Pictorial & thoughts on the vinyl soundtrack of the new film in the Lord of the Rings saga
The soundtrack album to The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is now available on a sprawling 4-LP vinyl (or 2- disc CD) from Mutant (a new company with curators and personnel formerly associated with the familiar Mondo brand).
War of the Rohirrim, an anime film directed by Kenji Kamiyama and set in Peter Jackson’s cinematic version of Middle Earth, is a tale set in the land of Rohan, which tells one of the legends behind the ancient fortress of the Hornburg. How it earned the name by which it’s better known: Helm’s Deep, which is also the setting of the major battle depicted in The Two Towers.
The soundtrack to the film is composed by Stephen Gallagher, whereas the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies were scored by Howard Shore. But Gallagher is no newcomer to the series. Although this is his debut as a composer in Middle Earth, he served as music editor on the Hobbit films.
This is a large album, and vinyl is inherently an expensive medium to produce and ship, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mutant has priced these very reasonably. In a landscape where collectible vinyl routinely commands $30-50 for a single record, the $60 price point for a sprawling 4-LP set in a fan-favorite franchise seems downright decent.
The package is a double-gatefold (“M-Pack”) set, beautiful and pretty sturdy but less protective than a rigid slipbox one might expect on a 4-LP album.
External Views
Internal Views
Shipping/Packaging Considerations
My copy came mailed with all 4 LPs packed in the centerfold of the package (which was itself in a sturdy cardboard mailer) rather than inserted into the sleeves. This is intended to prevent the spine from being crushed – which worked! – but also may create additional outward stress on the spine from the weight of four records, potentially leading to split seams.
Personally I think split seams are just a reality of the medium that one accepts as a collector of it.
Liner Notes
In lieu of a booklet (as included with the CD version of the soundtrack), the inside of the vinyl package is illustrated and packed with liner notes from both Gallagher and Kamiyama (the latter in both Japanese and English), as well as a forward by Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson’s filmmaking partner and one of the primary architects of the cinematic Middle Earth.
Vinyl
The LP coloration is described simply as “140GM White Vinyl” but my copy featured a more marbley appearance than that description implies, in a light grey.
Physical compression (overcrowding of grooves) is not an issue here. Spreading the music across 4 LPs gives plenty of breathing room, and a visual inspection reveals that each of the sides has some room to spare.
LP1
LP2
LP3
LP4
The Music
Stylistically, this score is in line with the sound of Middle Earth that we know; brassy, moody, and epic. But while perfectly fitting in the existing soundscape – no surprise given that Gallagher has been a music editor in this world – it’s more subdued, keeping up with the Lord of the Rings films in general style but without the same depth of melody or upfront character. When you hear one of Shore’s themes, you might very well conjure up an image of that piece transpiring on the screen. There’s less of this quality in Rohirrim, in which the score resides more in the background rather than as a dominant narrative force.
The score does quote at times from previously existing LOTR themes, and perhaps it’s unsurprising that these familiar melodies stand out as highlights.
That said, while I’m being critical, my takeaway is a positive one. Not only do I enjoy this album, I think I actually like it more as a dedicated listening experience than in its original form as accompaniment to the film.
In addition to the score, the soundtrack also includes a handful of songs from the film. In album terms, these ballads help to bring some aural variety. The standout is “The Rider”, with vocals by Paris Paloma, a gorgeous and haunting ballad which plays over the end credits, which may very well be the strongest track on the entire album. There are two versions of “Hama’s Song”, which sounds like a bard’s verse from the corner of a dark tavern – an abbreviated version as it appears in the film, sung by Yazdan Qafouri (who plays Hama), and a full album version as sung by Ben O’Leary.
Overall verdict?
A big, bold soundtrack which mixes in elements of the classic Lord of the Rings themes while also doing its own new thing. Admittedly not as great as the Howard Shore scores that it follows, but there are definitely some standout tracks here and it’s a beautiful package priced surprisingly affordably.
