Martin Garrix x JVKE – Hero

• Clear superhero soundtrack theme
• Surprising vocal performance
• Right balance of orchestral and EDM

After the promising feedback on “Sentio“, I was craving for a final Garrix track before the dusk of the year, and lucky me: “Hero” revealed itself! I am impressed by the versatility shown by the Dutch creator, as this time he takes a trip into the pop and commercial realms. Surprise surprise, he’s no stranger to that and we won’t be bashing as there’s a great deal to unravel here!

First of all, “Hero” is released in collaboration with Marvel’s “Snap” mobile game. While I am particularly devoted to the game’s premise itself (usually card games are riddled with micro-transactions), it clearly explains the title, design, and visuals (by the way, the music video is sick!). For Marvel’s PR team, this is a solid plan! The vocalist is JVKE, whom I didn’t originally prefer as he is principally a TikTok influencer, but his performance was flawless.

The core of the track is based on elegant chords and a slight Future Bass low-end to create what I define as a “Superhero movie soundtrack”, something orchestral enough to sound valiant without becoming Hans Zimmer. “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots for the “Suicide Squad” is another example, although several tunes for Marvel and DC projects may remind one of “Hero”.

Despite its foreseeable design, JVKE’s vocal shares a favorable chemistry with Garrix’s motives, who definitely nailed the right mix of elegance and EDM, as sometimes there are bursts of growls to remind us that he’s from another world.

Overall, “Hero” deserves its recommendation solely because it is a well-produced creation (an honorable mention to the co-producers here as well, including Brooks) that shows Martin’s capacity to experiment and set a benchmark for other producers to try something else. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long it remains interesting!

You can listen to “Hero” here:

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