Brian May’s Guitar Anchors Masters of the Universe — SkimNews
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- Daniel Pemberton proposed scoring Masters of the Universe as if Queen had written it; Travis Knight backed the idea, and both men identified Brian May as their ideal collaborator.
- Brian May signed on after Pemberton’s months-long outreach and a chance overlap at Abbey Road Studios; over roughly three days at his home studio, he played on “every single cue” and said it “just worked.”
- Brian May said his son was a He-Man fan and that he shared his son’s interests; during the sessions, he also brought the boy’s old He-Man toys into the studio.
- “Eternia” featured May’s lead guitar at multiple key moments, with Pemberton describing its sound as a slightly campy but hugely powerful disco banger with substantial rock elements.
- Masters of the Universe score is due for two vinyl releases next year: a standard Lakeshore Records edition in January and a deluxe Mutant edition in February.
- The Darkness performed the “Masters of the Universe” title theme with May, and Pemberton said the result sounded not unlike Queen’s “Princes of the Universe” from Highlander.
- Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was among the Darkness members who also played on the score’s final track, “The Legend of Eternia,” a full rock-song version of the “Eternia” theme.
Why it matters: **Brian May** gains a soundtrack showcase: his guitar appears on every cue the team could tackle in a Queen-modeled film score, with two vinyl editions due in January and February next year. For Masters of the Universe, the concrete change is music foregrounding May, The Darkness and full-band rock instead of the generic superhero score Pemberton rejected.
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