'The Dark Knight Rises' Soundtrack Review

Hans Zimmer delivered a stellar soundtrack for The Dark Knight and he is now back for The Dark Knight Rises as well. Indeed, all of Mr. Zimmer's work is utterly fantastic, but anticipation for his latest work, The Dark Knight Rises, to be even better was quite high. Knowing Hans Zimmer though, that is not only possible, but likely. Now, the soundtrack isn't officially available for purchase until the 17th, but as of today it is available for streaming.

1. A Storm is Coming
An introduction of sorts. Nothing much to see here. Yet.
2. On Thin Ice
A very nice violin (and slightly vocal) piece. Slow. Eerie. Sets the tone well for what's to come.
3. Gotham's Reckoning
An "action centric" song that no doubt will be played during some sort of fight scene. That chant from all the trailers is the base of this track.
4. Mind If I Cut In?
Somewhat of a continuation of track 2. This time with some brilliant piano — something that is a little bit out of Hans Zimmer's comfort zone, particularly for Batman scores, but it pulled of perfectly.
5. Underground Army
Has a slightly techno tone to it. Not much else going on here. Somewhat of a filler track for the movie. Advancing the feel.
6. Born in Darkness
Back to violins, which is always good. Especially when Hans Zimmer is conducting them. An emotionally moving piece. Simple. Elegant. Nothing great, though.
7. The Fire Rises
Back to action. Classic Batman track for Mr. Zimmer. Big and fast swings up and down. A good piece, but not nearly as exhilarating as some of the best ones can be. Picks up real well towards the end.
8. Nothing Out There
Another slow track. Very similar to the great slow piece "Harvey Two-Face" on The Dark Knight soundtrack.
9. Despair
And there we go. The Hans Zimmer Batman theme is all its glory. Adrenaline pumping. Great track that leads right into the next one for more awesomeness.
10. Fear Will Find You
Continues where "Despair" left off. Starts in full swing and gradually slows down until it transitions smoothly into the next track.
11. Why Do We Fall?
An excellent, excellent, emotion soaring piece. Original tune, perfect ending. If only it were longer than 2 minutes...
12. Death By Exile
Not much of a track at all. About 25 seconds of transitional sounds into the final section of the soundtrack.
13. Imagine the Fire
This is the piece we have all been waiting for on this soundtrack. Over 7 minutes of pure excellence. As amazingly as it starts — it only gets better. There is a slight swing to a calm towards the middle, but it's not nearly as pronounced as in "The Fire Rises". That chant comes back subtly at one point too. Almost Inception-like sound at certain points. But that is a very good thing. This is a stellar track.
14. Necessary Evil
Starts slow, picks up slightly for a bit, then slows down again.
15. Rise
Another 7 minutes of goodness. Interesting choral vocals. Really nice sound and feel to this piece. It's actually mostly slow, but it's another one of those emotional bits. The violin builds and builds, picks up a bit with drums, and then — just like that — it's over.

A bit of old, a bit of new. A bunch of filler, but that's to be expected with soundtracks. It's the 3 or 4 excellent tracks that really are you come for. And indeed, The Dark Knight Rises soundtrack delivers. Just as good as expected.