J2 The Iconic Series Vol 1 Download

2018 was an awesome year for epic releases! Several awesome albums were released by veteran companiesAudiomachineandReally Slow Motion as well as relative newcomersEnd of SilenceandEternal Eclipse. Here's a rundown of the top albums!

Public Albums

A World of Colorby End of Silence

David Chappell, known for his six-minute long piece Who Will Save Us Now which has over 10 million views on YouTube, released his first solo album underEnd of Silence. This album features three remastered classic tracks (includingWho Will Save Us Now andA Place in the Stars) along with 12 brand-new pieces. Several notable vocalists sing on this album, including Julie Elven, Uyanga Bold and Merethe Soltvedt. Worth a listen: this album features many adventurous hybrid tracks along with more emotive ones.

Most Listened to Tracks: Polaris, Blood Moon & Warrior Princess

Ascendance by Audiomachine

Ascendance is one of three albums released by Audiomachine in 2018 solely composed by Mark Petrie (joined by Andrew Prahlow on six, Darius Moldovan on two and Jordan Lawlor on one). This album features emotionally charged tracks along with epic hybrid. The main theme of this album is build – many of the tracks keep layering on the instruments until they get to a wonderful crescendo, meant to really make you feel something.

Most Listened to Tracks: Through the Darkness, Leap of Faith & Centrifuge

Atmosphere by David Eman

Atmosphere is David Eman's first solo album. Possibly best known for his collaboration with David Chappell on the song Fading Giants, this album is full of both epic hybrid adventure pieces and beautiful orchestral tracks.

Most Listened to Tracks: Atmospheric Entry, Gravity, Distant Clouds

Below the Horizon: Dusk by Dos Brains: Silver Screen

After two years of being kept from the public, Dos Brains: Silver Screen finally released the second half of its debut album Below the Horizon. Entitled Dusk, this album features 11 dark electronic sound design and orchestral pieces composed by Colin E. Fisher, Dirk Ehlert, Alan Jay Reed, Jochen Flach, Kavin Hoo, Or Chausha, Italy Steinberg and Roman Weinstein. Julie Elven's vocals are featured on Eternal Light. More albums will be made public in the wake of this release, so stay tuned!

Most Listened to Tracks: Nova, Remember, Die Again, Rise from the Ashes

Blackspace by Ghostwriter Music

Composed by Phil Lober, best known for his piece Alive which has over 1 million views on YouTube, Blackspace is an epic trailer music album featuring Lober's distinctive style. Several notable pieces are on this album, including Sidewinder (used for the Aquaman trailer), Desolator (used in the Venom trailer) and The Gamer (used in the Ready Player One trailer).

Most Listened to Tracks: The Gamer, Find Them & Sidewinder

Breath of Life by Dustin Krizan

Breath of Life, published by Epic Music Vn, is an epic inspirational orchestral album that features veteran vocalists Aeralie Brighton and Merethe Soltvedt. This album is name-your-price on Bandcamp and all proceeds go to the "Little Hands" orphanage in Tecate, Mexico.

Most Listened to Tracks: It's Done, Breath of Life & Risen

Budapest by IMAscore

This EP features five epic and adventurous orchestral tracks composed by Andreas Kubler, Apollon De Moura, Eric Krause, Florian Wunsch and Sebastian Kubler. As the title suggests, this album was recorded live in Budapest and, as a result, has a very majestic sound to it.

Most Listened to Tracks: Reaching for the Horizon, Army of Strings & Guideless Journey

Celestine by Hidden Citizens

While mainly known for their epic covers, Hidden Citizens also publishes original compositions. Indeed, this year they published two very different albums featuring brand new tracks. Celestine is the more traditional trailer-y album, with epic and emotive builds underscored by awesome collaborations. This album sees the return of Rånya (Land of Confusion and (I Just) Died in Your Arms) and Tim Halperin (Hungry Like the Wolf) along with new vocalists Erin McCarley and Svrcina.

Most Listened to Tracks: Out of Time, United & Too Far Gone

Clandestine by Jo Blankenburg

Unlike Jo's epic orchestral album Cronos, this album is a much more intimate take on trailer music. Small groups of instruments orchestrate builds and unique melodies in this adventurous-epic-emotive album. Though it may be a bit of a mixed bag at times, this album is sure to please.

