Rani’s Favorite Music: Part one, the epic side

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. It’s my birth month, you see, and we’re having a little fun in here, this month. I couldn’t decide what I really wanted to talk about, and so I finally settled on talking about a few of my favorite things. In general. Just, you know, my favorites. All through the lens of my writing life, because, hey, I'm a writer! So, we’ve talked about my favorite books, my favorite television show, and my favorite inspiring movie, and this week, we’re diving into one of my other favorite things: music.

Rani’s Favorite Music: Two Steps from Hell

If you’ve been following me at all for any length of time, then I’m sure you’ve heard this name before. I just love Two Steps from Hell. I really do. I can’t get enough of them. I’ve bought almost every single album they’ve released since I first discovered them. Why? Because they were the first in my exploration of epic music, and they also just so happen to be some of the best epic music out there.

I’m one of those writers who needs instrumental music, if I’m going to write well. I need a soundtrack, to the things I’m writing. I need… theme music. And epic music is a great way to have that.

But, of course, one never starts with epic music.

No, no, I started with soundtracks. I love soundtracks. Always have, always will. I have most of the X-Men soundtracks, because, say what you will about the movies, the music has always been amazing. And I also have a vast collection of anything Hans Zimmer has composed, along with Harry Gregson-Williams and a few others. That’s where I started. And one day I went on Amazon and was looking at artists similar to Zimmer, and Amazon suggested (you guessed it) Two Steps from Hell.

I’ve never looked back. I bought my first of their albums, that day. I listened to it on repeat for months, before it finally occurred to me to go online and see what else they had available. Now, I even have a playlist made up of my favorite Two Steps music, and nothing but Two Steps.

Sure, they’re not the only epic music company I listen to—but they just so happen to be my favorite, and what I think is some of the best music out there, period. It’s inspiring, it’s unique, it’s beautiful and frightening and emotional and terrifying and moody and anything you need it to be, at any given moment. The composers from Two Steps from Hell really put their hearts and souls into their music, and you can feel it in every song you listen to.

Of course, like I said, they’re not the only epic music I listen to. They’re just my favorite. But if you’re looking for some epic music, I’m your girl. Check out Future World Music and Audiomachine, if you haven’t already. But always come back to Two Steps, because they’ll never let you down. Trust me, after all the epic music I’ve bought over the years, I would know.

Happy listening!

[love]

{Rani Divine}