explored a variety of scales that very popular in ancient and modern Persian culture, because the music culture goes back to many years. Two scales —  Homayoun and [[Chahargah (mode)|Chahargah]] — were picked for the film as it would work with in Western music. He wanted to explore further on the harmony and melodies from the Persian side of Greece, especially for the themes of Artemisia and Xerxes, and for that, he used guitar and sitar, as well as traditional percussion instruments from Persia were used even though they were beefed up with the electronic music he created.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

For the Greeks, he used to create music from the ancient Western instrument [[Aulos]], a type of traditional flute that were obsolete currently. He created a similar instrument to that by making sounds from a flautist, who made one on the spot from straws and with the right mouth piece, which was "supposedly pretty close to what that instrument should have been". He wanted to make sure that he had an overall sound over the film which was not necessarily from any of those cultures, but a "cool" sound. Hence, he used a piano to build that music, and further said "I took a really old piano and I got an axe and I hit everything away except for the inside train, and I built a holding case around it, and I started using bass and guitar pickups.  It basically became an instrument that holds the middle between an electric guitar and a piano, and I would only play it with sticks.  That instrument has become very important throughout the whole score, which is not a traditional instrument of any of those cultures, but I just thought it was a really cool element to have."<ref name=":0" />

== Track listing ==
{{Track listing
| title1 = History of Artemisia
| length1 = 9:34
| title2 = Marathon
| length2 = 3:54
| title3 = From Man To God King
| length3 = 3:50
| title4 = Sparta
| length4 = 1:05
| title5 = Artemisia's Childhood
| length5 = 3:42
| title6 = Suicide
| length6 = 1:18
| title7 = Left For Dead
| length7 = 1:32
| title8 = Fog Battle
| length8 = 4:35
| title9 = A Beach Of Bodies
| length9 = 4:17
| title10 = Fire Battle
| length10 = 6:11
| title11 = Xerxes' Thoughts
| length11 = 3:44
| title12 = Queen Gorgo
| length12 = 3:59
| title13 = Greeks On Attack
| length13 = 4:28
| title14 = History Of The Greeks
| length14 = 7:04
| title15 = Greeks Are Winning
| length15 = 6:04
| title16 = End Credits
| length16 = 2:34
| total_length = 67:51
}}

== Reception ==
''Movie Music Mania'' gave a negative review saying "''300: Rise of an Empire'' is at best an unremarkable score. At worst (as most critics will attest), this is bottom of the barrel action noise. And this is coming from someone who enjoyed the origin of this score's framework, Zimmer's controversial ''Man of Steel''. The obvious rebuttal is that, well, this is Sparta (or at least Athens) so what more should one expect from this kind of score? Much of this score fails to even actively engage the listener, instead thwacking us over the head with a wall of dissonant thrashing. Aside from suffering from a chronic emulation of ''Man of Steel'' down to the score's motifs, sound design, and perhaps even orchestral samplings (as it often sounds like Junkie XL is drawing from the same library of sounds assembled for Zimmer's production), ''300: Rise of an Empire'' also fails to be much fun at all. What redeems some of this is that Junkie XL does form a few recurring motifs and themes, unremarkable as they are, out of an otherwise passable effort."<ref>{{Cite web |title=300: Rise of an Empire - Junkie XL |url=http://www.moviemusicmania.com/2/post/2014/03/300-rise-of-an-empire-junkie-xl.html |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Classic and ModerN Film Score Reviews! |language=en}}</ref> Mac McNaughton of [[The Music (magazine)|''The Music'']] felt that the music for ''Rise of the Empire'' is "the sound of a capable artist peaking not very highly. Lots of swelling strings and creepy atmospherics convey the darkness and bloody helplessness of the source material in box-ticking form, but much of this could have been pilfered from ''Spartacus''<nowiki/>' TV soundtrack. Nothing here makes you truly feel the unstoppable thunder of the mighty Greeks."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNaughton |first=Mac |title=Album Review: Junkie XL - 300: Rise Of An Empire Soundtrack |url=https://themusic.com.au/reviews/junkie-xl-300-rise-of-an-empire-soundtrack-mac-mcnaughton/JsQ5ODs6PTw/18-03-14 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=themusic.com.au |language=en}}</ref>