Most Listened to Tracks: The Hunted, Heartstrings & Bazaar

Creation by Cézame Trailers

One of the many albums released by Cézame Trailers this past year, Creation is an epic fantasy hybrid album. Philippe Briand & Gabriel Saban, who composed half of the pieces, are joined by Lucas Napoleone, Loïc Ouaret, Basptiste Thiry, Alexandros Nikolaidis & Sebastijan Duh on this album and the result is an amazing adventure through epic battles and childhood dreams.

Most Listened to Tracks: Imaginarium, A World of Imagination & Creation

Cybernetic Dreams by Soundcritters

Composed by Kai Hartwig, this album is notable for being free to download on Soundcritters' official YouTube channel. Surprisingly memorable, this album features several epic, emotive orchestral and hybrid tracks that paint the scene for a desolate futuristic landscape.

Most Listened to Tracks: A Wise Tree, Freejump & Starways

Elements by Danny Olson

Elements is a four part EP released by Position Music and composed by Danny Olson, known for being one half of the epic pop group Hidden Citizens. This album features epic, emotive hybrid pieces, sometimes reminiscent of Olson's work on Revivals.

Most Listened to Tracks: Horizon & Tide

EON by Atom Music Audio

One of the several albums released by relative newcomer Atom Music Audio, EON features emotive, beautiful pieces along with more epic ones. A whopping 14 composers are featured, including Dirk Ehlert, Pieces of Eden, Lisa Van Hal, Fred Texier and Jonathan Mayer.

Most Listened to Tracks: Limitless, Beyond the Horizon & Stellarium

Existentia by Really Slow Motion & Instrumental Core

After three years, the dynamic duo is back! Existentia is the third collaboration album between Really Slow Motion & Instrumental Core and features adventurous and emotive dubchestral pieces. Along with brand-new never-before-heard pieces is a remastered version of Mechanical Heart from 2012.

Most Listened to Tracks: Roots, Existentia & Queen

One of the first releases to the public by Cézame Trailers, this album features emotional and epic hybrid tracks composed by Philippe Briand & Gabriel Saban (known for their album Infinity released under Revolt Production Music).

Most Listened to Tracks: Stellaris, Extrahuman & The Illusion of Choice

Gates of Heaven 3 by Revolt Production Music

Gates of Heaven 3 is the third in the "Gates of Heaven" series of albums released by Revolt Production Music, all of which feature epic and emotive orchestral and hybrid pieces. Several composers contributed to this 28-track album, including Lisa Van Hal, Martin E. Insaurgarat, Omar Raafat and Steve Syz.

Most Listened to Tracks: Dawn of Victory, Champion of the Radiant & Ascending to the 5^th Dimension

Illumina Anthology by Two Steps from Hell

Initially released in 2010, Illumina features a different, softer side of Two Steps from Hell. While mainly featuring emotive, beautiful and unique pieces, there are some more traditional trailer tracks like Corruption. Both Thomas Bergersen & Nick Phoenix contributed to this album and Aya Peard's voice can be heard on two pieces (Ulthuan and Morningstar).

Most Listened to Tracks: Down, Cloud Maker & Corruption

La Belle Époque by Audiomachine

La Belle Époque fully embraces its classical roots by utilizing orchestra, cello, violins and piano to create epic and beautiful compositions perfect for period pieces. Many composers contributed to this album, including Harry Lightfoot, Axl Rosenberg, Kevin Rix and Stuart Roslyn.

Most Listened to Tracks: Stronger, The Big Smoke & Restlessness

Mechanize, Vol. 2 by Atom Music Audio

A

nother stellar album by Atom Music Audio, Mechanize, Vol. 2 is a collection of hybrid rock tracks. Sometimes epic, sometimes emotive, this album features 12 composers, including David Chappell, Alan Lennon & Infinitescore (Mohammad Butt).

Most Listened to Tracks: Exile, Revolt & Cytokine Storm

Miraculum by Really Slow Motion

After almost two years of holding out on its fans, Really Slow Motion finally released Miraculum, a compilation album that pulls the best tracks from the company's most recent industry albums such as Echo of One and Into the Horizon, Vol. 2. This album is probably the best of all the public releases as it shows the sheer range of the company's talents, from emotive, beautiful pieces to dark, epic hybrid. Hannu Honkonen, Dylan Jones, Lydia Davies & Instrumental Core are among the composers featured on this album while Leena Tirronen, Candela Cibrian, Felicia Farerre & Krista Ruusunen all lend their voices.

