Conan the Destroyer - Expanded

In 1984, King Conan returned to the big screen in Conan The Destroyer, the more family-friendly PG-rated sequel to the 1982 R-rated affair of Conan the Barbarian. It was a sequel that film critic Roger Ebert said was "sillier, funnier, and more entertaining" that its predecessor. Back for the second film adventure with Conan was composer Basil Poledouris, composing a score rooted in the ideas and themes from the first film, along with a host of new themes. Poledouris originally planned to simply adapt his score for this first film, but after seeing the tone and plot of the new film he realized he needed to deconstruct the original and build an all-new score around it. In turn the result is a lighter, more adventurous, but no less thundering score for a movie less about a revenge and more a Dungeons & Dragons-style quest.

For this release, licensed with the generous cooperation of Universal Music Enterprises and Universal Studios, Intrada was given access to the three-channel stereo scoring session masters. At the time of the film's theatrical run, a 30-minute album of highlights was released on MCA Records. This new Intrada album features the complete score release, doubling the running time of that original MCA album to 60 minutes. It features a wealth of new material, including the premiere of the film's "Main Title," which contains the only time the new Conan theme is fully developed, as well as highlights like "Zula-Bombaata Fight" and the beautifully reflective "Ice Palace." The music is performed by the Union Musicisti Di Roma in a very crisp and detailed recording that makes it sound like the musicians are right in the room with you. Also featured is a striking new cover designed by Stéphane Coedel.