Netflix’s survival thriller Apex, starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton, dropped on April 24, 2026, and it wasted no time climbing global charts. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Everest), the film also features Eric Bana, Caitlin Stasey, Bessie Holland, and Zac Garred.
But beyond the on-screen tension, Apex carries a remarkable sonic identity — one that draws from the wild rather than the studio. The film’s music, a combination of an organic original score and a tight selection of licensed songs, plays a central role in telling the story of a woman fighting to survive in the Australian wilderness.
Apex Soundtrack Overview
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Film Title | Apex |
| Director | Baltasar Kormákur |
| Studio / Platform | Netflix |
| Film Release Date | April 24, 2026 |
| Composer | Högni Egilsson (credited as Högni) |
| Score Label | Netflix Music, LLC |
| Score Release Date | April 24, 2026 |
| Total Score Tracks | 18 |
| Score Runtime | 58 minutes |
The Apex original score album was released digitally by Netflix Music, LLC on April 24, 2026 — the same day the film premiered globally on Netflix. Composed by Icelandic artist Högni Egilsson, the album spans 18 tracks and runs approximately 58 minutes. The score is available to stream and purchase on all major digital music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Musically, the album takes a bold and unconventional approach for a survival thriller. Rather than relying on the genre’s familiar synth-driven tension, Högni built a score rooted in the acoustic textures of the natural world. He spent two months on location in Australia’s Blue Mountains, immersing himself in the environment before a single note was written.
The result is a score that deliberately avoids electronics, using woodwinds like oboes and bassoons to mimic the “jittering” sounds of birds and insects native to the Australian outback. The score balances grand orchestral themes for its human characters against fragmented, unsettling textures that mirror the predatory landscape around them.
Who Composed the Apex Soundtrack?
The original score for Apex was composed by Högni Egilsson (b. 1985), an Icelandic composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist who performs and records under the single name Högni. He is widely regarded as one of Iceland’s foremost contemporary composers for film, television, and concert music.
Högni first emerged as the frontman of the Icelandic indie rock group Hjaltalín, whose debut album Sleepdrunk Seasons (2007) earned immediate critical attention. The band’s subsequent records — Terminal (2009) and Enter 4 (2012) — continued to build his reputation for melodic inventiveness and experimental texture. He was later recruited by the acclaimed Icelandic electronic group GusGus as a songwriter, singer, and touring performer, giving his work international exposure.
Alongside his performance career, Högni completed his studies at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts and developed a substantial body of work for the concert hall, including his Symphony No. 1, premiered by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in 2022. His chamber work AGON (2021) was commissioned by composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir for the Elektra Ensemble and National Radio 1.
His transition into screen composition produced some of his most celebrated work. He scored the first Icelandic Netflix original series, Katla (2021), directed by Baltasar Kormákur — a volcanic thriller whose choral and symphonic score earned widespread praise. That collaboration continued with Touch (Focus Features, 2024), again directed by Kormákur and recognized as the most attended film in Iceland that year. Variety noted the Touch score for its quality, and Screen Daily cited it as the narrative’s emotional backbone. That score earned Högni a nomination for the Nordic Film Music Awards at the Berlinale in 2025, and he was named Composer of the Year at the Icelandic Academy Awards (Edda) — an honor he had also received in 2021.
His other screen credits include the BBC/CBS historical drama King and Conqueror (2024), the feature film Alma, and the documentary The Hero’s Journey to the Third Pole (2020). In 2023, Högni signed with Wise Music Publishing (Edition Wilhelm Hansen). Apex (Netflix, 2026) represents his third collaboration with director Baltasar Kormákur.
On his compositional approach for Apex, Högni has said:
“The score for Apex grew out of a search for a musical language that could hold both the physical vastness of the landscape and the inner tension of the story. Working with a large orchestra, I drew inspiration from Australian birdlife to shape a sound world that feels both elemental and intimate, reflecting the duality at the heart of the film — where the predator is not separate from nature, but an expression of it. It’s a score about opposing forces held in balance: control and surrender, instinct and awareness, human and wilderness.”
Apex Official Score Tracklist
The following 18-track tracklist is verified from Film Music Reporter and Apple Music:
- Apex (feat. Pekka Kuusisto) — 0:50
- Tommy (feat. Pétur Björnsson) — 2:34
- Mountain — 3:57
- Hunters — 4:51
- Adrenaline Junky — 3:29
- Outback — 3:20
- The Hunt Begins — 2:35
- Crossbow — 3:11
- Ravine — 4:30
- Capture — 3:14
- Cave — 3:33
- Escape — 4:12
- Stale Mate — 2:22
- Climb — 3:11
- Sunset — 3:22
- All of Them — 3:29
- Compass (feat. Pekka Kuusisto) — 2:18
- Apex Suite (feat. Iceland Symphony Orchestra) — 3:47
Total Runtime: 58 minutes
Score Highlights
“Apex” (feat. Pekka Kuusisto) opens the album as a brief but striking statement — a solo violin voice that introduces the score’s core tension between solitude and threat. Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto brings a raw, unadorned quality to the performance that sets the tone immediately.
“Hunters” is one of the score’s most expansive tracks at 4:51. It is here that the woodwind-driven, animalistic textures Högni developed from Australian birdlife are most visceral — oboes and bassoons simulate a landscape alive with predatory energy.
