By Nathan Barr

Amazon Music

The score for Prime Video’s fantasy’s concluding season…

Barr is becoming quite a noted name in the horror film and TV sphere, having regularly scored Eli Roth’s movies, 2001 Maniacs, and The Last Exorcism, as well as shows such as True Blood, The Americans, and of course the previous season of Carnival Row.

From the outset this score is firmly in the realms of mystery and exotic excitement, heavy on the box guitars (the sort played with a bow rather than plucked). Oh, to be sure you have the basic synth undertones through the title track, “Trains And Trows” (as well as most others), but this opening brings us straight into a more magical – if darker-toned – world, which continues on with the almost birdsong of “Scratches And Bruises” and the haunting vocal tones in  “Pio Funeral.”

In the space of four tracks we’ve already got something that’s almost fairytale, and wondrous before the vocals turn dark and there’s a thread of hammered bells among the pulsing action/chase motif of “Double Raid,” which pauses for a disconcerting bridging section of electrical hum and crackle that’s if anything more threatening than the more predictable – for the genre every since The Omen – dark vocals. That’s one of the longer tracks, as this isn’t a hugely long album like some of the recent ones, but it’s a decent length at an hour and six minutes.

“Protecting And Trusting” has a lovely emotional heart to it, while “Fall Of Tirnanoc” is pure epic fantasy to begin with, marching along to fateful glory before turning to mysterious and unsettling tones, and, ultimately sadder notes. The whole section of the album from these two, through “Green Revolution” “Orderly Fashion” and “It Ain’t Me” is a solid medley of emotionally charged, wondrous, inspiring, threatening, and deeply moving medley and these are real highlights- as is the sprawling and soaring “The New Row” at the end of the album.

Before that, though, the percussion section has to have its day, as most of these highlights so far have been with box guitar, concertina, strings, winds, and so on. Therefore we have an action-heavy set of tracks in the form of, towards the end of the album, “Reckoning,” “Row Brutalised,” and “Sparliament,” which could all fit in any epic actioner, and fit well.

The central section is more mixed, with both the wonder and beauty of “Tough Road To Tiranoc” and “Agreus On The Row” and the pulse-pounding of “Cops On The Row.” This is also where the less engaging tracks reside, with “New Dawn New Allies” being probably the most industry/genre-standard track on the score, and “Saving Lovers” and “One Way Help” being not just examples of good use of weaving leitmotifs in, but also are almost the same track, which isn’t so good.

As mentioned, though, “The New Row” is another highlight, and as it effectively closes the album, bar the “End Credits,” it’s a triumphant wrap-up of a fine score.

Verdict: This is a fine score too, feeling to some degree like Lorne Balfe’s His Dark Materials Season 3. There’s no similarity in composition or even style, but it shares the feeling of being a thrilling, inspiring, soaring, pulse-racing epic fantasy taking you on a wonderful journey all of its own.

To put it another way, it’s awesome. Highly recommended, and a winner for Barr, which hopefully will lead to him getting even more wide-ranging scores to compose. 10/10

David A McIntee