Metal Monday: Metal Soundtracks
posted in: Rock
Inspired a bit by Rami’s Soundtrax column, this week’s Metal Monday focuses on the most metal movie soundtracks Hollywood has to offer. You might be wondering “Are there even enough metal movie soundtracks to make a list?” The answer is yes, absolutely. Admittedly, however, some of these albums are much better than others. While not totally metal, the idea of a metal soundtrack started with movies like This Is Spinal Tap and similar films. So, where should we start? How about with the most “Extreme” soundtrack on the list?
Who could forget this legendary scene from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure back in 1989? Still a step or two away from being a purely metal soundtrack, the inclusion of “Play With Me” by Extreme as well as “Father Time” and “Dangerous” by Shark Island made this soundtrack pretty rad for 1989. In a few years, movies like Judgment Night (1993), The Crow (1994), and Spawn (1997) would start to feature a lot more metal music in their soundtracks (even if many of the songs were collaborations with non-metal acts). Again, not purely metal, but a big step in the right direction with help from bands like Metallica, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Helmet, etc. Then, in 1995 a horror film title Demon Knight was released and featured what was certainly the most metal soundtrack to date. Don’t believe me? Just look at this track list:
1. “Cemetery Gates” by Pantera
2. “Tonight We Murder” by Ministry
3. “My Misery” by Machine Head
4. “Diadems” by Megadeth
5. “Instant Larry” by Melvins
6. “Fall Guy” by Rollins Band
7. “Beaten” by Biohazard
8. “Polícia” by Sepultura
9. “Hey Man Nice Shot” by Filter
10. “1-800 Suicide” by Gravediggaz
So yeah, pretty stinkin’ metal, though not quite as metal as the soundtrack for the 1998 film Gummo, which features the most undeniably metal soundtrack for a movie ever (Side Note: I hope someone can prove me wrong by providing an even more metal soundtrack”consider this a challenge). Featured on its soundtrack are some truly heavy, visceral and brutal tracks:
1. “The Gold Torques Of Ulaid” by Absu
2. “Serving Time In The Middle Of Nowhere” by Eyehategod
3. “D.W.S.O.B (Devil Worshipping Son Of a Bitch)” by Electric Hellfire Club
4. “Gummo Love Theme” by Spazz
5. “Schuld Uns’res Knoch’rigen Faltpferd” by Bethlehem
6. “Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Sí¤ule Der Singularití¤t” by Burzum
7. “Equimanthorn” by Bathory
8. “Smokin’ Husks” by Dark Noerd
9. “Dragonaut” by Sleep
10. “Matando Gueros 97” by Brujería
11. “The Medicined Man” by Namanax
12. “Hellish Blasphemy” by Nifelheim
13. “Skin Peeler” by Mortician
14. “Give The Human Devil His Due” by Mystifier
15. “Mom’s And Dad’s Pussy” by Destroy All Monsters
16. “Verschleierte Irreligiosití¤t” by Bethlehem
17. “Suite No.2 For Solo Cello In D Minor Prelude” by Mischa Maisky
18. “Some Grass” by Sleep
19. “Jesus Loves Me” by Rose Shepherd & Ellen M. Smith
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Then came the 2000s and it seemed like every movie with an action sequence or gory scene decided they needed some metal music to play alongside for added intensity. Enter movies like Queen of the Damned (2002), Resident Evil (2002), Freddy Vs. Jason (2003), Saw, and all of these movies’ eventual sequels. Name off as many nu metal bands as you can, and there’s a pretty good chance that they were featured on the soundtrack to at least one of these fine pieces of cinematic glory. Struggling to name some bands? Well, here are a few of the more prominent or often featured acts: Marilyn Manson, Static-X, Disturbed, Mushroomhead, Deftones, Slipknot and many more. If you’re looking for an extensive list, Wikipedia has some very detailed articles about these soundtracks, especially for the Resident Evil series.
Since the nu metal craze metal soundtracks have been few and far between, the Hesher soundtrack”made up almost solely of Metallica and Motí¶rhead songs”is really the only one of note. Based purely on popularity and chart success. however, the more nu metal-centric soundtracks are undeniably the most successful. Judgment Night‘s soundtrack even peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard charts, which is nothing to sneeze at.
So, tell me, what are your favorite metal soundtracks? Am I making an glaring exceptions to this list of metal soundtracks?