->''"The music [in the game] is right out of the movie! I don't know '''which''' movie, because this level sounds like I'm being attacked by DannyElfman and TimBurton."''
-->-- '''Noah ''"[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]]"'' Antwiler''', on ''VideoGame/DemolitionMan'' for the ThreeDO.

Nothing quite beats an orchestra for a battle, especially an aerial one.

BonusPoints for OminousLatinChanting, and even more for AutobotsRockOut. Even ''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot more]]'' for [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly both]].

Compare MusicToInvadePolandTo, {{Fanfare}}.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' loves this trope to itty-bitty little pieces, usually combining it with OminousLatinChanting.
* ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' lives and breathes this trope. Of course it helps that the entire soundtrack is made up of classical orchestral works.
** The first movie has an entire battle set to Ravel's ''Bolero.''
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' loves this trope - so much so that it has fell victim to MemeticMutation: "[stuff happens] while Hideaki Anno plays [[SoundtrackDissonance unfitting music]]". Two examples are Shinji vs. [[spoiler:Kaworu]] (''Ode to Joy'') and Asuka vs. [[spoiler:MP Evas]] (Bach - ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkY1_TpucLA II Air]]'').
** There's also [[spoiler:Asuka getting {{Mind Rape}}d by Arael]] [[SoundtrackDissonance while Hideaki Anno plays Handel's]] ''[[SoundtrackDissonance Hallelujah]]'' in episode 22. Also, the end of said scene in the Director's Cut has [[spoiler:Rei nailing Arael with the [[EleventhHourSuperpower Lance of Longinus]] ]] with the end of Handel's ''Worthy is the Lamb'' in the background.
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' had its space battle episode (the ShoutOut to ''UchuuSenkanYamato'') employ this trope with Shostakovich's ''Leningrad Symphony''. Fittingly, the "training" course that they went through was set to the almost-comical, waddling march at the end of the first movement.
* The ''Anime/StrikeWitches'' OVA has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOQlG8YRxEQ the Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin]] play during the training battle. The song is also used as background music in some promotional videos. In the show itself, there's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05jY4stcbN0 Battle of the Witches (Witch no Tatakai)]] from the first season and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4ZpUZogOQg&feature=related Attack! (Shutsugeki)]] from the second.
* ''{{Gundam 00}}'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pfo7obtuc REALLY]] likes orchestral music during major battles. Sometimes with OminousLatinChanting and/or a OneWomanWail, sometimes without them.
** ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' does it in the ColdOpen of its ''very first episode'', as background to the Class 3a ApocalypseHow that sets up the rest of the series. OneWomanWail and OminousLatinChanting included.
* ''{{Macross}}'' usually averts this trope but the last two installments went ''really'' wide with it. Examples are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHQJVdRIdXU Horobi no Uta]] from ''Zero'''s final battle and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exg-zf2nouQ several]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRBlX-7qvzU other]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADIWb6Lrszo tracks]] from ''Frontier''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' has a quite literal example, where "[[{{Music/RideOfTheValkyries}} Ride of the Valkyries]]" is blasted over the speakers of the choppers as Kilgore's forces attack a village controlled by Viet Cong.
* ''DrStrangelove''
** [[EarWorm We'll meet again... don't know where, don't know when...]]
* ''633 Squadron'', possibly the TropeMaker. Scored by Ron Goodwin.
* ''Film/TheDamBusters'', with music by Eric Coates.
* ''The Battle of Britain'' has William Walton's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVRey2XEs Battle in the Air]]
** Although Ron Goodwin's main theme and his "Luftwaffe March" from that movie fit the trope much better.
* ''Film/TheBlueMax'', with JerryGoldsmith's epic score titled, ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLQA1-S4gGk TheAttack]]''.
* ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'', based on the previous.
** Ditto for the battle themes in the rest of the series.
* ''The Chronicles of {{Narnia}}: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'' used this, though that was part of the movie's proper score.