Most Listened to Tracks: Becoming, Iomann & The Echo of One

Obsidian by Hidden Citizens

The other half of Hidden Citizens' dual release, Obsidian features dark, gritty hybrid rock and hip-hop tracks. Some of the vocalists from Celestine reprise their roles here (ESSA, Sam Tinnesz and Rånya), creating a very interesting Jekyll and Hyde effect. The song Never Stop featuring Jung Youth from the Equalizer 2 trailer is also on this album.

Most Listened to Tracks: Run Run Rebel, Shots Fired & Unstoppable

Piano Works 6 by Elephant Music

Elephant Music finally released some public albums to the public, including Richard Schreiber's Piano Works. The 6^th volume in this series features simple, heroic and beautiful compositions.

Most Listened to Tracks: Hear in Colour, Never Too Late & Of Flying

Revivals by Hidden Citizens

Revivals is an epic cover album of sorts, except the pieces being reworked this time are classical pieces by Beethoven, Wagner, Prokofiev & Tchaikovsky. The result are some bombastic epic hybrid tracks that pay a powerful homage to the composers of old. This album amassed a lot of attention very quickly when its covers of Symphony No. 5, Moonlight Sonata and Für Elise got several million views on YouTube. Additionally, Symphony No. 5 was used in the Mission Impossible: Fallout trailer.

Most Listened to Tracks: Moonlight Sonata, Symphony No. 5 & Ride of the Valkyries

Sentient by Evolving Sound

Originally released some time ago to the industry, Sentient is an album filled with emotive and dramatic orchestral tracks. Its strings were recorded live by the lead string players of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and nine composers lent their talents to this album, including Cesc Vilá, Michael Emmerson, Stephen Fischer, Nik Ammar & Mike Reed.

Most Listened to Tracks: Pyramids, Innocence & The Time Between

Sequels by 2WEI

After the massive success of their trailer album Escape Velocity, 2WEI made its return with an epic cover of Destiny's Child's Survivor, which was featured on the second Tomb Raider trailer and gained almost 20 million views on YouTube. Later, the team released an epic cover of Toxic by Britney Spears and, finally, a full-length album – Sequels – of covers of songs by Chopin, Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails, among others. Retaining its signature 2WEI sound while still being loyal to the songs it covers, this album is worth the check out.

Most Listened to Tracks: Survivor, Toxic & In the End

Signs from the Sky by Sybrid

This album features an interesting mix of both hybrid rock tracks, epic orchestral tracks and epic pop tracks. From the hard-hitting drums in Durum Modus to the epic choral chanting in Planinski Briz, this album never lets up. Several vocalists lent their talents to this album, including Efisio Cross of If You Fall, I Will Carry You fame.

Most Listened to Tracks: Durum Modus, Light of Hope & Planinski Briz

Sounds of Power 7 by Fearless Motivation Instrumentals

Thanks to its track Revival from the first volume in this series getting some attention on YouTube, this company of a few years has seen its tracks get more exposure on YouTube. This album is a perfect example of the kind of hidden gems you find when you look hard enough: several of its pieces are packed with epic orchestra, like Looking with the Stars, but some like Redemption dare you not to cry as you listen to them. This album was composed solely by Nicholas Macri.

Most Listened to Tracks: Redemption, Looking at the Stars & Day of Purpose

The Iconic Series, Vol. 7 by J2

The Iconic Series has been around since 2014, but J2 is far from done with his epic reimaginings of classic songs. Among other songs, this album covers Oasis' Wonderwall, Linkin Park's Crawling and Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head. Eight vocalists appear on this album, including StarGzrLily, I.Am.Willow and Keeley Bumford.

Most Listened to Tracks: Animal, War & Can't Get You Out of My Head

Time Gate by Kings & Creatures

This album is filled with dark orchestral and hybrid tracks, but has its moments of emotional charge, such as the drums in Into the Dark. Seven composers created this album, including William Morris & Jordan Rees.

Most Listened to Tracks: Fall of Glory, Talos & Into the Dark

Uncovered by Damned Anthem

Damned Anthem's new EP features five epic trailer covers of classic songs, such as Europe's The Final Countdown and The Cranberries' Zombie. Unlike J2 or Hidden Citizens, Damned Anthem remains closer to the original artists' intent and the result is a melancholic yet epic sound. Lola Rhodes provided the vocals for all five covers.

Most Listened to Tracks: Uprising, Zombie & The Final Countdown

Volturnus by Audiomachine

Audiomachine's most hybrid-infused album yet is filled to the brim with epic composers such as Cody Still, Mark Petrie, Harry Lightfoot and Jochen Flach. Each composer uses their respective talents to deliver a truly remarkable epic album that stands out from the competition. This album featuresRedshift, used in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer,So Say We All, used in the Avengers: End Game trailer, and Cities of Dust, used in the Venom trailer.

