Neal-Acree
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Jukebox Heroes: Wrath of the Lich King's soundtrack
After my so-so review of The Burning Crusade's score a few months ago, I'm sure a few of you thought I was barking mad. World of Warcraft is well-known for great orchestra pieces, but I stick by saying that most of the brilliant stuff stayed the heck away from Outland. Fortunately, the sound quality got a lot better when we went up north for Wrath of the Lich King in 2008. The score was composed and arranged by Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Matt Uelmen, Neal Acree, and Glenn Stafford. As to be expected by that name sandwich, the score features a lot of variety. While there are epic chants and the like that are to be expected from WoW, there's also a lonely, savage feel to the music that represents these far-off lands. There's also a lot of blowing wind that segues between tracks if you listen to the album straight through, and if that doesn't make you envision a snow-blasted landscape, I don't know what would. The liner notes say that "this is the music of ice and despair, a dirge and a call to arms." I couldn't put it better myself. Let's dive into my picks for the best tracks from this score, shall we?