* Happens [[PaintingTheMedium quite literally]] in ''Film/VForVendetta'', where the titular V plays Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" over London's public address system when he blows up the Old Bailey and the Houses of Parliament.
* Used during the EarthShatteringKaboom at the climax of ''{{Damnatus}}''.
* Used pretty-much constantly in ''Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie''. With tons of OminousLatinChanting. More than justified, since it has pretty much an hour of nuclear explosion footage. I definitely heard Dies Ira, and I think I heard Die Valkyrie.
* ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' uses this a lot, particularly in the ambush of the Marines as they enter the hive and Ripley's escape with Newt from the exploding atmosphere processor.
* Several examples from ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', most notably ''Klendathu Drop'', from the scene where the [[SpaceNavy Fleet]] and the [[SpaceMarines Mobile Infantry]] launch their first assault on Klendathu.
* Literally in ''Film/ASongIsBorn'', as a rousing rendition of "Flying Home" manages to cause a drum to fall on one of the villains, knocking him out (after "The Anvil Chorus" failed to work).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* This shows up a few times in ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** In ''Honor of the Queen'', Honor has Hammerwell's 7th symphony played shipwide during the first battle of Yeltsin.
** One of the Havenite commanders uses "Ride of the Valkyries" as their general quarters signal.
* Hendricks and Gard (who happens to be an honest-to-god Valkyrie), performing a BigDamnHeroes with an attack helicopter to "The Ride of The Valkyries", with Hendricks riding shotgun... with a [[GatlingGood Mini]] [[MoreDakka Gun]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': The destruction of Scorpius' command carrier featured orchestral music and Ominous Latin Chanting.
* Whenever there was any kind of fight sequence, whether it was between people or spaceships, on ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', it would be accompanied by the most over-the-top, bombastic music imaginable. In fact, they often did this even when there was no fighting happening, like say when [[MundaneMadeAwesome an ambassador boards the ship]]. This was a critical element of the series' NarmCharm and really complemented the [[LargeHam acting style]]. It was sadly missing from most of the later series - compare the scoring to the very same fight scene in "The Trouble With Tribbles" and ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine DS9]]'''s "Trials and Tribble-ations" for a perfect example of this.
** Ron Jones was probably the best among the composers for the sequel series at using this in his scores (see "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2" in particular the track "Intervention", for a perfect example). Too bad he left ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]'' during the fourth season.
*** The main reason was because Rick Berman ''hated'' this trope, and wanted the music to be strictly part of the background of the show, like wallpaper.
* ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' recently had some fun with this trope in their Top 25 Special showing off their various explosions to the ''1812 Overture''. If you download the episode, I can guarantee you'll want to watch the sequence more than once.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' used this in every space battle, to cover the (unique for SF shows at the time) [[ShownTheirWork absence of sound in space]]. The opening and closing themes also count.
* The PilotMovie of ''Series/{{JAG}}'' has this in its final aerial battle scene.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* Creator/RichardWagner's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOQlG8YRxEQ Prelude to Act III of ''Lohengrin'']], has become something of a StandardSnippet for air raids.
** Likewise, ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92OBNsQgxU Ride of the Valkyries]]'' for a bombastic assault. It was used in ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' for a very good reason.
* ''The 1812 Overture'' itself! To quote [[CalvinAndHobbes Calvin:]]
-->"Gee, and I thought classical music was '''boring!'''"
** Two words: Cannons firing. That's not a glib comment; that's actually ''part of the musical instruction''. Yes, the piece, when properly performed, actually uses ''cannons'' as part of the orchestra. Ya know, since the 1812 Overture was originally written to mark Russia valiantly defending Moscow against Napoleon's seemingly unstoppable horde. Which makes it even ''more'' CrowningMusicOfAwesome.
