Two Steps from Awesome

Music has long been the invisible, romanticizing force behind storytelling –  be it on stage, in film, or otherwise. Now its own industry, and the dream of many instrumentally inclined individuals, its importance throughout the arcs within film, plays, videogames, and even books on tape has become more prevalent – leading composers and artists more well respected and revered as talent, their rise to fame a distant echo of history once passed.

In modern media, there is a company group that has seen a steady and continuous rise in the popularity of their work, a group that (I dare say) rivals the once innovative, musical visions of Wolfgang Mozart – smart, different, void of the constraints of genre. Appearing in science fiction films, video games, television series, and trailers of all kinds, there is a very good chance you already love them (and don’t even know it yet).

For the soundtrack lover, this group should be no stranger to ones playlist. However, they do tend to occasionally slip under the proverbial media radar, due mainly to their clientele and licensing arrangements.

Their name? Two Steps from Hell.

So where have you heard them recently? Well, to start, J.J. Abram’s newest Star Trek reboot, in this trailer:

What else? Well, they appear in this Mass Effect II trailer, with one of my personal favorites by them, entitled “Heart of Courage”:

And after that? Tron, Pixar’s ‘Up’, Tangled, Harry Potter, Avatar, Clash of the Titans, The Dark Knight, Chronicles of Narnia, Wall-E, The Mummy, Robin Hood, Dragonball Evolution [*shudders*], The Watchmen, Battle L.A., X-Men Origins and First Class, Inception, Hellboy, Sweeny Todd, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Golden Compass, Resident Evil, Prince of Persia [The Film], Doctor Who, and Game of Thrones… Just to name a few.

This group was founded by two men, Thomas Bergersen and Nick Pheonix, who’ve taken musical production to an all new level. While I’m not completely sure why the majority of their media outlets revolve around the science fiction and fantasy genres, I can’t complain. Music is so incredibly important when it comes to influencing the hearts and minds of your audience, especially when you’re a film director or script writer attempting to world build and evoke emotion. Needless to say, TSFH has mastered the craft of epic, melodic romance, and I’m in love.

If you think about it, what these two men have done is incredible. Within a decade, they’ve reached a level of renown on par with some of the greatest film composers of all time – John Williams (Jurassic Park) and Han Zimmer (The Dark Knight), for example. Their work sits side by side on soundtracks with these giants of film composition, and serves as a true testament to their skill.

If you plan on downloading these badboys from itunes or amazon, you may run into a bit of an issue. TSFH was originally a music production hub exclusively for members of the media. Recently, however, they’ve released their Invicible album under the company title. The rest of their tracks fall under their respective film/television adoptions, so research may be key if you plan on seeking out their discography the legal way.