The monkey king

One of the most impressive scores for a video game soundtrack ever released features the talents of both award winning composer Christopher Young and wild and charismatic heavy metal drummer Mark “Gus” Scott.

Christopher Young

Golden Globe & two-time Emmy nominated composer Christopher Young has scored an impressive number of features in virtually every genre, all with strikingly original music.

His score for The Monkey King “Havoc in Heaven’s Palace” motion picture is among his best and was an international success, setting a high standard for the genre.

Now his talents are on display in The Monkey King: The Adventure Begins AR Game App.  To match the scope of the game, the included six Chris Young compositions are absolutely enormous, filled to the brim with sweeping themes, throbbing action sequences, and rich regional color. Recorded in Bratislava with the Slovak National Orchestra and the Lucnica Chorus, features various vocal soloists, and a number of solo instruments ranging from traditional Chinese erhus to electric guitars.

The soundtrack is structured around the classic story of “Sun Wukong, The Monkey King.” Young writes his music as a series of vignettes that focus on the situational specificity of each scene, and concentrates on making the melodic, textural, and rhythmic elements of the score as bold, dynamic and interesting as possible.

Action music also plays a large part in the score, right from the opening track “Yu Huang Da Di, the Jade Emperor.”

“Nuwa, the Goddess of Works” begins with much thunder but features a beautiful middle section showcasing a heavenly female choir, and a majestic brass theme. Young also makes use of the tender vocal performances of ten-year-old Julie Chae, a Los Angeles-based singer who was chosen out of hundreds of applicants, and is a member of the Heart of Los Angeles Youth Orchestra choir.

“Erlangshen, the Three-Eyed Warrior” is light and expressive, with more traditional Chinese instruments, while “Subhūti, the Old Master” conveys a sense of mischief that is so intrinsic to the conflicts between Wukong and his wise teacher.

The second part of the score’s finale is “Sun Wukong, The Monkey King,” which incorporates Young’s most stirring versions of the Jade Emperor theme yet.

Mark “Gus” Scott – Trixter

At the other end of the musical spectrum, but quite appropriate for this action fighting game, is Platinum International Music Sensation and the wild and charismatic drummer for the internationally renowned rock band “Trixter”, Mark “Gus” Scott who has sold well over 3 million albums worldwide, and performed in front of millions of people around the globe.  He composed three original tracks for the soundtrack.

For the main theme and menu we hear Scott’s “Orchestra & Strings, while on Five-finger Mountain his climactic ending is brought forward on two powerful tracks “The Monkey King – Tribal Long Version”, and the bonus track The “Monkey King – Tribal End.”