Two Steps from Hell

Two Steps from Hell was an American production-music company and recording brand established in Los Angeles in 2006 by composers Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The pair initially created music primarily for private licensing: their tracks were supplied as demonstrations to the film-advertising industry, where editors and agencies could license them for trailers, television advertising, games, and other promotional media. Extreme Music handled licensing arrangements for the company’s production catalog. The brand became one of the most recognizable names in modern trailer music. Its sound generally combined large orchestras, choirs, emphatic percussion, electronic or contemporary production elements, and strongly arranged melodic structures. The imposing, dramatic character of the music helped popularize the descriptive term “epic music,” although the company’s catalog also included quieter, lyrical, electronic, folk-influenced, and experimental material. Bergersen and Phoenix generally composed separately, then issued their work under the shared Two Steps from Hell identity. During the late 2000s, the company’s recordings appeared in promotional campaigns for major film franchises and releases including Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek, Twilight, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Avengers, Interstellar, and many others. The music was also licensed for television programs, sports broadcasts, documentaries, video games, and online media. This extensive commercial exposure created a substantial online following even though much of the original catalog had not been publicly available. Responding to audience demand, Two Steps from Hell began issuing public albums. Invincible, released in 2010, collected popular material from the company’s previously private demonstration catalog. Archangel followed in 2011, while SkyWorld in 2012 was presented primarily as new music intended for commercial release. Later public albums, including Battlecry, Vanquish, Unleashed, Dragon, and Myth, expanded the brand beyond its original trailer-library function. Several releases performed strongly on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart; Battlecry also reached the Billboard 200. The brand developed into a broader media property. Its output included commercial albums, compilations, live recordings, solo projects connected to its composers, soundtracks, an official mobile application, and the Colin Frake illustrated fiction and soundtrack project written by Nick Phoenix. Live performances began with a 2013 concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, followed by festival appearances and European touring activity. A European tour planned for 2020 was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually began in 2022. As the trailer business changed and demand shifted toward other forms of promotional media, Bergersen and Phoenix placed greater emphasis on public albums, catalog releases, performances, and direct engagement with listeners. In 2024, reports stated that the two composers were separating, bringing the Two Steps from Hell partnership to an end. The historical catalog and brand remain influential in cinematic production music, but the original joint operation is treated as concluded.

Two Steps from Hell was formed in 2006 in Los Angeles by Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, composers born in Norway and England respectively. They established the company to produce original demonstration tracks for circulation within the film-advertising business. Rather than initially operating as a conventional public recording act, the company functioned mainly as a specialized production-music supplier. Its recordings were made available to clients and agencies for licensing in trailers, advertising, television, games, and related promotional contexts, with Extreme Music involved in licensing administration. The name was selected to be memorable and provocative. Bergersen connected it with the idea of a Norwegian nightclub called Two Steps from Heaven, while also favoring a title likely to attract attention. The company’s early output was dominated by orchestral and choral compositions with forceful percussion, prominent melodies, and modern production techniques. The music’s scale and intensity made it particularly effective in trailers, where a short piece must establish atmosphere and escalate quickly. By the late 2000s, Two Steps from Hell had become a prominent supplier in the trailer-music field. Its music appeared in campaigns for films and franchises such as Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek, Twilight, The Dark Knight, Inception, and many other major releases. It also reached television, games, sports programming, documentaries, and online video. Although the company’s tracks were heard widely, listeners initially had limited legal access to the private demonstration albums. Online communities therefore played an important role in creating demand for public releases. Invincible, issued in 2010, was the first major public album and assembled popular tracks from the company’s existing industry catalog. Archangel followed in 2011. The public catalog then broadened with SkyWorld in 2012, which consisted largely of new music written for commercial release. Additional compilations and albums made more of the private library available, while the composers also developed individual projects. Bergersen released Illusions and Sun, and Phoenix released Speed of Sound. The company also issued or supported projects outside the standard album format, including the Colin Frake fiction series, whose books were paired with orchestral soundtracks. The public releases transformed Two Steps from Hell from an industry-facing production company into a recognizable international music brand. Battlecry in 2015, Vanquish in 2016, Unleashed in 2017, Dragon in 2019, and later releases continued the movement toward original, publicly marketed material. The catalog also included anthologies, soundtracks, live albums, specialized releases, and digital products. Several albums performed strongly in the United States on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart, and Battlecry additionally entered the Billboard 200. Live presentation became another part of the brand’s development. The first major concert took place at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in 2013. A later performance at the Film Music Prague Festival in 2018 featured the Praga Sinfonietta, Kühns Mixed Choir, vocal soloists, and participation by Bergersen. The company’s planned 2020 European tour was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Touring eventually began in 2022, with performances in Brussels and other European cities involving the Odesa Opera Orchestra and ReChoir. The company’s visual identity was closely associated with graphic artist Steven Gilmore, who designed the logo and most album covers. Its reach was reinforced by online video platforms, where tracks such as “Victory” attracted very large audiences. During the 2010s and 2020s, changes in the trailer market encouraged the composers to place more weight on public albums, direct fan engagement, live performance, and exploitation of their back catalog rather than relying exclusively on traditional Hollywood trailer commissions. In 2024, Bergersen and Phoenix announced that they were separating, ending the collaboration that had defined the brand since its creation. Two Steps from Hell is therefore best understood as a concluded joint operation with a continuing recorded legacy, rather than as an unchanged active partnership.

