Concept albums have a storied place in this fandom, and Elias Frost is no stranger to going all-in on telling a great story. Recreating and expanding on his Stories Vol. I album from 2017, Elias uses brilliantly composed orchestration to tell the expanded story of Hearth’s Warming. The tale begins with the night before Princess Platinum’s official coronation as ruler and goes all the way through the events of the Hearth’s Warming story. Each track tells a chapter in the tale, and is encapsulating if you read along with the soundtrack! A few of the standout tracks are teased after the break below!

Bedtime Stories Prologue is the opening track on the album, and it starts off soft and mystical, growing into a joyous fanfare, and fades out with a soft, folkish atmosphere – foreboding stories to come.

Sky Legio: While the pegasi ignore Princess Platinum’s coronation ceremony (there’s no cider), the mighty tribe are busy fighting off storm clouds to keep the joyous skies clear. This track portrays adversity with powerful, war-like percussion while pairing the struggle with soaring melodies expressed through the wide array of orchestral instrumentation.

Terra Nova: The penultimate track takes us from the illusion of new peace to the reemergence of the Wendigos in an apparent ice apocalypse to the realization of how to save all of ponykind. Great orchestration is displayed in the early joyousness and bright melodies, followed with a fluid transition to sudden terror and solemnity.

Brilliant albums with high-quality production and professional-level composition don’t come out very often. Compound that with how Elias clearly thought through each track so carefully and you’ve got a must-hear masterpiece!