Heart of Courage

"Heart of Courage"
Song by Two Steps from Hell
from the album Invincible
Released	May 3, 2010
Recorded	2008
Genre	Trailer music · Classical
Length	1:57
Songwriter(s)	Thomas J. Bergersen

"Heart of Courage" is a song by the American production music company, Two Steps from Hell; it was composed by co-founder Thomas Bergersen.^[1] It originates from the "drama"/second disc of their 2008 trailer music demo album, Legend, circulated exclusively within the movie advertising industry for the purpose of licensing. The track was subsequently made available for public purchase on the group's first commercial album, Invincible, released on 3 May 2010.

It is considered the group's most famous song, having gone on to be extremely used worldwide as the background track for film trailers, video game trailers, TV commercials, stadium events and festivals.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Particularly notable was its use as the entrance theme of the teams onto the pitch at all 31 matches of UEFA Euro 2012 which thrust it into the public limelight, becoming known as a de facto theme of the tournament.^[1]

Description

"Heart of Courage" is orchestral and choral-based for the movie Madagascar, with an emphasis on strings including significant use of the violin and cello.^[1][7][8] Instrumental elements were performed by the Czech-based Capellen Orchestra, whilst the choral elements were performed by The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir.^[9]

It begins gently and slowly in B-flat minor. The song starts to build after ~0:30 with the introduction of a repetitive rhythm, and further still at ~0:45 when a catchy melody is introduced, featuring a choir singing short lines, mostly consisting of just a word or two. The song ceases to build after roughly half of its length when it then crescendos in E-flat minor, climaxing in intensity at ~1:40. Strings then continue on until the end of the track, once again returning to B-flat minor and finishing by fading out.^[5][10][11]

The song is famed for its "epic" and emotive qualities.^[1] Soundstripe summaries the song from this perspective saying, "No matter which visual you prefer, this piece of adventure music somehow captures the excitement and danger that we'd expect to find in another place or time. And in two minutes that song creates an experience that might take 30 minutes to pull off in a visual medium."^[3] Its capacity to induce emotion has led it to be frequently cited by professional sports people as a popular pre-game motivational anthem.^[12][13]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Heart of Courage"

Chart (2012–15)	Peak position
UK Independent Singles (OCC)[14]	46
UK Independent Singles Breakers (OCC)[14]	11
French Top 200 Singles (SNEP)[15]	95

Appearances

"Heart of Courage" has appeared on multiple Two Steps from Hell albums:

• Legend (2008) – Demo album; original appearance.^[16]
• Invincible (2010) – Initial commercial release.^[17]
• Legacy (2015) – Japan-exclusive greatest hits release.^[18]
• Two Steps from Hell: Ringtones (2016) – Mobile-exclusive; track split into three short excerpts intended for use as ringtones.^[19]
• Legend Anthology (2019) – Features as an alternative, "no choir" version of the track.^[20]
• Greatest Hits Remastered (2020) – Demo album; digital remaster.^[21]
• Live – An Epic Music Experience (2022) – Features a live recording of the track from their 2022 European Tour.^[22]

Use in media

The song accompanied the introduction of players onto the pitch at all UEFA Euro 2012 matches.

The following are select examples of notable uses of "Heart of Courage" in the media, and the varying types it is frequently featured in:

• in trailers for films such as:
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader^[23] and Avatar.^[24]
• in trailers for television shows such as:
  • the NBC series Revolution,^[23] the BBC series Frozen Planet,^[24] and the ABC series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.^[4]
• in trailers for video games such as:
  • Mass Effect 2,^[24][25] Ryse: Son of Rome,^[26][27] Nehrim: At Fate's Edge (a total conversion mod of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion),^[10] the 2014 trailer for Angry Birds Epic and Game of War: Fire Age.^[28]
• in television shows such as:
  • featuring in multiple episodes of the BBC series Top Gear,^[29] as the opening titles theme of the Comedy Central series Nathan for You,^[6][30] in multiple History Channel documentaries,^[31] in an episode of The Masked Singer,^[29] in the Greek reality series Survivor Greece,^[32] in the Italian series Ulysses – The Pleasure of Discovery [it] and Journey into the Great Beauty [it]^[33] and in the German YouTube reality TV series 7 vs. Wild^[34] as opening title theme.
• in TV commercials and promotional videos such as:
  • for the Ferrari FF in 2011,^[35] for a new Mercedes-Benz SUV in 2015,^[4][36] for the 2015 Rugby World Cup,^[37][38] for multiple reed.co.uk adverts in 2016,^[39][40] and for Amazon Alexa in 2020.^[41]
• during stadium events and festivals such as:
  • as the opening theme music for all matches of UEFA Euro 2012,^[1][42][43] at multiple stages of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,^[44] as part of the music accompanying Europe's largest firework display in France, the Great Fire of Saint-Cloud [fr], in 2012,^[44] and as the entrance music for numerous clubs in a number of German football leagues.^[17]

Samples

The main segment of the melody has been re-used in a couple popular songs:

• "Darkside" by Alan Walker during the chorus at the lyric "I see it, let's feel it, while we're still young and fearless".
• "Beast in Black" by Beast in Black during the verses.