“Ravine” at 4:30 is among the score’s most dramatic cues, reflecting a key confrontational moment in the film. The tension between solo instrumentation and full orchestral force is sharply felt here.
“Escape” at 4:12 is one of the score’s most kinetic moments — a cue built for urgency, with the orchestra working as a single surging force behind Sasha’s fight for survival.
“Apex Suite” (feat. Iceland Symphony Orchestra) closes the album as a full orchestral summation of the film’s emotional journey. At 3:47, it draws together the score’s central themes in a cinematic, almost elegiac finale — a proper closing statement from Högni and the orchestra.
“Compass” (feat. Pekka Kuusisto) serves as the quiet emotional counterweight to the score’s more aggressive material. Kuusisto’s violin reappears here in a more reflective register, giving the album its most intimate and human moment.
Apex Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
In addition to the original score, Apex features five licensed songs. All are verified from the film’s end credits and sourced through High on Films and Primetimer:
| Song | Artist | Label / Courtesy |
|---|---|---|
| “Boogie Street” | Leonard Cohen & Sharon Robinson | Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd |
| “Revolution” | Dennis Brown | Taxi Records / The Dennis Brown Estate / Analog Metaverse |
| “Walk” | Pantera | Warner Music UK Ltd |
| “Go” | The Chemical Brothers | EMI / Universal Music Operations Ltd |
| “Nasty Boy” | Trabant | 12 Tónar |
“Go” by The Chemical Brothers — Released in 2015 by the British electronic duo Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, this high-energy track is featured in the film’s trailer. It accompanies the scene in which Egerton’s character gives Sasha a chilling head start, making the song’s pulsing urgency feel almost diegetic.
“Revolution” by Dennis Brown — A classic reggae track written by Brown alongside Sly Dunbar and Robert Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie). Its inclusion brings an unexpected cultural register to the film’s tense atmosphere.
“Walk” by Pantera — Written by Darrell Abbott, Vince Abbott, Philip Anselmo, and Rex Brown, this iconic heavy metal track is one of the band’s most recognizable. Its aggression maps directly onto the film’s brutal survival narrative.
“Boogie Street” by Leonard Cohen & Sharon Robinson — A meditative track co-written and performed by both artists. Cohen’s baritone and the song’s quiet introspection offer a rare stillness amid the film’s relentless tension.
“Nasty Boy” by Trabant — Contributed by the Icelandic band Trabant (Viðar Hákon Söruson, Þorvaldur H. Gröndal, Ragnar Kjartansson, Gísli Galdur Þorgeirsson, and Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson), this track appears courtesy of the Icelandic label 12 Tónar. It brings a distinctly Nordic sonic flavor that subtly connects back to the composer’s own Icelandic roots.
Högni Egilsson Composer Filmography
| Year | Project | Medium | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Katla | Netflix Series | Scored for Icelandic Symphony Orchestra; directed by Baltasar Kormákur |
| 2022 | Symphony No. 1 | Concert Music | Premiered by Icelandic Symphony Orchestra |
| 2024 | Touch | Feature Film (Focus Features) | Directed by Baltasar Kormákur; nominated at Nordic Film Music Awards, Berlinale 2025 |
| 2024 | King and Conqueror | TV Series (BBC/CBS) | Historical drama |
| 2026 | Apex | Feature Film (Netflix) | Third collaboration with Kormákur |
Where to Listen to the Apex Soundtrack
The Apex original score by Högni is available to stream and download across all major digital platforms as of April 24, 2026. You can find it on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, among others.
The film itself streams exclusively on Netflix worldwide. Listeners interested in exploring more of Högni’s catalog — including his Katla and Touch scores — will find those also available on the same platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who composed the Apex (2026) soundtrack?
The original score for Apex was composed by Icelandic musician Högni Egilsson, who works professionally under the name Högni. He is known for his scores on the Netflix series Katla (2021) and the feature film Touch (2024), both directed by Baltasar Kormákur.
How many tracks are in the Apex score album?
The official Apex score album contains 18 tracks with a total runtime of 58 minutes, released by Netflix Music, LLC.
When was the Apex soundtrack released?
The Apex original score was released digitally on April 24, 2026, the same day the film premiered on Netflix.
What licensed songs appear in Apex (2026)?
Five licensed songs feature in the film: “Boogie Street” by Leonard Cohen & Sharon Robinson, “Revolution” by Dennis Brown, “Walk” by Pantera, “Go” by The Chemical Brothers, and “Nasty Boy” by Trabant.
Where can I stream the Apex soundtrack?
The Apex score album is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, among other major streaming platforms. The film streams exclusively on Netflix.
What is the musical approach of the Apex score?
Högni deliberately avoided electronic instruments for the score, instead building the sound world from orchestral and acoustic sources. He spent two months in Australia’s Blue Mountains researching the local environment, then used woodwinds like oboes and bassoons to create textures inspired by Australian birdlife.
Has Högni won any awards for film scoring?
Yes. Högni was named Composer of the Year at the Icelandic Academy Awards (Edda) in both 2021 and 2025. He also received a nomination for the Nordic Film Music Awards at the Berlinale in 2025 for his score on Touch.