|
The soundtrack for Sony Pictures' latest sci-fi fantasy/action-adventure
flick Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans features a well-rounded
roster of veterans and emerging artists. Produced by Nine Inch
Nails' bass player Danny Lohner, the soundtrack takes space
rock into the haunting realm of Goth sweetened by amalgams of industrial-acid
and techno-pop. Some songs are impaled by futuristic-nuances and breathe
fire out of every pore like Genghis Tron's "Board Up The
House," and then there are others that are made of melodic rock
flesh and ethereal substances woven into orchestral swirls like Ghosts
On The Radio's "Steal My Romance." Most tracks are remixes
tinkered by Renholder (red.lohner spelled backwards), Wes
Borland (guitarist for Limp Bizkit), Legion Of Doom,
and Jnrsnchz Blaqkout, but a few are left as is, including
Black Light Burns' tune "I Want You To," King
Black Acid's "Let's Burn," and Ghosts On The Radio's
"Steal My Romance." It's an album that works well with the
movie, but it can be taken independent of the film with tracks that
have a social meaning on their own.
The storyline of Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans centers around
the main character Lucian who is a werewolf intent on freeing his
kind from the malicious Death Dealers who are vampires. But not all
vampires are made the same as the subplot shows Lucian's secret lover
to be the beautiful vampire named Sonja who assists him in his fight.
The soundtrack goes through twists and turns emblematic of the movie,
crossing between scenes of war with moments of serene contemplation
and aiming for a light in the distance. These moments of quiet reflection
are bannered by Alkaline Trio's track "Over And Out"
and the Deftones' offering "Hole In The Earth."
The Cure also makes a poignant contribution with their usual
luminous hues and shoegazey burns in "Underneath The Stars,"
which showcases the vocal stylizing of the band's lead singer Robert
Smith along with Tool's Maynard James Keenan and
background vocals from actress Milla Jovovich. More club-driven
tracks include the industrial-churned, acid-rock mixture of "Lighten
Up Francis" from Keenan's side project Puscifer, the techno-funnels
and sonic blasts of AFI's "Miss Murder," and the
Goth-fisted hooks of William Control's "Deathclub"
featuring Alkaline Trio's lead singer Matt Skiba. Thrice
also comes in with a chunky helping of modern rock tangled in electro-pop
reams in "Broken Lungs" remixed by Legion Of Doom. The architecture
of the tracks has a majestic presence while banked by ominous silhouettes
and macabre tones like a Gothic cathedral shrouded in a spooky setting
of tomblike trees and a sinister-looking sky.
The album takes listeners on the edge of living through a nightmare,
and takes them away from the nightmare with ethereal-pop havens. Movements
glide from a subliminal force, explode into stormy showers like pent-up
steam erupting from a volcano, and brighten with an array of hues
resembling a sunset. The songs move in different directions, and yet,
they all have a common kindred trait tying them together and showing
that they all come from the same family. Soundtracks are usually a
mishmash of music, but the Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans compilation
keeps it all in the family.
-Susan Frances
Check out more
reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the chief
Like this article?
e-mail
it to a friend!
|
Various
Artists 
