Review: Al’Naito (The Flame) – Lorne Balfe
- by Nicholas Gaudet
- in Reviews
The first single coming from the Wheel of Time soundtrack, ‘Al’Naito’ is beyond just a wonderful piece of music – it’s a love letter to the world Robert Jordan created through and through.
Bit by bit, Amazon has been releasing new information about the upcoming fantasy series called ‘The Wheel of Time’, based on the fourteen-book series of the same name written by Robert Jordan, including the first full track to be featured on the show. The production team has made it obvious that there’s a lot of care put into the show, and this track is a testament to that. Tonally, it matches the energy expected in such a book series. With magical elements, powerful nations and governing powers that are mighty and crushing, the world of the Wheel of Time can truly get brutal and epic, which is reflected perfectly in ‘Al’Naito’. The melodies are absolutely infectious and memorable, but what’s especially impressive is that the composer of the track actually made the singers sing in the Old Tongue, which is a language native of The Wheel of Time. That element alone would bring a tear to any Wheel of Time fan. Even without the context of this song being in a new fantasy show, it’s a wonderful listen through and through. The instrumentation is loud and booming, the chorus is dark, ominous, and powerful. There’s an element of rock within the track without explicitly sounding rock per se. The way the instruments are layered, on top of just the pure choice of instruments used for the song feel like a boiling pot of culture, which again reflects The Wheel of Time so beautifully.
Lorne Balfe really put his all into this song. Giving justice to a world and setting as grand and complex as The Wheel of Time is no easy feat, yet he did it with absolute grace. The song stands out by itself, but works even better with its context. The inclusion of the Old Tongue is more than a cherry on top of the cake, it’s a whole other cake on its own. ‘Al’Naito’ will get anyone hyped for the show, fan of the original book series or no.