• 2024

  Founders separate

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  Bergersen and Phoenix are reported to be ending their joint partnership under the Two Steps from Hell name.

• 2022

  European tour begins

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  After a pandemic postponement, the first European tour starts in Brussels.

• 2018

  Film Music Prague Festival performance

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  The brand presents a major concert with the Praga Sinfonietta, choir, vocal soloists, and Thomas Bergersen.

• 2017

  Unleashed released

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  Unleashed becomes one of the company’s releases to reach number one on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart.

• 2015

  Battlecry released

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  The all-new album becomes a major commercial success and reaches the US Billboard 200.

• 2014

  Colin Frake project introduced

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  Nick Phoenix publishes Colin Frake on Fire Mountain, an illustrated novel accompanied by an original soundtrack.

• 2013

  First major live concert

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  Two Steps from Hell performs at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

• 2012

  SkyWorld released

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  The first principal public album consisting largely of newly created commercial material is issued.

• 2011

  Archangel released

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  A second public album extends the company’s audience beyond professional licensing clients.

• 2010

  Invincible released

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  The first major public album makes selected material from the formerly private production catalog available to listeners.

• 2006

  Company founded

  [1]Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix establish Two Steps from Hell in Los Angeles to create music for trailer and media licensing.

A premium cinematic and epic-music brand serving media licensing clients while also selling accessible orchestral and choral recordings directly to a global audience.

• Public studio and compilation album · 2010

  Invincible

  Released in 2010, Invincible was the company’s breakthrough public album. It collected selected material originally created for the private trailer-music market and introduced the brand’s large-scale orchestral, choral, and percussion-driven sound to a general audience.

• Public compilation album · 2011

  Archangel

  Archangel followed Invincible in 2011 and continued the process of converting popular industry tracks into commercially available recordings. Its title track became one of the better-known pieces associated with the Two Steps from Hell catalog.

• Public studio album · 2012

  SkyWorld

  SkyWorld was released in 2012 and represented an important change in emphasis. Rather than relying mainly on previously private demonstrations, it consisted largely of new music prepared for public commercial release, helping establish the company as a direct-to-listener album brand.

• Public studio album · 2015

  Battlecry

  Battlecry, released in 2015, was an all-new album and one of the brand’s most commercially visible projects. Its success included a position on the US Billboard 200 and reinforced the company’s transition from private trailer supplier to widely consumed crossover music act.

• Public studio album · 2016

  Vanquish

  Vanquish continued the sequence of public releases focused on newly composed cinematic material. It retained the brand’s characteristic orchestral scale while contributing to the broader album catalog developed after the company’s initial compilation releases.