* Gustav Holst wrote the ''Mars, Bringer of War'' segment of ''ThePlanets'' suite before World War I had started, but it depicts the brutality and scale of its mechanized warfare brilliantly. John Williams certainly had it in mind - see the ship chase at the opening of ''StarWars'' Episode IV.


[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' does this on a regular basis, one minute the music can barely be heard as your troops move around the village or pass a few bushes and blaring you with Trumpets and a wide assortment of instruments the next as your tanks get blown to pieces by rockets or shells raining down from heaven as if the sky was crashing down.. In short as the action heats up the orchestra start doing their thing, and it is [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Awesome]].
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' fits this trope perfectly.
** ''Ace Combat 4'' uses ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnus_Dei Agnus Dei]]'' (preceeded by a brief verse of ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(Mozart)#Structure Rex Tremendae]]'') for its final mission. The result? [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0zW7H8CIxU Pure]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ6ABV_Q9qU awesome]].
** ''Ace Combat 5'' also creates a uniquely fresh trope from this; the OminousLatinChanting from the game's Razgriz theme "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Qkzj5bStU The Unsung War]]" are in fact a Vulgate Latin translation of the Razgriz prophecy, quoted earlier in the game.
** ''Zero'' (the final mission music of the game of the same name) combines that with Spanish flamenco. Seriously.
*** One of the few sightings of OminousLatinChanting's elusive cousin, Ominous Mexican Castanets.
** ''Ace Combat 6'' departs from this, to a degree, through the use of a Rather Depressing Boy's Choir.
*** It also plays it straight at the same time, however, with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HGQS5XSoJ4 Liberation of Gracemaria]].
** ''Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere'' uses Ominous Latin Chanting whenever you fight an XR-900 Geopelia or an X-49 Night Raven. Yes, these planes are just ''[[GameBreaker that superpowered]]''.
** ''Ace Combat: Assault Horizon'' gives us [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2nRsXeTTho Release]].
* No matter how bad the CommandandConquer Tiberian Twilight was, and how the soundtrack is completely different from previous installments, anyone had to admit this: When you playing as GDI, and some action starts, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcOUyZw69yg THIS]] is freaking epic. Too bad its just about only epic thing from game officialy entitled "epic conclusion of the saga".
* Every FinalFantasy game ever
** [[FInalFantasyVII One-Winged Angel]] has this, OminousLatinChanting, ''and'' AutobotsRockOut!
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''. Especially with songs such as "Brothers In Arms/Follow Our Brothers", "On/Behold A Pale Horse", "Drumrun"(during the escape from The Maw), "Earth City"(its rollicking and [[UncommonTime irregular]] rhythm fits with the movements of the Scarab walker), "Delta Halo Suite: Leonidas"(heard in ''Halo 2'' during the gondola rides on Regret, and again in ''Halo 3'' during the air battle on The Covenant), "Blow Me Away"(during the climactic battle on the Gravemind mission), "This Is Our Land", "This is the Hour" and "Finish The Fight" (the music in the original Halo 3 advertisement).
** The [[ThemeTune Halo Theme]], naturally. It becomes even more bombastic in Halo 3 as "Greatest Journey" (the final escape theme), when Martin O'Donnell swapped out the first game's synthesizers with a live orchestra.
* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'': The [[spoiler:razing of [[DoomedHometown Kharak]]]] is set to a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ilqJW3fV8 choral version of Adagio for Strings, with the lyrics to Agnus Dei]]. A double-whammy.
** If you can play through that part of the game without crying you ''aren't human.''
** Then it comes back during the truly epic battle of the final mission. [[spoiler:Rebel reinforcements arrive to take the pressure off your fleet and start driving a hole through the Emperor's defenses, sacrificing themselves while]] giving you the chance to strike back ForGreatJustice. ''Hell yes.''
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid 3: Snake Eater'', the final boss fight takes place in a field of white flowers and has a 10 minute time limit. If you have not defeated your opponent by that point, you both get killed in an air strike. The fight starts with no music at all, but after 5 limit an instrumental version of the games main theme, which you have heard several times at that point, starts playing and you know that if you don't have won by the final note, you'll be dead.
