300 by Tyler Bates

300 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music by Tyler Bates

Based on the comic series by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley (which in turn is based on a true story), the movie directed by Zach Snyder tells the story of 300 Spartan warriors defending Greece from a million-strong Persian army in 480 B.C. Zach Snyder had employed Tyler Bates to score his last film, a remake of ‘Dawn of the Dead’, and has brought him back for this.

Utilizing orchestra, electronics, exotic instruments, guitar and vocals Bates produces a score that evokes the past while updating it with a fresh and modern quality. Some of the pieces call to mind the epic scores of yore, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find this being compared to similar genre work of late, specifically Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard’s ‘Gladiator’. There are only so many ways you can score a period piece and have it come off as somewhat authentic so comparisons are bound to be made but I feel that the use of different instruments, especially the guitar, and an electronic ambiance provide enough for this score to stand on its own. Bates’ horror film past (he scored Dawn of the Dead, The Devil’s Rejects and Slither among others) shines through on a few cuts giving the music some welcome creepiness and atmosphere.

The guitar here is heavily distorted and used to great effect especially in track 17: “Fever Dream”. Not since John Carpenter’s ‘Ghosts of Mars’ have I heard so much rock guitar in an orchestrated score and it fits perfectly, unlike other attempts such as ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones’ track 3: “Zam the Assassin & The Chase Through Coruscant” where it seem to be used more for novelty than as a respected contributor.

You don’t get a lot of returning themes in this score and that’s just fine; a huge fan of John Williams I may be but not every score needs to be a text book lesson in letimotif. We don’t necessarily need a musical reminder every time a character walks on screen.

My biggest complaint is regarding the album presentation; most of the tracks are short and even though some bleed into each other, others just feel too brief. I would have liked to see some ques reedited together into longer tracks to create a smoother listening experience.

If you purchase the download version through iTunes (and possibly others), you get a bonus track of “To Victory (Philip Steir’s Sacrifice for Sparta Remix)”. I didn’t find this to be as offensive as a lot of film score fans potentially might but I do think it’s a bit of a cop out as far as value added material goes. Last year, David Arnold’s entire score to ‘Casino Royale’ was released through iTunes and it added a full 10 minutes to the cd release. I think that they should have done something similar here, adding in more real score instead of a remix.

The music has the near thankless job of keeping up with what look to be stellar visual effects and I will be interested to hear how the score (an estimated 90 minutes – 60 min on cd) will work within the confines of the film (117 minutes).

There are three versions of this soundtrack available:

1. Standard Edition - 25 tracks

2. Deluxe Edition - 25 tracks / Digipak packaging / 16 page booklet / 3 trading cards

3. Download Edition - 26 tracks including “To Victory (Philip Steir’s Sacrifice for Sparta Remix)” / 3 page pdf digital booklet

Final thoughts: I really like this score from a composer I never really gave much thought to and I plan on picking up more from Tyler Bates in the future. The music is edgy, crisp and poignant to the film; my only hope is it doesn't get buried in the audio mix and the people who only hear it in the theater don't miss out.

4 stars out of 5