Horror Asylum Music Reviews

Joy Ride: Original Motion Picture Score

Marco Beltrami captured my attention back in the late 90s with his scores for Scream and Mimic and has since become a firm favourite of mine along with the likes of John Carpenter, Christopher Young, Don Davis and lately, Brian Tyler and Steve Jablonsky.

Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way

An extremely interesting and uniquely styled piece of ear entertainment. We delve into Bruce Campbell's mind as he progresses through a chance casting in a new Mike Nichols romantic comedy alongside such stars as Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger to name but a few.

Unholy

Hardly anyone I know had even heard of Martin Grech let alone owned his first album 'Open Heart Zoo'. But as soon as the Lexus TV ad in the Summer of 2002 came on everybody could remember the high voiced whining's of Mr Grech. It was astonishing at that time how many people actually believed and mistakened Martin for the likes of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Coldplay's Chris Martin. Unfortunately the album didn't perform as successfully as these comparitives and disappeared into oblivion. But I bought it, and I loved it.

House of Wax - Original Motion Picture Score

John Ottman's score for Dark Castle's latest horror effort is something of a wasted opportunity, as it is highly repetitive and too similar to all his other horror scores.

Beyond the Shadows: Classic Gothic Tales

This collection of classic gothic tales is brought to life by English actress Emma Louise Chamberlain. The spoken word CD features four tales of gothic terror by such legendary writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Hector Hugh Munro (under the guise of Saki), Louisa May Alcott (author of 'Little Women') and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

Whilst the score for this film worked well with the visuals on screen, it is inevitably weaker when listened to on its own.

Freddy Vs. Jason

I hardly ever find myself enjoying a movie soundtrack, save for a song or two. Here is an exception. I was very pleased with the track listings and the bands assembled on this disc. The soundtrack keeps the dark and eerie tone of the film, while not becoming bored or over-done. Freddy vs. Jason was a film that I myself was in much anticipation, and was for the most part pleased with what I saw on screen. The soundtrack did well in delivering the 'goods' and I am taken back to the film each time I listen to the opening of ' How Can I Live' by ILL NINO.

OK Computer

'Ok Computer' was Radiohead's follow-up to their seminal rock album 'The Bends' - an album which secured them after doubts of possible one hit wonder-dom of 'Creep' and the funtional debut of Pablo Honey. This third need not have been great, they had satisfyed the critics and amassed a fan-base - so why bother sweating so hard. No one expected the third album to be so good, certainly not to trump their second album - that was nigh on impossible. But it did.

Shaun of the Dead

As I was expecting the Shaun of the Dead soundtrack is just as great as the film itself. The music from the television series Spaced of which 'Shaun' very much imitates in many instances was incredible and integral to the overall show. And that's exactly what this soundtrack does for the movie.

Last House on the Left, The

This is the very interesting and highly unconventional score to Wes Craven's landmark film. David Hess (who also starred in the movie) has created and performed a collection of memorable tunes, that somewhat captures the essence of the 70's, the period in which it was created. Many who have seen the movie have commented on the diverse nature of this score, compared to the harsh tones provided by other horror soundtracks. The music presented here (released for the first time ever) is a wicked blend of slow rock, mixed with an aura of lurking menace.