This new release from Varese Sarabande to what will most certainly one of this summers biggest box office hits is a musical soundtrack powerhaus from start to finish. ‘Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes’ allows Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino (‘Ratatouille,’ ‘Up,’ ‘The Incredibles,’ etc.) to experiment musically. Indeed, much in the same vein as his hero Jerry Goldsmith who composed the original film, he has incorporated some highly original and interesting sounds into his tracks.

Containing 19 tracks overall, ‘Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes’ begins with ‘Level Plaguing Field’ (get it?!) before heading into such great named tracks as ‘The Great Ape Processional,’ ‘Close Encounters of the Furred Kind,’ and both ‘Monkey See, Monkey Coup’ and my favorite, ‘Gorilla Warefare.’

Chock full of clear melodies, tracks that musically escalate as the Apes begin to take control, each and every cut is a stand out tribute to; which is at heart, an extremely moving, deeply thought provoking subtext of a plot. Hollywood all the way, of course, but (if you were not aware) ‘Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes’ tells the story of a nation genetically evolved apes led by Caesar who are being threatened by a band of humans that survived the virus that devastated them all ten years earlier.

The fragile peace that they reach proves to be short-lived, when men and apes come to the brink of a war that will decide which species dominates Earth. Ergo, Michael Giacchino’s work here on this accompanying soundtrack is spot on perfectly, each track’s tone a vibrant outpouring of enlarged grief, panic and the calm before the storm.

Reviewed by: Russell A. Trunk