Scott Foundas of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it as "throbbing, musical score seems to be echoing forth from some distant place in the cosmos."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundas |first=Scott |date=2014-03-03 |title=Film Review: '300: Rise of an Empire' |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-300-rise-of-an-empire-1201122602/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Todd McCarthy]] of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote "The score by Junkie XL is predictably orotund, although some unusual and arresting moments emerge here and there."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Todd |date=2014-03-03 |title=300: Rise of an Empire: Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/300-rise-an-empire-film-684621/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> Rodrigo Perez of ''[[The Playlist]]'' wrote "scored by Junkie XL, the film is mercifully free of the propulsive, big-beat electronica the Dutch composer is known, but the score is as anonymous as it would have been if written by any number of the faceless Hans Zimmer disciples who usually crank out such work."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Review: '300: Rise Of An Empire' Starring Eva Green & Sullivan Stapleton |url=https://theplaylist.net/review-300-rise-of-an-empire-starring-eva-green-sullivan-stapleton-20140306/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=theplaylist.net|date=March 6, 2014 }}</ref> Tyler Schirado, writing for ''Turn The Right Corner'', said "Composer Junkie XL does a decent job at matching the heavy metal sounds of [[Tyler Bates]]' original score from ''300,'' so much so that it feels familiar in tone yet he is able to make it his own."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schirado |first=Tyler |date=2014-03-07 |title=Movie Review: '300: Rise of an Empire' Lacks the Integrity of the Original, but that Eva Green Though |url=https://turntherightcorner.com/2014/03/07/movie-review-300-rise-of-an-empire/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Turn The Right Corner |language=en}}</ref> James Christopher Monger of ''[[AllMusic]]'' wrote Holkenborg's "highly percussive style complements the film's highly stylized look and over-the-op violence".<ref>{{Citation |title=Junkie XL - 300: Rise of an Empire [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/300-rise-of-an-empire-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0002616986 |access-date=2023-04-17 |language=en}}</ref>

== Credits ==
Credits adapted from CD liner notes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=300: Rise Of An Empire - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |url=http://www.watertower-music.com/releases/release.php?title=300-riseofanempire |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=WaterTower Music}}</ref>
{{div col}}
; Production
* Composer, producer, arrangements, mixing and sound design – Junkie XL
* Additional programming – Christian Vorländer, Emad Borjian, Stephen Perone
* Pro-tools score recording – Joel Tawinaki
* Mastering – Stephen Marsh, Junkie XL
* Music editor – Melissa Muik
* Assistant music editor – Nevin Seus
* Score co-ordinator – Czarina Russell
* Scoring crew – Jamie Olivera, Richard Wheeler Jr., Ryan Robinson, Tom Hardisty
* Music preparation – Booker White, Michiel Groeneveld, Steven Kofsky
* Art direction – Sandeep Sriram
; Instruments
* Bass – Bruce Morgenthaler, Drew Dembowski, Edward Meares, Michael Valerio, Nico Abondolo, Stephen Dress
* Cello – Andrew Shulman, Armen Ksajikian, Cecilia Tsan, George Kim Scholes, Paula Hochhalter, Steve Erdody, Trevor Handy, Xiaodan Zheng
* Drums, frame drum, guitar, bass, synthesizer, dulcimer, piano – Junkie XL
* Horn – Amy Rhine, Anna Bosler, Benjamin Jaber, Daniel Kelley, Dylan Hart, Justin Hageman
* Sitar – Emad Borjian
* Trombone – Alexander Iles, Andrew Martin, William Reichenbach, Craig Gosnell, Phillip Teele, Phillip Keen, Steven Holtman, William Booth
* Tuba – Blake Cooper, Doug Tornquist, John Van Houten Jr., Lukas Storm
* Viola – Alma Fernandez, Andrew Duckles, Brian Dembow, Darrin Mc Cann, Jennie Hansen, Matthew Funes, Robert Brophy, Shawn Mann, Thomas Diener, Victoria Miskolczy
* Violin – Ana Landauer, Charlie Bisharat, Cheryl Norman-Brick, Darius Campo, Dimitrie Leivici, Eun-Mee Ahn, Grace E. Oh, Irina Voloshina, Jay Rosen, Joel Pargman, Josefina Vergara, Julie Gigante, Mary Sloan, Katia Popov, Kevin Connolly, Lisa Liu, Lisa Sutton, Marc Sazer, Natalie Leggett, Neil Samples, Nina Evtuhov, Phillip Levy, Rafael Rishik, Rebecca Bunnell, Roberto Cani, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Serena Mc Kinney, Yelena Yegorian
* Vocals – Hilda Orvarsdottir, MC Rai
* Woodwind – Pedro Eustache
; Orchestra
* Orchestra – The Hollywood Studio Symphony
* Conductor – Nick Glennie-Smith
* Orchestra contractor – Peter Rotter
* Vocal contractor – Japser Randall
* Orchestration – Carl Rydlund, Kevin Kaska, Walter Fowler, Yvonne Suzette Moriarty
* Supervising orchestrator – Bruce L. Fowler
* Concertmaster – Bruce Dukov
; Management
* Executive producer – Bernie Goldman, Deborah Snyder, Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, Zack Snyder
* Executive in charge of music (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Darren Higman, Paul Broucek
* Executive in charge (WaterTower Music) – Jason Linn
* Music business affairs – Lisa Margolis
* Artist management – Michiel Groeneveld
* Music payroll – Gary Wasserman
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
* ''[[300 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]]''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.warnerbros.com/300-rise-empire}}
{{300}}
{{Junkie XL}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:300 (comics)]]
[[Category:2014 soundtrack albums]]
[[Category:Epic film soundtracks]]
[[Category:WaterTower Music soundtracks]]
[[Category:Junkie XL albums]]