Angel Theme Song

1999–2004

So hey, Happy Valentine’s Day you all. I myself am married so there is no sense taking a day off for this greeting card-instigated holiday.

So off to work. Today’s first theme song is for the somewhat equally-successful spin-off of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series—which reminds me I still don’t have. The opening theme for Angel is by the American dark pop band Darling Violetta. How they came to land the gig (theme song) is also rooted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as they performed two songs for its third season.

It is said that the Angel franchise invited bands to submit demos for the theme music that had “dark superhero ideas” and somewhat “cello rock.” Series creator Joss Whedon eventually deemed Darling Violetta’s interpretation as most suitable.

The song, which is simply regarded as the “Angel Theme”, or “Angel Main Theme”, of course made it in the official soundtrack—Angel: Live Fast, Die Never—where the band made a special extended version they called “The Sanctuary Extended Remix”. It remained instrumental, for the most part, but had voice-hummed melodies and sung lyrics of “show my sanctuary” at the beginning and “you’re my sanctuary” in the middle.

Additional/interesting: I read from somewhere that in season 4, creator/producer Joss Whedon actor Alexis Denisof sung their own lyrics to the theme in the DVD commentary. The episode is called “Spin the Bottle.” We have got to hear that.

Below is an original opening sequence taken from the fifth season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVQSkrPn27c

Below is “Angel Main Theme (The Sanctuary Extended Remix)”, the version from the soundtrack.