As is usual with trailer music, most of their releases are not sold commercially and are available for licensing only.
Public albums
Invincible (2010) — Compilation of some of the most popular Two Steps from Hell tracks. Also available on ExtremeMusic.
Illusions (2011) — Thomas Bergersen solo album, formerly titled Nemesis II. Also available on ExtremeMusic.
Archangel (2011) — Compilation of more of the most popular Two Steps from Hell tracks.
Demon's Dance (2012) — Compilation of tracks from various albums spanning multiple genres, available only on the Two Steps from Hell app for iOS and Android.
Halloween (2012) — Compilation of well-known horror tracks from several demonstration albums, with several other-genre tracks as well.
SkyWorld (2012) — First public album to use mostly all-new tracks. Expanded version available on ExtremeMusic.
Classics Volume One (2013) — Compilation of previously unreleased tracks in the same vein as Invincible and Archangel. First public album available in lossless audio. Expanded version available on ExtremeMusic.
Speed of Sound (2013) — Nick Phoenix album. All-new tracks. Also available on ExtremeMusic.
Miracles (2014) — An epic drama/emotional album with the best of Illumina, Dreams & Imaginations, Two Steps From Heaven, and a few new tracks composed by Thomas Bergersen.
Colin Frake on Fire Mountain (2014) — Soundtrack for an e-book penned by Nick Phoenix. Composed by Thomas Bergersen with additional music by Nick Phoenix.
Sun (2014) — All new tracks by Thomas Bergersen. Follow-up to Illusions. Also available on ExtremeMusic.
Battlecry (2015) — Public Album; "ultra epic" follow-up to SkyWorld and the first public album to be released on two discs. Also available on ExtremeMusic.
Legacy (2015) — Japan-exclusive album featuring compiled tracks from previous public albums.
Classics Volume Two (2015) — Compilation of new and previously unreleased tracks.
Two Steps from Hell: Ringtones (2016) — A collection of ringtones released on Google Play.
Vanquish (2016) —Released 12/02/16. Contains singer Felicia Ferrare who appeared in Battlecry.
Demonstration albums
Volume One (2006) — First album, featuring various genres
Shadows and Nightmares (2006) — Horror genre album, along with a sound effects library
Dynasty (2007) — Epic genre album
All Drums Go to Hell (2007) — Heavily percussion-oriented album
Pathogen (2007) — Epic futuristic metal album mostly composed by Nick Phoenix
Nemesis (2007) — Epic genre album mostly composed by Thomas Bergersen
Dreams & Imaginations (2008) — New Age album
Legend (2008) — Epic genre album, with some tracks composed by Troels Folmann
Ashes (2008) — Horror genre album
The Devil Wears Nada (2009) — Mostly light and humorous album
Power of Darkness (2010) — Epic genre album
All Drones Go to Hell (2010) — New Age album; also known as Mystical Beginnings.
Illumina (2010) — New Age album
Balls to the Wall (2011) — Percussion album, with some tracks composed by Alex Pfeffer.
Nero (2011) — Epic genre album, with some tracks composed by Alex Pfeffer.
Two Steps from Heaven (2012) — Pet project of Thomas Bergersen, featuring inspiring, emotional, and adventurous music.
Burn (2012) — A small collection of eight dubstep remixed tracks.
Cyanide (2013) — Percussion album
Crime Lab (2013) — electronic industrial album
Open Conspiracy (2014) — Electronic Hybrid album composed by Hitesh Ceon, Nick Pittsinger, Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix.
Amaria (2014) — new age/drama album composed by Thomas Bergersen.
Too Big to Fail (2014) — Sound effects library / Trailer toolkit.
Empire (2015) — Industry Album. Mostly consists of tracks from Classics Volume Two composed by Nick Phoenix.
Stronger Faster Braver (2015) — Subtitled as "Extreme Sports Music". Motivational, energetic and driving compositions.
Other albums
There are a number of albums made by other composers from the company, which are not considered part of the primary library and are consequently not represented on official Two Steps from Hell resources. They include:
Sinners (2011) — Electronic metal album composed by Aleksandar Dimitrijevic
Faction (2012) — Dark drones and soundscapes. Putative author is "Brad Rue", as shown on ExtremeMusic.com.
Solaris (2013) — Epic futuristic metal album, actually composed by Alex Pfeffer, who had previously contributed several tracks to the "Nero" album.
Orion (2013) — Short epic hybrid album composed by Michał Cielecki.