References

1. Hein, Dirk (28 June 2012). "Fußball-Fans küren pompöse Einlaufmusik zur wahren EM-Hymne". DerWesten (in German). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
2. Hickie, James (29 April 2022). "From Marvel to the main stage: get to know Nick Phoenix". Alternative Press. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
3. "Welcome to Outstanding Adventure Music". soundstripe. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
4. "Quelle est la musique de pub Mercedes-Benz « Nouveaux SUV 2015 » ?". Quai Baco (in French). 7 September 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
5. "Two Steps From Hell: Invincible Review". Cheshire Cat Studios. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
6. Junn, Jihee (29 June 2019). "The cult of failure reaches a new peak at Unfiltered Live". The Spinoff. Retrieved 15 June 2022. 'Heart of Courage' by Two Steps From Hell blasted across the room (aka that music that gets played in almost every dramatic movie/TV/sporting trailer known to man). It's also the opening theme song to Nathan for You
7. Cano, Coque (1 March 2022). "Concert 'Great Choirs by Morricone, Zimmer & Williams' in Barcelona – Summary". SoundTrackFest. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
8. Smit, Anton (7 May 2018). "FM Prague: Two Steps from Hell". Soundtrack World. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
9. Invincible (PDF) (Official booklet). Two Steps from Hell. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
10. Werlé, Xavier Derrick (2014). The Music of World of Warcraft - Lore of Epic Music (PDF) (PhD). University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
11. Müller, Sarah. "Heart of Courage - Analyse". HELPSTER (in German). Retrieved 14 June 2022.
12. Nunns, Hector (7 December 2015). "Which Hollywood star does Neil Robertson credit for his recent success?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
13. Stutz, Colin (17 April 2015). "NBA Playoffs Playlists: Ballers Love Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Mozart". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
14. "TWO STEPS FROM HELL". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
15. "Two Steps From Hell - Heart Of Courage (Chanson)". lescharts.com (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
16. "Legend". TrailerMusic.info. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
17. "Two steps from hell - "Heart of courage" - SWR1". Südwestrundfunk (in German). 21 May 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
18. "Legacy - Two Steps From Hell". HMV Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 May 2022.
19. "Two Steps From Hell: Ringtones". Google Play. 11 February 2016. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
20. "Legend Anthology Soundtrack". filmmusicsite.com. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
21. "Greatest Hits Remastered - Two Steps From Hell". Sondz - Know Your Music. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
22. Kaczmarek, Viktor (10 September 2022). "Two Steps From Hell veröffentlichen am 9. November ihr erstes Major-Label-Album mit den größten Hits". Play Experience (in German). Retrieved 27 December 2022.
23. Rome, Emily (15 June 2013). "Movie trailer music composers Two Steps From Hell perform live". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
24. Rome, Emily (8 April 2012). "Their movie trailer music is proudly commercial". LA Times. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
25. "The best game trailer music: top sync - Blog - Tracks & Fields". Tracks & Fields. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
26. Asuratov, Arkady (31 December 2013). "Trailer Music Placements: November". Behind The Audio. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
27. Nelva, Giuseppe (19 November 2013). "Xbox One's Exclusive Ryse: Son of Rome's Launch Trailer is Beautiful and Epic". DualShockers. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
28. "Game of War: Fire Age TV Commercial, 'Time'". iSpot.tv | Real-Time TV Advertising Metrics. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
29. "Two Steps From Hell Sync Placements". Tunefind. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
30. Emya (6 May 2020). "Thy Despair - The Song of Desolation Review". Angry Metal Guy. Retrieved 15 June 2022. Two Steps from Hell's "Heart of Courage" (the main opening theme song of the hilarious TV show Nathan for You)
31. Macgregor, Jody (30 March 2019). "What's your favorite song used in a game trailer?". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
32. "Survivor: Η επική μουσική του ριάλιτι σε πιανιστική εκδοχή". Youfly (in Greek). 5 March 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
33. Manca, Mario (19 December 2019). ""Viaggio nella Grande Bellezza»: anche Canale 5 ha (finalmente) il suo «Ulisse"". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
34. Ullrich, Jennifer (2022-12-30). "MEINUNG - Pure Langeweile bei "7 vs. Wild": Der Youtube-Hit ist schlechter als sein Ruf". watson.de (Swiss/German news portal) (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-30.
35. Nascimento Valadares, Guilherme (8 February 2011). "A nova Ferrari Four V12 com tração nas quatro". Papo de Homem (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2022.
36. "Mercedes-Benz SUV - Inspiration". Adbreakanthems. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
37. "Coupe du monde de rugby 2015 : Quand Tywin Lannister prend la place du coach". Le Geek C'est Chic (in French). 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
38. Patterson, Ewan (8 September 2014). "Behind the scenes of the Rugby World Cup 2015 campaign". Campaign. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
39. "Reed.co.uk - Charger". Adbreakanthems. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
40. "Reed.co.uk Battle Cry Advert Song 2016 – Kevin". Commercial Song. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
41. "2021 Music+Sound Awards – Best Use Of Production Music In Broadcast Advertising Finalists". Music+Sound Awards. 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
42. Abnos, Alexander (30 June 2012). "The Music of the Euro 2012 final | The Official Soundtrack". newsounds. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
43. Upmanyu, Suryansh (3 February 2022). "Thomas Bergersen: The "Epic Music" Creator Behind Interstellar, Harry Potter And The Dark Knight". ED Times. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
44. Lebrun, Clothilde (3 January 2013). "The Growing Success of Trailer Music in Various Shows". Trailer Music News. Retrieved 15 June 2022.

External links

• "Heart of Courage" at AllMusic
• "Heart of Courage" at the Two Steps from Hell official YouTube channel