The record contains twenty-one tracks from the original film score written and composed by Hans Zimmer.

[3] Zimmer, however, expressed reluctance to accept the offer feeling he wasn't the right person for the job.

Cellist Tristan Schulze and violinist Ann Marie Calhoun performed on the score in addition to more strings and occasional percussion involved throughout the process.

"[13] Mark Kermode of The Observer highlights the significance of music in the piece writing, "More significant still is the role of music (composer Hans Zimmer earned one of the film's 10 Bafta nominations this week), with McQueen building upon the experiments of Shame to explore further the dramatic depths of song" [14] Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine praised the score and said "The film's immaculate score, by Hans Zimmer, and sound design, so thick with thunder, wind, the chirping of crickets, hammers beating nails into wood, whips tearing black bodies to shreds, work in tandem to strongly convey the bucolic, sinister atmosphere of the antebellum South.

Club wrote of Zimmer's score, "pounds and roars with dread — the appropriate soundtrack for the madness of history.

"[18] Mark Hughes of Forbes hails the piece as "some of [Zimmer's] best work to date, which says quite a lot" and further expands by expressing "I love the way he uses nontraditional effects and sounds, sometimes going bare-bones and simple with a single instrument, so often understated to perfection.

"[19] Susan Wloszczyna of RogerEbert.com stated "Underscoring the cruelty is the aptly unsettling and sometimes discordant soundtrack by Hans Zimmer", noting similarities with Zimmer's predescending score for Inception whilst acknowledging differentiation in "reminiscent of his own strong work on "Inception" but to much different effect".

[20] Glenn Kay of CinemaStance wrote positively by stating, "the score by Hans Zimmer is sparse and repetitive, but incredibly effective at invoking an emotional response when it's used.