Raise Some Hell

February 24, 2024

John Powell’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD & Danny Elfman’s HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY Soundtrack Get Expanded OSTs

Varèse Sarabande will be releasing a new soundtrack album for both HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: HIDDEN WORLD and the HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY.

Varèse Sarabande completes its trilogy of Deluxe Editions of John Powell’s magnificent scores to the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON series with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (2019). DreamWorks Animation’s third and final animated film is a heartfelt and bittersweet conclusion, written and directed by Dean DeBlois, as the “hidden world” of the title becomes a refuge for the dragons, which separate from humankind for their own protection.

Composer Powell, working closely with the filmmakers, set the theme for the final film: “With love comes loss.” “He articulated that exact phrase when we were talking,” says DeBlois in Tim Greiving’s new liner notes, “and I put that in the script. I think it is a powerful idea, that if you’re going to engage in the euphoria of love, then you have to recognize that there will be pain, inevitably—pain and separation.”

To complete the saga, Powell wrote a masterful, majestic score for large orchestra and choir, reprising themes from previous films and adding new ones in the best symphonic film music tradition. His ongoing Dragon collaborator, Icelandic singer Jónsi, wrote and performed the song, “Together From Afar.”

Powell’s Dragon scores are admired and beloved for their themes, emotion, and symphonic majesty. This 2-CD set Deluxe Edition of THE HIDDEN WORLD is released in conjunction with Omni Music Publishing’s full printed score, allowing fans and scholars a rare opportunity to appreciate both the recordings and the written compositions of a pivotal work.

HELLBOY: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008) is the only collaboration, so far, between two icons of fantasy and horror cinema: director Guillermo del Toro and composer Danny Elfman. The sequel to del Toro’s 2004 hit Hellboy explored Mike Mignola’s comic-book mythology as the title character (Ron Perlman) and his allies at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense must fight a mythical prince who seeks to reclaim Earth for magical creatures.

Elfman’s grandly symphonic score for Hellboy II features large orchestra and choir, providing everything from pulse-pounding action to gothic scope and offbeat humor. There’s world music for the film’s “Troll Market,” homages to the great Bernard Herrmann (an Elfman idol) in “Doorway,” and surprising intimacy for Hellboy’s relationship with Liz (Selma Blair). It’s a delightful, fantastical romp as only Elfman can provide—and a perfect match for del Toro’s vision.

“Anybody who does fantasy or horror well is somebody that I want to work with,” says Elfman in Daniel Schweiger’s new liner notes for The Deluxe Edition. Del Toro, for his part, wanted to differentiate the two Hellboy movies: “Hellboy II had an off-kilter and whimsical approach, yet one with undertones of darkness that I knew would be great for Danny. This was decidedly more melancholy because it looked at the illusion of fantasy… Everything is in decay, and that needed Danny to write a fantastic symphony for Mike Mignola’s universe.”

Hellboy II: The Golden Army was released in a 20-track, hour-long program by Varèse Sarabande at the time of the film. The Deluxe Edition debuts a 39-track, 82-minute expanded score across two discs, with a 24-page booklet.

Read more details at Varèse Sarabande, here.

Watch the original HELLBOY 2 Trailer here: