Two Steps from Hell was an American production music company based in Los Angeles, founded in 2006 by composers Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, originally from Norway and England, respectively. The company specialized in creating trailer music intended primarily for the film advertising industry and was affiliated with Extreme Music, which managed its licensing arrangements. The duo worked individually on compositions but released them jointly under the Two Steps from Hell name. Their music often combined orchestral and choral elements with modern instrumentation and was typically structured similarly to pop songs. The term "epic music" was frequently used to describe their style due to the dramatic and intense nature of their compositions. During the late 2000s, Two Steps from Hell gained recognition for providing music used in trailers for major film franchises such as "Harry Potter", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Star Trek", and "Twilight". As their music became more widely recognized by the general public, they developed an online following that led to public demand for commercial releases. In response, they released their first two public albums, "Invincible" (2010) and "Archangel" (2011), which were compilations of their previously licensed works. These were followed by "SkyWorld" (2012), featuring original compositions created specifically for commercial release. Following the success of these albums, the duo held their first live concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2013. By the mid-2010s, demand for traditional trailer music in the film industry had declined, and Bergersen and Phoenix shifted their focus to creating new music for public release. They also began commercially releasing more of their earlier work. Their albums performed well in the United States, with 13 entries reaching the top ten on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart. Three of these—"Battlecry" (2015), "Unleashed" (2017), and "Myth" (2022)—reached number one, with "Battlecry" also appearing on the Billboard 200. In the early 2020s, Two Steps from Hell launched their first European tours, further expanding their audience. In 2024, it was announced that Bergersen and Phoenix would part ways, marking the end of Two Steps from Hell. 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.