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Marilyn Manson, Prodigy, Ministry, Rob Zombie, Rage Against The Machine, and Rammstein are among the artists who have stepped up and kicked in tracks for the soundtrack to the upcoming Keanu Reeves sci-fi thriller "Matrix."
Monster Magnet, the Deftones, and Meat Beat Manifesto will also contribute songs to the soundtrack, which arrives March 30 courtesy of Madonna's Maverick Records.
While most of the artists on the soundtrack are offering previously released material, Zombie delivered a new "Hot Rod Herman" remix of his song"Dragula" for the collection.
The soundtrack will also give fans their first
taste of Ministry's new album (the sublimely titled "Dark Side of the Spoon") on
the brand spanking new track "Bad Blood." The song will mark Ministry's first
new material since 1996's "Filth Pig," and will also turn up on "Dark Side" when
it hits stores on June 8. The first single from the soundtrack will be
Manson's contribution, "Rock Is Dead," which also appears on his "Mechanical
Animals" album. Manson recently shot the video for the single in an airplane
hanger in Los Angeles, and the song should start popping up on radio next week.
The soundtrack was assembled by club and radio DJ Jason Bentley, and a
spokesperson for Maverick Records said that each artist on the soundtrack was
invited to view a rough cut of the film before signing on for the album.
The Matrix Soundtrack - List
- Marilyn Manson - "Rock Is
Dead"
- Ministry - "Bad Blood" (from the forthcoming "Dark Side of the Spoon")
- Prodigy - "Mindfields"
- Rob Zombie - "Dragula" (Hot Rod Herman Remix)
- Rage Against the Machine - "Wake Up"
- Monster Magnet - "Look To Your Orb
For Warning"
- The Deftones - "My Own Summer (Shove It)"
- Rammstein - "Du
Hast"
- Propellerheads - "Spybreak!"
- Meat Beat Manifesto - "Prime Audio
Soup"
- Lunatic Calm - "Leave You Far Behind"
- Rob D - "Clubbed To Death"
- Hive - "Ultrasonic Sound"
The Matrix Soundtrack - Review
Soundtrack albums frequently seem like a strictly mercenary exercise. The movie folks want another marketing tool for their flick, the bands want extra exposure, and the result is a mishmash of tracks that don't really have anything to do with one another; they're just there because those are the bands that made the deal.
So it's a pleasure to report that the soundtrack for The Matrix works perfectly as a CD in its own right: it's an intense, darkly atmospheric collection that deftly blends heavy industrial/metal tracks with equally heavy electronica, a carefully assembled pleasure throughout.
The three most memorable tracks here show the album's range while maintaining its overall intense, malevolent feel: the Propellerheads' "Spybreak! (Short One)" plays fast and loose with that sexy, driving '60s-spy-movie-theme-song sound, warping it up to hyperdrive with a drums and bass frenzy. Rammstein's "Du Hast" proves to be another highlight -- the driving, surprisingly catchy track that picks up on an ol' time metal vibe and makes it seem entirely contemporary again. On the other end of the scale, Rob D's "Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino mix)" provides a bit of breathing space; it's a gloomy, gorgeously melodic instrumental piece, resplendent in film noir-ish beauty.
Overall, there's not a bad track anywhere on this highly recommended disc. Marilyn Manson kicks off the proceedings with "Rock is Dead," with its punkish, syncopated, almost goofy-sounding rhythm track. Electronica veterans Meat Beat Manifesto offer "Prime Audio Soup," a complex, multi-layered thing that mixes sludgy, ominously encroaching beats with eerie, space-agey sounds. Similarly, Rob Zombie's "Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix)" couples Zombie's trademark gruff vocals with an unexpectedly percolating, techno-sounding instrumental, a furious, take-no-prisoners electronic sound also favored by Lunatic Calm on "Leave You Far Behind." Prodigy's "Mindfields" and Hive's "Ultrasonic Sound," on the other hand, adopt a sense of creeping dread, with spare, malevolent beats that approach like footsteps in the middle of the night.
The more rock-oriented selections of the soundtrack include the furious Rage Against the Machine track, "Wake Up," the Deftones' sweeping, blood-curdling "My Own Summer (Shove It)," Ministry's ominous "Bad Blood," and Monster Magnet's gloomily retro "Look to Your Orb for the Warning."
Purchase. Play loud. (If necessary, assure parents that Marilyn Manson and Rammstein plus Keanu Reeves on the cover, wearing a black trenchcoat, does not indicate you're going to turn into a murderous psycho.)
-- Daina Darzin -- MTV
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