Zanobard Reviews

Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio’s thunderous Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire soundtrack acts as a louder, bolder older brother to GvK; the established Titan themes join forces with roaring new ones against the malevolent Skar King across this new album, making for some unapologetically epic and utterly deafening action setpieces as a result. If you liked GvK, you’ll love this.

Tom Holkenborg’s prior soundtrack entry in this monster franchise – Godzilla V.s. Kong – was an interesting one for sure. It’s absolute highlight was the composer’s frankly excellent new theme for King Kong – showcased in near-Standout Cue “Skull Island (Kong’s Theme)” – but the score was slightly let down in its counterpart motif for Godzilla, as despite it being loud and bombastic and foreboding it just… wasn’t Ifukube’s classic, which disappointed many (including myself) especially as Bear McCreary’s score for King Of The Monsters – the prior film – had incorporated the legendary motif so impeccably well. Stylistically though it was hard to fault the new one too much, as it did do its job – big, loud monster theme – and as a result there were several spectacularly thunderous renditions of it to enjoy across several incredible action setpieces (with the final fight as both Titans join valiantly together in track “Hong Kong” being the highlight). So all-in, GvK was a solidly entertaining monster score, just not a perfect one, and so it was still with considerable intrigue when Holkenborg was announced as returning to the franchise, this time equal parts alongside fellow composer Antonio Di Iorio, that I eyed its sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

The new soundtrack begins with opening credits piece “Main Title Theme”; quietly moody electronics and strings open the track with Holkenborg’s Kong motif then sounding solemnly through until a dramatic pace is kicked off at the ninety second mark. From here the theme gets loud and thunderously epic with blasting brass and emphatic drums heroically re-introducing the iconic Titan. At 02:10 though Kong’s theme then stops dead with a new, more ominous motif briefly debuting before Godzilla’s deafening theme then comes roaring into centre stage. This dramatic appearance isn’t quite as long as Kong’s, with the motif soon disappearing in favour of a tensely villainous blast of Mechagodzilla’s theme from GvK before the main title track then comes to a crashing close. All-in, it’s got to be said the composers have certainly hit the mark here; it’s one hell of a monstrous opener at two and a half minutes in featuring many an emphatically fist-pumping theme reprisal, and it certainly gets your attention as a result. A solid start. The music then leaps onto Skull Island for the subsequent “Threatening Survival” with tense percussion and vocal chants establishing a rather tribal-y, jungle-esque tone before Kong’s theme dramatically reprises on boisterous brass, and action then builds to a deafening crescendo.

Slow strings and gentler brass open “Monarch Base – Red Dream” before a rather grandiose tone is then set at the thirty second mark as the instrumentation rises in intensity before then slowing quietly back down. Forebodingly low-pitched brass then sets the stage in the back half of the track, which comes to fruition in the subsequent “He’s Arriving – Devastation” as Godzilla’s dramatic motif thunders its way onto centre stage with each further musical footstep somehow being even more deafening than the last. This then leads directly into action setpiece “Leaving Colosseum – New Dossier” where the aforementioned now titan-volumed theme bursts in alongside frenetic percussion in the cue’s opening seconds and leads a tense charge, with ominous electronics kicking off at the midway point and the entire track surging electrically forwards until the musical thunder then suddenly fades out. Slow, melancholic strings then occupy the two minute “Friendship”, which continue a few seconds into “New Entrances And Encounters” until moody brass takes over and a particularly poignant rendition of Kong’s theme plays. From here though a new theme is then introduced; a gentler, more hopeful piece for Suko, a juvenile ape Titan, which utilises the jungle-esque percussion from “Threatening Survival” alongside some rather optimistic brass.

Suko’s playful new motif continues into the subsequent “Approaching The Lake”, where the aforementioned percussion and brass further establish the rather hopeful theme opposite Kong’s until a tense rendition of the former then ends the track. “IWI Findings” then pays a kinda-sorta homage to Mothra at the minute mark, hinting toward the style of the monster’s classic theme before then heading off in its own direction, much like the thematic approach to Godzilla. The resulting gently epic motif works just fine, but again I have to wonder – why don’t they just bring back the classic theme? Oh well. Frenetic action then kicks back off in “Ancient Creatures”, with tense strings and bursts of increasingly worrisome brass occupying much of the cue. Mothra’s thunderous new theme then roars into life at the start of “Memories Resurface” in loudly heroic form before then simmering down in the cue’s back half, calming on gently serene strings. Godzilla then dramatically re-appears toward the end of “Myth And Ritual” on his typically foreboding brass before another new theme debuts in “New Kingdom”; short bursts of aggravated brass introduce Skar King, the villainous ape Titan of The New Empire before the motif then comes to tense orchestral blows with both Kong and Suko’s in the rather frantic “Desperate Escape”.

Kong’s theme plays rather morosely on solemn strings and synth through the two minute “Broken”, with this serenity then continuing into the opening seconds of “Tech Project Upgrade” until string-and-electronic-based hope then slowly seeds its way back into the fray across the rest of the cue with Kong’s theme in tow. With the stage set, the action finale of the score then begins in “Divine And Glorious” with Mothra and Kong’s themes playing tensely until the former of the two then grandiosely takes over for the cue’s dramatic remainder. Godzilla then makes a thunderous entrance in “Egypt Fight” with the Mechagodzilla and Kong motifs following close behind, and the entire ensemble then practically soars on loud synth and crashingly emphatic brass. Double action act “Collapsing Gravity” and “Frozen Rio” then dial the volume and intensity even higher, with the Godzilla and Kong themes playing heroically in sync together with the ocassional glimmer of Mothra and crash of Suko against the almighty musical malevolence of Skar King. The orchestral battle rages throughout the former track and through most of the latter – to some truly epic moments as a result – until Kong and Godzilla finally emerge triumphant in the final minute. “You Are My Home” then ends the score on a gentler note, with the tribal percussion and Kong’s theme reprising on quiet, gentle strings that then fade to a peaceful close.

Overall, Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio’s explosive sequel soundtrack for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire plays very much like a louder and bolder older brother to its predecessor; the main themes introduced in Godzilla V.s. Kong are more fleshed out and play in more spectacular fashion, with Kong’s motif in particular taking several dramatically heroic stands across the album and really coming into its own. This of course makes for some excellent standout setpieces such as the thunderous “Main Title Theme” or the triumphant build-up in “Tech Project Upgrade”. Of particular note too in this sequel score are the new arrivals, with the emphatically grand theme for Mothra being a highlight – though of course, much like with Godzilla’s you do wish they had simply used the original – as well as the sprightly piece for juvenile Titan ape Suko and the tensely villainous Skar King motif. Final battle and standout cues “Collapsing Gravity” and “Frozen Rio” then showcase each of these old and new themes in thunderously epic glory, and all-in that’s the best thing this album has to offer; if you enjoyed the deafeningly and dramatically thunderous music for Godzilla V.s. Kong like myself you’ll certainly like this too, it’s Holkenborg-esque action in its element and dialed up to eleven.

If not though, you might want to check out Bear McCreary’s King Of The Monsters. That’s still king here.

Score: 8/10

Standout Cues: 21. Collapsing Gravity/22. Frozen Rio

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