REVIEWS BY DAVE ALEXANDER, THE GORE-MET, MARK R. HASAN, AARON VON LUPTON, GEORGE PACHECO, JESSA SOBCZUK AND TREVOR TUMINSKI
THE WOMAN IN BLACK Marco Beltrami
SOUNDTRACK
SILVA SCREEN Marco Beltrami has written some of his finest work for the various horror re- makes he’s scored (The Omen, The Thing), and The Woman in Black is again composed in a style that hear- kens back to the rich orchestral scores of the late ’70s. He’s not quite chan- nelling vintage John Williams, but his use of melody is paramount to captur- ing the unease of characters con- fronted by myths, legends, ghosts and tactile nightmares. Heavy with strings and woodwinds, there’s both charm and dread in the way Beltrami’s main theme never seems to settle into one staid mood, as in the mercurial “Bills Past Due.” The orchestrations are razor sharp, and the dissonant build-ups are often more frightening than the punc- tuating stabs. Beltrami also makes pe- riodic use of an affecting chorus and more abstract motifs that easily recall his abrasively beautiful music for Scream, but the frequent recurrence of his tender theme makes Woman one of his most compelling works. MRH 00000
originally composed by John Morgan and William Stromberg for a series of anti-nuke documentaries and short films. The composing duo is best known for two things: meticulous film score restorations (Mysterious Island) and sophisticated orchestral scores for very modest budgets – and Returns could be regarded as a score Bernard Herrmann may have written if he needed to make rent in 1957. The com- positional skills are top notch, with moods ranging from dramatic to broad action-adventure; several highlights ring of genre favourites such as Sisters and It’s Alive. Still, the assembled suites of uncut cues (some previously unre- leased) generally flow well, creating a weird, exotic journey that’s trashy and fun, and a good sampling of the com- posers’ adeptness. MRH 000
Camp” “Colony Collapse” and “Corpo- rate Elect,” and simmering potions “In Cythera” and “On All Hallow’s Eve.” Where most bands weaken with age, Killing Joke’s songwriting scythe only seems to get sharper. Come December 23, we may all be ash but these geezers certainly aren’t going quietly. TT 00000
KILLING JOKE MMXII
ROCK
RETURNS AGAIN John Morgan and William Stromberg CREATURE FEATURES As he did with his prior film, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, auteur Larry Blamire chose to work with pre-exist- ing music for the sequel, but instead of vintage stock music cues, he opted for disparate orchestral and synth music
THE LOST SKELETON SOUNDTRACK
AWAKENING Paul Haslinger LAKESHORE Having scored the original Underworld and its unnecessary 2009 prequel, Paul Haslinger returns for the fourth install- ment in the franchise with his signature blend of electronics and orchestra, giv- ing the film a sleek sheen of fluid sounds and punchy rhythms traceable back to his days with Tangerine Dream. Much of the score is an ongoing con- trast between sombre atmospheres and precisely timed orchestral erup- tions, which makes for a really en- grossing narrative. The brooding “This Is Not One of Us” is a prime example of Haslinger’s knack for thick electronic chords and little gestures (a dark piano phrase is often paired with the absorb- ing chord progressions), while more ki- netic cues are propelled by fat analog pulses and rattling percussion samples. “Prepare the Armory” brings back the full orchestra to complete the score’s gothic design, but there’s also much beauty in Haslinger’s use of grungy gui- tar licks and
distortion.MRH 0000
UNDERWORLD: SOUNDTRACK
SPINEFARM/UNIVERSAL Considering most of Killing Joke fled to Iceland in paranoid anticipation of the Apocalypse in the early ’80s, to observe radio silence in a year boasting the omi- nous end of the Mayan calendar would’ve seemed a terrible oversight. Luckily, the influential coven has marked the occasion with its fifteenth studio album, MMXII (2012 in Roman numerals), which hears them balancing the more refined, melodic approach they adopted in the mid-’80s and revis- ited on 2010’s Absolute Dissent, with the cumulative and terrifying power of the elemental heaviness the group has accrued over the last 30-plus years. Blade Runner-esque synth pads bolster the band’s trademark primitive aggres- sion, exploding choruses and Jaz Cole- man’s instantly recognizable rallying roar on dance floor grinder “Rapture,” political scoldings such as “Fema
LVCIFYRE The Calling Depths
METAL
PULVERISED If Cthuhlu is looking for the ideal en- trance music to mark his rise from slumbering in the deep, he need look no further than the title track of this monstrosity. The debut full-length from British trio Lvcifyre is a wonderfully ter- rifying mass of slithering tempos and brooding, blackened riffs that are defi- nitely not for the faint of metal heart. Fans of Immolation, Incantation and early Morbid Angel will find much to like, but this is not some old-school throwback. Dollops of Behemoth and
SHE’S STILL DEAD Immortal, Eternal
PUNK
INDEPENDENT Ruffian creeps She’s Still Dead rampage onto the horror scene by way of New Orleans with Immor- tal, Eternal, an eleven-track refresher course in lo- fi punk/thrash, produced by ex-White Zombie guitarist J. Yuenger. With a sound somewhere be- tween Black Flag and (early) NOFX, this is not a game-changing genre-bender, but what SSD lack in inventiveness, they make up for with frenetic, unadulterated passion. Cos Solo’s vocals only range from al- most-screaming to screaming, but shouting about ripping up throats and unveiling organs before eating them is already halfway to awesome. Lyrically, Solo’s re- morseless, tongue-in-cheek contempt for both the living and the dead is the per- fect foil for the band’s rigid rock-outs, while added screechy guitar noises and metal-esque solos bring depth to the otherwise straight-ahead arrangements. Headbanging is on high with several notable tunes, namely “Hands of the Ripper,” “Pedal to the Devil” and “We Won’t Stop When the Screaming Starts.” Perfect music for cruising in your hearse or prepping your next autopsy. JS 000½
DOWNLOAD THIS ISSUE’S HYMNS TRACK AT
RUE-MORGUE.COM/HYMNS SHE’S STILL DEAD - “HANDS OF THE RIPPER”
A U D I O D R O M E 57RM
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