With familiar themes of heroism and danger, Robert J. Kral's sountrack to the epic animation Superman: Doomsday hits your speakers like Doomsday himself. Over a decade after the publication of the bestselling graphic novel of all time The Death of Superman, Warner Brothers Animation has released the story in a direct-to-video cartoon. Though reactions to the feature itself were mixed, that shouldn't be the case with the soundtrack.

Featuring light strings flowing delicately through a terrain laden with hard hitting percussion, Kral clearly knows his way around action. (It's no wonder, considering he composed the music for TV's Angel, The Dresden Files and The Lost Room). But with all his experience, even Kral was a bit daunted by the "super" task before him. "While I was ecstatic over discovering I would write music for one of [superman's] biggest, most legendary adventures, I was also keenly aware of the responsibility at hand in scoring such an event."

"Toy Man Attacks" is a deliriously intoxicating blend of blustering strings and high notes, while "Return of the Hero" shows Kral's prowess at capturing the courageous side of the Man of Steel. "Luthor's Fate" is a bit short and generic for such an eventful moment but "A Safe Superman," the quietest track of the album, gently expresses a more relieving vibe than the rest of the tumultuous album.

After knocking out a new opening theme, focusing slightly less on the "super" and more on the "man" of the infamous superhero, Kral's four-note phrase (in stark contrast of the three-note melody of history, co-director Bruce Timm is quick to point out) sets the stage for the dire action to come. Bangingly flowing through the Doomsday battle, through the loss of Superman, his return and the final battle and end titles, Superman: Doomsday captures not only the sadness of the loss of the most well-known hero of all time, but the intensity of his battles.

Zach's Rating: A-

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