Published on May 8, 1999
What do you do to fill a movie with graphic special effects,
lots of action and a twisted plot? Well, get a soundtrack that
complements the movie, of course. That is the case with
The Matrix. The movie uses brand new special effects and a
mode of storytelling that’s often seen only in Japanese animation.
To go with the visuals, the movie’s people have gone and raided the
90’s vault of techno, metal and industrial to create a soundtrack
that went with the movie.
So, let’s take it from the top. The lead single and track went
to Marilyn Manson’s ode to the death of music, “Rock Is Dead.”
While I am not a big Manson fan at all, I actually ended up liking
this hard nugget. The song is as bombastic and as fun as any of the
70s glam rock scene. The other rock tracks – Deftones’ “My Own
Summer” and Rage Against The Machine’s “Wake Up” – fall somewhat
flatter than Manson’s though. I’ll admit that I’ve never heard any
other track by the Deftones–so I could be mistaken. As for Rage’s,
I’ve always believed they have the musical chops to be one of the
best rock groups ever, but their lyric material always turns me
off. Then there’s Monster Magnet’s “Look To Your Orb For The
Warning,” which, aside from having a long title, is a strong
midtempo song. It actually feels like early era Ozzy Osbourne.
Finally, there’s the remix of Rob Zombie’s ultra-cool “Dragula.”
Hot Rod Herman’s remix is cool and manages to keep the vibe of the
song.
Aside from those, the rest of the album is made of techno
artists. On the upside, there’s a number of quality material.
Propellerheads’ “Spybreak” is very rhythmic, very driving and
pulsating – quite cool. There’s Ministry’s “Bad Blood,” which is
mean and aggressive and fits the movie to a T. Then there’s
Prodigy’s “Mindfields” – a very focused and strong song.
Along with that, there’s Rammstein’s hit, “Du Hast.” This is a
perfect example of how to blend metal, techno and industrial all
into one. I love it. Finally, you have Rob D’s “Clubbed To Death.”
A song that goes through many changes–from strong to a soft piano
back to strong. Though a bit drawn, the song sounds like something
out of an anime movie – what the director’s where going for. For
you anime fans, this song reminds me of that movie,
Robot Carnival. This sounds like something out of that.
However, there are a number of tracks that sound very…hmm…
hodge-podgeish. Meat Beat Manifesto’s “Prime Audio Soup” is a
multitude of sounds that, though hard, never falls into an actual
song. Likewise, Lunatic Calm’s “Leave You Far Behind.” It is
stronger that “Prime Audio Soup,” but it still a mess. Finally, you
have Hive’s “Ultrasonic Sound,” which sounds like ambiance music
and not a song.
Another problem I have with this album is that there’s nothing
new to offer. Yes, there’s some big names and some cool songs in
here, but what else is there. If you’re a fan of this music, you
got all this stuff – or most of it. And if you’re not a fan, you’ll
probably go look for the stuff you like and dump the rest. I
seriously think that the producer’s ought to have looked for new
material from these artists – that would have made the album more
indispensable.
This album is good. There are some excellent tracks and some
decent tracks and some bad tracks. It sounds like the typical
soundtrack. But one thing it does right – you get the feel of the
movie from it. And that lifts its grade a bit.