Hey horror movie heavy metalheaded freaks (including me)! It's time we switched our CD players off for a while and headed to the movies for a change for some cool horror flick, don't you think? What horror movie? Why, does Alone In The Dark ring any bells for ya? No? You mean you've never played the game?...
Well, for those who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a swift brain download: Alone In The Dark is basically a series of survival horror computer games from Infogrames (now Atari). In the series, the gamer plays as private investigator Edward Carnby, who usually goes to investigate a haunted mansion or town (or Heavy Metal concert...Nah, just kidding), that is full of undead-ly (drooling) creatures. The storyline of the original game was based on H. P. Lovecraft's novels, although later games in the series drew inspiration from other sources, including Voodoo, Wild West movies, and the works of the one and only H.R. Giger (ever seen the first Alien movie? The creature's Giger's creation). In 2005, an Alone in the Dark movie staring Christian Slater (Edward Carnby) and Tara Reid (Aline Cedrac) has been (is being) released, based on the computer game series. The movie is very loosely based on Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, and has little or no relation to the original trilogy from the 1990's. And what's this review all about? Well hello, hello... the movie's full of Heavy fucking Metal! 37 Metal tracks for a movie soundtrack, whoa...is it running for Heavy-Metal Endorsing Movie Soundtrack Of The year? Why not; I know I'd vote for it...
On this double-CD movie soundtrack you've got so many bands playing their best tracks from their latest (or upcoming) releases, you'll totally loose your mind. You have Nightwish's Wish I Had An Angel (the band's also filmed a video clip for this song), In Flames' The Quiet Place from their latest kick-ass album Soundtrack To Your Escape, you've got Dimmu Borgir's Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse in edit version, Lacuna Coil, The Haunted, shredding Gods Anthrax, double-shredding Machine Head (double shredding machine head...I like the sound of that, hehe), Bloodbath, thrashing thrashers Exodus, Arch Enemy...Dark Tranq...Oh shit, I'm loosing it...*Busty maid walks in with pills and water*...Dark Tranquillity, cello-driven Apocalyptica, enraged Nevermore, Soilwork, Strapping Young Lad....*deep breath*...Agathodaimon, Kataklysm (!!!), Death Angel (whoa) etc, etc, etc...
Obnoxiously intervening paragraph: Kataklysm's video clip for As I Slither will also be included on the movie's DVD release (that certainly is a quite successful point in the band's career). Video clips also exist for Nightwish's Wish I Had An Angel, Soilwork's Stabbing The Drama, Dark Tranquillity's Lost In Apathy, In Flames's The Quiet Place, Mnemic's Ghost, The Haunted's All Against All and a few more which I can't recall right now. Those video clips don't have anything to do with the movie except for Nightwish's video, as far as I know...
Since though I haven't seen the movie yet (I don't think it has started being played over here in Greece...or has it?) I can't judge whether the songs chosen fit in the movie's atmosphere fine or not. What I can say though is which songs rock in my opinion from this really varied selection Nuclear Blast put together (a lot of the bands in this compilation belong to N.B.). But as this could perfectly fill in my usual Album Highlights at the very end of the review, I'll just say that overall this Soundtrack has enough Metal in it to fill in something like 3 whole hours (!!!) and a terrorizing Metal variety enough to fulfill your greediest, most abominable appetites. The only thing left is to check out the movie when it's at a movie theater near you (yeah well, the movie will be out first anyway...).
- Movie Soundtrack Highlights:
DISC I: Nightwish - Wish I Had An Angel, Lacuna Coil - Daylight Dancer, The Haunted - All Against All, In Flames - The Quiet Place, Shadows Fall - What Drives The Weak, Exodus - Blacklist, Machine Head - Imperium, Death Angel - The Devil Incarnate
DISC II: Agathodaimon - Alone In The Dark (Exclusive Track), Anthrax - What Doesn't Die, Arch Enemy - Dead Eyes (See No Future), Dark Tranquillity - Lost In Apathy, All Shall Perish - Deconstruction, Bloodbath - Outnumbering The Day, Heaven Shall Burn - The Weapon They Fear, Kataklysm - As I Slither, Dew-Scented - Cities Of The Dead