Most Listened to Tracks: Absolute Magnitude, Redshift & Protect and Defend

Wings of Apocalypse by Eternal Eclipse

Wings of Apocalypse, Eternal Eclipse's debut public album, contains epic, dark orchestral tracks by some of the top composers in the industry, including Thomas-Adam Habuda, Axl Rosenberg and Piotr Adam Musial. Merethe Soltvedt appears on two tracks: Inferia and Twilight Huntress. If you liked Two Steps from Hell's Classics, Vol. 1 album, this is the album for you.

Most Listened to Tracks: Revelations, Chosen One & Seventh Element

Winterstorm by IMAscore

Another EP by IMAscore, this album is filled with epic fantasy tracks. Both Andreas Kubler and Florain Wunsch reappear on this album along with Jascha Heidicke.

Most Listened to Tracks: Winterstorm

Industry Albums

Kinetic by Brand X Music

Though Brand X Music didn't release any public albums this year, they didn't fail to keep up with their industry releases. Kinetic is an epic, emotive, heroic orchestral album with pieces by Christer Wibert, Daniel Beijbom, John Sponsler, Tom Gire, Corey Martin and Josh Lynch. Merethe Soltvedt is featured on two tracks (Entrada and Evergreen), the former of which was featured on the Mortal Engines trailer along with Survivor.

Most Listened to Tracks: Evergreen, Never Forget & Stop at Nothing

Singles and Standout Tracks

Amaranthyn by Ivan Torrent

An emotive vocal track that was originally featured on the trailer for Ivan Torrent's Immortalys album. Features Lara Ausensi on vocals.

Charon by Matt Sunny

An epic orchestral track released by relative newcomer Matt Sunny.

Enslaved by Elephant Music from "Moros Black"

An epic hybrid track with an interesting clock-type build. In a mediocre album, this is the only standout track.

Battleground by Brand X Music from "Super X"

An epic hybrid track that fits well into the overall superhero theme of the album.

Hope is a Ghost (Epic Version) by Angelflare

An epic-fied version of Angelflare's song Hope is Ghost released in 2016. Merethe Soltvedt is featured on vocals.

In the End (Remastered) by Marcus Warner from "39 Seconds"

In the End, originally released as a single, gets itself a wonderful set of vocals (done by Fatma Fadel) and a brand new Asian-influenced vibe in the second half.

Last Forever by David Chappell

A short, heroic track released by David Chappell. Notable for having been created live on his YouTube channel.

Living Beyond Time by End of Silence from "Gate of Realms"

An epic fantasy track composed by Dylan Neuschwander with vocals by Alina Lesnik, known for her cover of Children of the Sun by Thomas Bergersen.

New Divide by J2

Originally featured on the trailer for Alita: Battle Angel, this epic cover of Linkin Park's hit song features Avery on vocals.

No One Like You by J2

Another epic cover by J2, this time an emotive version of a song by Scorpions. Coleen McMahon provides the vocals.

No Tomorrow by David Chappell

Another short, yet emotive, track released by David Chappell.

Pure Imagination by Bryan Nguyen from the Ready Player One Soundtrack

An epic cover of Gene Wilder's Pure Imagination published by Ghostwriter Music. Though this song was released as part of the soundtrack for Ready Player One, it was not featured in the film itself but rather in its trailer. Merethe Soltvedt provides the vocals.

Revolution by UNSECRET

An epic pop song, complete with violin, percussion and vocals by Ruelle. Used in the trailer for The Darkest Minds.

Star Travellers by Songs to Your Eyes from "Earth & Beyond"

An emotive hybrid track composed by Lionel Schmitt as part of his solo album for Songs to Your Eyes.

Ware is Caleb by Generdyn

Originally a custom cue for a friend, Generdyn released this epic hybrid track to the public in early 2018.

Wargirl by Sybrid

An epic, heroic track with several Tarzan/jungle-y vibes. Tatiana Shishkova provided the vocals.

Wonderwall by Ex Makina

An epic cover of Oasis' Wonderwall that was featured in the trailer for the new CBS show "FBI."

You Are Light by Thomas Bergersen

A single released by Thomas Bergersen. Epic pop at its finest, this track has choir and lyrics sung and written by Felicia Farerre.