| Power Of Darkness | |
| Type: | demo |
| Artist: | Two Steps From Hell |
| Cover: | TSFH-PowerOfDarkness-Steven-R-Gilmore.jpg |
| Released: | March 10, 2010[1] |
| Length: | 1:24:42 (main tracks) 3:24:46 (incl. alternatives) |
Power of Darkness is a demonstration album by the music production group Two Steps from Hell, originally released exclusively to clients in the motion picture and advertising industry for the purpose of licensing in March 2010. It was uniquely distributed on a flash drive, rather than a physical disc.[1] It includes 32 principal tracks,[2] split into two themed volumes.[3] Additionally, it contains a large collection of alternative versions; therefore, in total, Power of Darkness consists of 77 tracks. They are composed by Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix.[3] The album was recorded in Prague, Czech Republic (by Capellen Orchestra), in Los Angeles, and in Utah, United States.[1] The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.[4]
Some tracks were made available to the general public on subsequent commercial albums, starting with Invincible (2010).[5] In 2017, the album was finally released to the public, albeit modified to consist of only tracks which had still not yet been made commercially available and under the title of Power of Darkness Anthology.
Below is the original track listing.
The public re-issue of the album as Power of Darkness Anthology was released on 1 August 2017. Its listing is different to the original – it is most of the remaining tracks which, until its release, were still unavailable for public purchase and arranged in a different order; tracks which had already been released to the public on other commercial albums were excluded. Therefore, Power of Darkness Anthology features 40 tracks and has a total length of 01:39:57. The main versions of "The Soul That Must Awaken" and "Ghost Brigades" were omitted from the release as the group were "just not happy" with them, opting to including their alternatives instead.[6]
Volume 1 – "Epic drama"[7]
Main tracks
| height=30 valign=bottom | Alternative mixes |
| All tracks (except for nos. 7, 8, 10, 15, 16 and 18) were later released on the public version of the album, Power of Darkness Anthology. | |
Volume 2 – "Action"[8]
Main tracks
| height=30 valign=bottom | Alternative mixes |
| All tracks (except for nos. 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16 and 17) were later released on the public version of the album, Power of Darkness Anthology. | |
IFMCA-associated reviews website, MundoBSO,[9] rated it seven out of ten stars.[10]
Trailer Music News called it "probably the most epic album by Two Steps From Hell" at the time.[2]
As a demo, the album was not available for public purchase and therefore unable to enter any charts.
However, the re-release of the album as Power of Darkness Anthology in 2017 was a public offering and did chart as follows:
| -- default listing is by Region/Country name per WP:CHARTS & References should be as specific as possible.--> | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chart (2017) | Peak position | |
| US Classical Albums (Billboard)[11] | 10 | |
| US Classical Crossover Albums (Billboard)[12] | 9 |
Two Steps From Hell's music has been featured frequently in trailers and commercials.