Quarantine (2014) — Sci-fi electronica album composed by Brad Rue.
Additionally, composer Troels Folmann contributed a number of tracks to the industry albums Dynasty, Dreams & Imaginations, and Legend, though he was credited only for the latter.
Commercial singles
Commercially available songs that are not on any album or were released as preview tracks. All of the following pieces are written by Bergersen, except where noted:
A Place in Heaven (2011) — Pre-release single from the Illusions album. Vocals performed by Jenifer Thigpen.
Ocean Princess (2011) — Pre-release single from the Illusions album. Vocals performed by Merethe Soltvedt.
Starvation (2011) — Pre-release single from the Illusions album.
Promise (2011) — Pre-release single from the Illusions album. Features cello performed by Tino Guo and vocals performed by Merethe Soltvedt.
Heart (2011) — Originally a single made to raise money to help the Tōhoku earthquake victims. Later included on the Two Steps from Heaven and Miracles albums.
The Hero in Your Heart (2013) — A single made to raise money to help the victims of the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Lyrics written and performed by Merethe Soltvedt.
That's A Wrap (2014) — A dark, adventurous orchestral ten-minute song created entirely with Thomas's proprietary sample library.
Autumn Love (2014) — An emotional, piano-driven track in a similar style to Dreams and Imaginations.
Into Darkness (2014) — A nine-minute mix of neo-orchestral and EDM club style. Lyrics performed by Thomas Bergersen
Stay (2014) — A pop-themed pre-release single from the Miracles album. Lyrics written and performed by Merethe Soltvedt.
Miracles (2014) — A second pre-release single from the Miracles album.
Children of the Sun (2015.05.04) — Original vocal version of "None Shall Live" from the Battlecry album. Lyrics performed by Merethe Soltvedt.
Christmas Medley (2015) — An orchestral medley comprising various Christmas songs. The track is named Two Steps From Xmas on ExtremeMusic.com
Threnody for Europe (2016.07.23) — A nearly ten-minute track intended as "a musical contemplation on the current unrest in Europe."
Standalone tracks
Songs that are not on any album or were initially released as preview tracks via Facebook. All of the following pieces are written by Bergersen, except when noted:
Soaring Over Hollywood (2009) — A demo track created using the East West Hollywood Strings sample library.
Just Another Happy Ending (2009) — A demo track created using the East West Hollywood Strings sample library.
In Your Arms (2010) — A remix of "Memories" from the Dreams & Imaginations album, featuring Merethe Soltvedt.
Tower of Mischief (2011) — Intended as a preview track for the Two Steps from Heaven album, but ultimately released on Nero.
My Freedom (2011) — A track originally considered for release on Illusions. Later included on the Nero album. Lyrics performed by Merethe Soltvedt. Has since been released to the public on the album Miracles.
Benedictus (2011) — Originally intended for release on Sun. Later included on the Two Steps from Heaven album.
Where Are You (2011) — Pop-trance track with acoustic elements. Lyrics performed by Thomas Bergersen
My Soul, Not Yours (2012) — Experimental dubstep track. Later included on the Burn album as "Not Your Soul".
Hymn to Life (2012) — A track released on the occasion of Thomas's birthday. Later performed in a Czech concert as "Hymnus Vitae Dedicatus".
To Die on Halloween (2012) — A song from the public album, Halloween, with lyrics written and performed by Nick Phoenix. An official music video was released via YouTube.
Colin and Petunia (2014) — Preview track for the Colin Frake on Fire Mountain album. Retitled "Colin Frake" for its album release.
Freedom Ship (2015) — Preview track for the Battlecry album. Composed by Nick Phoenix.
Neverdark (2015) — Preview track for the Classics Volume Two album. Composed by Nick Phoenix.
Since the release of their first album in 2006, their music has been featured in trailers for movies like Babel, Flyboys, Superman Returns, Blood Diamond, The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Hitcher, Hannibal Rising, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, WALL•E, Anna Karenina and many others.