• Public studio album · 2017

  Unleashed

  Unleashed was issued in 2017 and became one of the company’s chart-leading releases in the classical-crossover market. The album represents the mature public-facing version of the Two Steps from Hell sound, combining dramatic orchestration with accessible, highly structured themes.

• Public studio album · 2019

  Dragon

  Dragon, released in 2019, added another collection of large-scale cinematic compositions to the public catalog. It arrived as the company continued to balance new album work with the commercial release of material originating in its extensive production-music archive.

• Public studio album · 2022

  Myth

  Myth is a later public release that reached number one on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart. It reflects the brand’s continued strength with listeners who encountered its music through both media licensing and direct album consumption.

• E-book and soundtrack · 2014

  Colin Frake on Fire Mountain

  Written by Nick Phoenix and illustrated by Otto Björnik, this illustrated fantasy novel expanded the brand beyond music. It was accompanied by an orchestral soundtrack connected with the story and formed part of a planned series centered on the character Colin Frake.

• Mobile application · 2012

  Official mobile application

  The official iOS and Android application provided news, promotional material, videos, photographs, album information, and access to a limited digital collection that included previously private demonstration tracks. The application was later discontinued.

• 2022European live tour

  Belgium · Europe

  The postponed European tour began in Brussels and continued to other European cities with orchestral and choral collaborators.

  Outcome. Expanded the brand’s live presence beyond North America.

  Source
• 2013Walt Disney Concert Hall concert

  United States

  The company presented its first major live concert in Los Angeles, performing signature pieces including Heart of Courage, Protectors of the Earth, To Glory, and Strength of a Thousand Men.

  Outcome. Demonstrated that the trailer-music catalog could be adapted into a concert experience.

  Source
• 2010Public catalog conversion

  Global

  Following sustained online demand, the company began commercially releasing selected tracks that had previously circulated mainly within the professional licensing market.

  Outcome. Created a direct consumer audience and turned the production catalog into a public album franchise.

  Source
• 2006Trailer-music licensing program

  United States · Global film advertising market

  The founders created a catalog of demonstration tracks for exclusive circulation among movie advertisers and licensing clients. The program became the foundation of the company’s business and supplied music for a large number of film and television promotions.

  Outcome. Established Two Steps from Hell as a major specialist in cinematic trailer music.

  Source

• 2024

  End of the founding partnershipStrategy

  Background

  After nearly two decades of joint work, Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix were reported to be pursuing separate paths.

  Action taken

  The two composers separated, ending the original Two Steps from Hell collaboration.

  Aftermath

  The joint operation is treated as concluded, while its recorded catalog and historical influence remain available to audiences.

  Source

• 2020

  Postpone European touringOther

  Background

  The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international live events and travel.

  Action taken

  The planned European tour was postponed.

  Aftermath

  Touring resumed in 2022 with performances beginning in Brussels.

  Source

• 2012

  Increase emphasis on original public musicStrategy

  Background

  After early compilation-style releases, the composers sought to develop material specifically for listeners rather than relying only on private trailer commissions.

  Action taken

  They released SkyWorld, made largely of new music intended for commercial public distribution.

  Aftermath

  The company developed into a broader cinematic music brand with a growing album and concert identity.

  Source

• 2010

  Move into public album distributionProduct launch

  Background

  Listeners exposed to the company’s music through trailers and online sharing requested legal access to the recordings.

  Action taken

  Two Steps from Hell released Invincible, a public collection drawn from its previously private catalog.

  Aftermath

  The release created a substantial consumer following and established public albums as a central part of the brand.

  Source

• 2006

  Focus on private trailer-music demonstrationsStrategy

  Background

  The founders created the company for the film-advertising and media-licensing market rather than beginning with a conventional public album strategy.

  Action taken

  They produced original orchestral and choral tracks for professional circulation and licensing, with Extreme Music handling licensing arrangements.

  Aftermath

  The approach placed the company’s music in a large number of trailers and advertisements and established its reputation within the industry.

  Source

1. 1Two Steps from Hellen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Two Steps from Hell official websitetwostepsfromhell.com