* An orchestral version of [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Beyond The Bounds]] plays during an epic air siege in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: The Second Runner''.
* Given the huge number of remixes and styles incorporated in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, pure statistics alone dictate that a ludicrously epic orchestral piece will be playing in the background at some point.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy's'' soundtrack is 90% orchestrated (same for the sequel), and has this all over the place in varying degrees, but the best examples would have to be [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTFgZK5XSts every]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv4oRt79AP0 single]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9cmUFBQK2E Bowser]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glzkh5jl31k battle theme.]]
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UYXABAC06s Melty Monster Galaxy]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' is downright ''magnificent'' in all its orchestrated glory.
* ''TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has this trope in spades, fittingly enough coming from the same music team behind the ''Galaxy'' games. While the overworld themes are surprisingly low-key(with the exception of the Sky theme), the boss themes in particular are particularly bombastic.
** The overall theme, ''Ballad of the Goddess'', starts with a solo HarpOfFemininity (appropriately enough), and after about 45 seconds launches into epicness.
* [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl]] has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLJuT8zPmvA Final Destination]], which is both this and OminousLatinChanting.
* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}''. When you place the third (out of four) picture in the art collab, the already unstable Sander Cohen freaks out and, in a fit of instability, orders his henchmen to kill you. Cue the CrowningMomentOfAwesome as you beat the living crap out of splicers who seem to come out of HammerSpace. You'll be symponizing a bloody massacre while Waltz of the Flowers blares throughout the studio for minutes, though odds are that you'll be done by 2:44.
* The action themes in the later ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' games.
* The TalesSeries is full of them.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' has a full orchestra for [[spoiler: Excella as Uroboros Aheri's boss fight, Jill's boss fight, and Wesker's boss fights]].
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp6KEjqATxA&feature=related This]] is the music during the [[EarthShatteringKaboom Exterminatus]] scene in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II''.
* SeriousSam: The Second Encounter has you traversing the game to various music score ranging from atmospheric ethnics to rock remixes of Jingle Bells. However, the final level is a massive showdown set to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQMCAdMadMY&feature=related this]].
* ''RatchetAndClankACrackInTime'' allows the player to invoke this at will once they come across the game's [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity +1]] {{BFG}}, the RYNO V, as the gun in question plays the finale of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture for as long as it's fired.
* A game that's unfortunately been largely forgotten, ''Kessen'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/KessenII'', runs on this trope. [[http://youtu.be/aVBc-f7dbJw ''Kessen'']] [[http://youtu.be/noIrsm62gF8 in particular]] was one of the first games ever to have a full orchestral soundtrack, performed by the Moscow International Symphonic Orchestra, so it was almost nothing ''but'' OrchestralBombing. ''Kessen III'', the last of the series, also has some bombing but uses NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly for most battle themes.
* VideoGame/SpongebobSquarepantsBattleForBikiniBottom's FinalBoss music is this.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' has a ''[[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1200/fv01190.htm literal]]'' Orchestral Bombing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''Franchise/WallaceAndGromit: WesternAnimation/ACloseShave'' does this with the porridge shooting run, as an homage to films like ''The Dam Busters''.
* The intro theme music for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' does this perfectly, with the booms and flourishes matching up perfectly with the action on-screen.
* [[ClassicDisneyShorts The old Disney cartoon]] ''Music Land'' has this in a literal sense, when two music-themed islands of animate musical instruments assault each other... using giant organ pipes and horns as cannons.
* In the canyon chase sequence of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', Ride of the Valkyries is played. On banjos.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* During the first BLACK BUCK mission during the FalklandsWar, one of the crew of the Vulcan wondered where the orchestra was. They did play the theme from ''ChariotsOfFire'' on the way home.

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