Back to the Earth
Two Steps from Hell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A troubled stare
And when I ask where do we go
Say you don't care
Call on me
When the day is dark
Never too late, you're underrated
Whatever your sins, whatever your loss
Your cup is filled
There is no way to turn back the clock
No one will
Call on me
There's fire in your heart
Lying in wait just like a lion
Maybe we should go back to the earth
And live off the sun
Maybe we should crawl in the dirt
Before we run
A thousand years of art and song
Love and war
Tell me why you joined the club
What are you fighting for
All hands on deck
A suicide race
Prop up the good and smother the hate
The wall is high the sun is low
The four winds roar
Wide-eyed children fill the streets
To take back the score
There is no truth
That lies can make
No willing soldiers in the wake
Maybe we should go back to the earth
And live off the sun
Maybe we should crawl in the dirt
Before we run
Life is fragile
The flight of a sparrow
Will end
And the same goes for us
Born from the same rain and dust
Maybe we should go back to the earth
And life will grow
And the river soon to return
And a plan unfold
Look at your watch with a perilous gaze
A troubled stare
And when I ask where do we go
Say you don't care
Call on me
When the day is dark
Never too late, you're underrated
The lyrics of Two Steps from Hell's song, Back to the Earth, suggest a sense of disillusionment with the way things are going in the world. The first stanza talks about a sense of hopelessness that the person seems to feel as they regard their watch with a "perilous gaze" and a "troubled stare". The following line emphasizes how much apathy the person feels as they respond "you don't care" when asked where they want to go.
The chorus exhorts the listener that "there's fire in your heart" and it is "never too late" for them because they are "underrated". This could be interpreted as the singer trying to inspire hope in the person who's lost his or her way.
The middle part of the song turns to a call for action. The singer is asking why people join "the club", which might refer to any institution that represents a certain set of values or beliefs. The song seems to encourage taking responsibility to fight for what they believe in by talking about a "suicide race" and the line "Prop up the good and smother the hate".
Line by Line Meaning
Look at your watch with a perilous gaze
You are anxious as you glance at your watch, indicating a sense of danger or warning.
A troubled stare
Your gaze is full of distress and worry.
And when I ask where do we go
When I inquire where we should head towards,
Say you don't care
You respond by declaring your indifference.
Call on me
Get in touch with me,
When the day is dark
When things seem bleak,
Never too late, you're underrated
It's never too late, and you're underestimated in your abilities.
Whatever your sins, whatever your loss
No matter your wrongdoings or misfortunes,
Your cup is filled
You have enough of what you need.
There is no way to turn back the clock
It's impossible to revert to the past.
No one will
Nobody can.
There's fire in your heart
You are passionate and driven,
Lying in wait just like a lion
Ready to pounce like a crouched predator.
Maybe we should go back to the earth
Perhaps we should return to nature,
And live off the sun
And sustain ourselves with the sun's energy.
Maybe we should crawl in the dirt
Maybe we should humble ourselves and work hard from the ground up.
Before we run
Before we leap forward.
A thousand years of art and song
A millennium of creativity and music,
Love and war
Love and conflict.
Tell me why you joined the club
Explain why you became part of this group.
What are you fighting for
What's your reason to battle?
All hands on deck
Everyone is needed to help,
A suicide race
A reckless and dangerous competition.
Prop up the good and smother the hate
Promote positive things and squash negativity.
The wall is high the sun is low
The obstacle is enormous and the chances are slim.
The four winds roar
The elements are howling and fierce.
Wide-eyed children fill the streets
Innocent youngsters flood the roads,
To take back the score
To gain the upper hand.
There is no truth
Lies can't reveal the truth,
That lies can make
Even when deceiving,
No willing soldiers in the wake
No volunteers for the aftermath.
Life is fragile
Existence is delicate and prone to damage,
The flight of a sparrow
The path of a small bird,
Will end
Will eventually come to a close.
And the same goes for us
The same applies to human beings.
Born from the same rain and dust
We are all created from the same natural components.
And life will grow
Nature will thrive,
And the river soon to return
And the watercourse will eventually come back,
And a plan unfold
And a scheme will emerge.
Contributed by Lily A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@onecoldnightorsomething
Rise of the Spartans really has me returning to this song even in 2020. What a truly wonderful Machinima series. Thanks for all the childhood memories!
@grimroseslight635
Why do you have to make me feel, a truly wonderful machinima and a wonderful time to be in as well.
@happydome8304
so nostalgic
@reminiscentiaoff4669
I'm impressed that the RotS fans still come back to this song. It's sweet.
@KrullKama
ROTS?
@nicolasmiranda8651
@@KrullKama rise of the Spartans.
@Niner098
I will never forget this brilliant tale 😢
@DreAdedXiles
We still do sir
@kingorange7739
Still here
@hyacinthvxi
i remember watching it for the first time. i based my spartan off all of them from time to time. i will miss you Xbox360 halo reach. there will always be a spot in my heart for you.