Last month, Warner Bros.' music label Watertower Records released 30-second excerpts from Hans Zimmer's The Dark Knight Rises soundtrack. Today, the 15 full tracks have been released online, via Empire, ahead of the CD's release on July 17. See if you can decipher any plot points from director Christopher Nolan's final Batman adventure through these songs. You can also check out the press release issued today by Watertower Records below these new songs.

On July 17, 2012, WaterTower Music will release The Dark Knight Rises: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at all physical and digital retailers. Academy-Award winning composer Hans Zimmer teams for the fourth time with writer/director Christopher Nolan to create the music for the final installment of his Dark Knight Trilogy. The CD version of the soundtrack will contain an exclusive link to unlock three bonus tracks, while a deluxe version of the soundtrack, with three additional tracks, will be available digitally. A limited edition vinyl configuration is set for release on September 4. Following the success of his experiential app for Inception, which boasted 5 million downloads, Zimmer is preparing to unveil a new iPhone app for The Dark Knight Rises that will provide fans with a more immersive musical and sonic experience into the world of Gotham City. Details for the new Hans Zimmer app will be announced soon.

"I thought after we finished the last one [The Dark Knight], that was it," said Zimmer. "There was nothing else we could possibly do. At the same time, when I started reading this script, I instantly knew that there was a whole world out there that I hadn't even touched yet."

"I have never worked with someone so dedicated to the idea that the real risk is in playing it safe," said Nolan. "Hans taught me that you sometimes have to go in what appears to be the wrong direction to discover all the possibilities, and that without exploring those possibilities you can never do anything truly exceptional. He sets creative goals for every film that are higher than you ever thought practical...or even reachable."

Zimmer added, "We're comrades in arms, the way we try to cheer each other on and try to really do the best work we possibly can. And part of that is you have to be prepared to not hold back. You have to put everything into the movie."