The CD starts with "Progeny", a very soft and moody ambient track. It begins with a shakuhachi type flute solo. It has a sad and lonely motif but it not very dominant. Lisa Gerrard's voice first appears in "The Wheat". It continues the sorrowful feel of the first track. Her vocal then leads to one of the two rousing tracks of the CD, "The Battle"(10 minutes long). ("The Wheat" and "The Battle" are actually one continuous cue.) The two tracks have a big contrast. After the introduction of a soft but fast classical guitar solo that make you feel the sense of danger, a vintage Hans Zimmer rhythm and melody start to play. After a long build up, it reaches the climax about midway. The climax is a very rousing cue but not the symphonic type of rousing (not Miklos Rozsa's Ben-Hur). It's brass, synthesizer, and percussion heavy (real heavy for brass). You don't hear much strings or woodwinds. To my surprise, it does not really have a strong theme. They are more like an array of strong rhythmic notes. There is a great and energetic one but it is very short (about 30 seconds) and it appears only twice on the CD. After a long bombastic passage, Lisa Gerrard's sorrowful voice enters again while accompanied by strings. The main theme appears for the first time in "Earth". It is a very beautiful and poignant hero theme and I like it a lot. It's somewhat like James Horner's music from Braveheart. "To Zucchabar" is similar to "Progeny" and classical guitar and dudak are fully utilized together for the first time. Again, the lines for the dudak do not have a dominant melody. It is a good track but it does not have much thematic materials. "Patricide" is a string only cue. It is slightly darker. Again it is atmospheric enough and does not have a memorable theme. The hero theme in "Earth" can be heard briefly again in "The Mighty of Rome". The score for the first time has a strong Roman feel melody and instrumentation-wise. It begins a strong and fast paced rhythmic cue that has a brief chorus backdrop. With the use of lush strings, full chorus, and brass, glorious moments emerge for the first time after the rhythmic part. It is one of the tracks that I like very much. The next eight tracks, from "Strength and Honor" to the last track "Now We Are Free", again, are edited as one continuous cue. "Strength and Honor" and "Reunion" are low key moody tracks like before. "Slaves to Rome" is probably the happiest cue that has a very upbeat rhythm. Unfortunately, it is very short. The first 4 minutes of "Barbarian Horde" is clearly another clone of Holst's The Planets, both the melody and rhythm. Then the bombastic materials in "The Battle" are reprised again. A bolder version of the larger than life hero theme is heard before fading to a brief clone of Sibelius' Finlandia and the glorious hero theme comes back strong again. "Am I not Merciful?" returns to the ambient atmospheric low key music again. It ends a mighty and majestic chorus cue that is similar to "The Might of Rome". The last three tracks are the highlights of the album. Lisa Gerrard's voice returns again in "Elysium". Unlike before, her vocal part has a beautiful and delightful lyrical melody. The hero theme is reprised again in "Honor Him". "Now We Are Free" is a reprise of "Elysium" and a superb vocal rendition of the hero theme. It reminds me of the ending music for Face/Off composed by John Powell, a colleague of Hans Zimmer. Since the last three tracks are edited together. It make them more enjoyable.