Vikings

I am going to start this review with the negatives. Whilst this is odd for a five star review, the reasons will become clear. My first quibble is that some themes are reused quite a bit, even though each track is noticeably different. Also, for an album with well over thirty tracks, there is not as much variety in the score as I would have liked. But the reasons why these two points do not worry me are simple. I cannot care if the tracks are quite similar to one another, when I like the sound of them so much. And the tracks that do stand out are some of the best I have heard. Trevor Morris has made a wise decision in creating his score; despite the time period of the show, he has not become bogged down in choosing instruments from the era, and in many of the tracks, the reason for this becomes clear. The heavy drums, rousing orchestral sections and raw synth all combine with excellent effect. It is good to see that someone has taken a great deal of effort with a television score, and it has more than paid off. There are many tracks on this album that stand out, but there a few that I would name my favourites. Battle Field captures the show's opening scene vividly, and Battle on the Beach is one of the finest pieces of fight music I have ever heard. But the two best have to be Ragnar Fights the Earl, and North Sea Storm. The first is stirring and stands out from every other track, whilst the latter uses booming drums and immense synth to bring the storm to life. Overall, a fine album, and a great soundtrack.

As a keen viewer of "Vikings" and an avid film sound track buyer and listener - what more could one theoretically ask for? More so, with that simple criteria -how could you metaphorically miss stabbing a pickled herring in a barrel (with a broad sword?) But sadly - for me - that's what it comes very close to. Let me explain. Unlike other composers, (Zimmer, Barry, etc.) who write the musical scores for films, the "Vikings" CD lacks long pieces of music for you to relax, unwind, or really get in to on. Sure, there's the Main Title and Journey to Kattegat, but film composers write music to accompany films, this CD feels like Morris has composed specifically for scenes. Hence this CD consist of 38 tracks, few exceeding two minutes, of frenetic, often un-catchy, bursts of music which may accompany the moment on the TV - but don't translate to easy listening too well. Perhaps that's my problem. A lot of people highly rated the CD but I didn’t feel that it freed Trevor Morris' ability or obvious potential. You can hear the talent simmering away and I look forward to the day he's allowed the artistic freedom to write for the film - than write to the scene. Then Barry and Zimmer... Watch out!

Epic music to compliment the TV show, with authentic instrumental assistance from Wardruna.

Fantastic soundtrack to a fantastic series... Loved it so much decided to watch all series all over again.. Now familiar with the soundtrack gives the series some extra enjoyment clout!!

For all Vikings fans out there. Get this CD. It's great to hear the full tracks and to read about how Trevor Morris recreated the Viking sound. Listening to the arrangements puts you in the centre of this epic series. Beautiful and haunting.

We loved the series of The viking and dowlnloaded it all from amazon prime. The track scan last just seconds. There are nice dramatic tracks which refer to parts in the series. The sound track which is why I bought the cd is suited perfectly to the start of each episode.

Matches the series perfectly. Very atmospheric. Great depth of sound and evocative. A bit similar across the album but still worth it if you enjoy soundtracks.

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