v/a "Freddy vs. Jason" compilation CD
[Roadrunner]
This is the first time I've ever reviewed a soundtrack. Whoopee. But no, really, this is more like a compilation than a "real" soundtrack (damn if I remember hearing any of these songs in the movie - not including the closing credits), and I was curious to hear it because a major chunk of the material is previously unreleased. Now, the term "previously unreleased" can be tricky, and the sort of lame thing here is that out of 14 previously unreleased tracks, five of them will be released in the near future, and one of them (Hatebreed's "Condemned Until Rebirth") technically was released as a bonus track on the first pressing of the band's last full-length. But anyway, there are some good songs here, previously "unreleased" or not. I'll tackle the truly unreleased material first. "When Darkness Falls" is only the second recorded song I've heard from Killswitch Engage since they got a new singer, and it's not bad at all, but to me it definitely proves that the band's new vocalist Howard Jones just can't compare to former frontman Jesse Leach. Jones is a great vocalist, but his singing and harmonizing can't touch Leach's so... having been an enormous fan of the band's past work it's not as easy to appreciate them with Jones handling those duties. The Slipknot track comes from a pre-Roadrunner demo recorded in '97, and it's fucking terrible. I'm not a Slipknot fan, but I can tolerate their newer stuff. Their old material is total shit, though. Chimaira's "Army of Me" is fucking awesome, and definitely should have been on their last record. It's the same brand of groovy modern thrash with a mix of singing and screaming. I hate Sevendust, and the verse part of their contribution, "Leech", is pretty weak, but I gotta say the rest of the song is great, and I fucking love the dissonant riffing and superb singing during the chorus. The Murderdolls suck and so does their song, it's too long and too cheesy. Next. I have no idea who Seether is, and they're not that hot, but I can listen to it. It's totally derivate heavy rock (really heavy rock) with horribly childish lyrics and all that crap, but I can listen to it. Stone Sour also sucks and so does their song. Next. The Sepultura track (featuring Mike Patton on vocals) is really pretty damn good. It was recorded at the peak of the band's overly groove-laden simplicity, but the spacious riffing and tribal percussion/instrumentation is cool, and Patton's superb vocals definitely kick the track up a notch. As for tracks that will appear on the bands' forthcoming releases, the new Ill Nino cut isn't bad. I don't like it as much as the stuff from their last record because the main riff is way too derivative, but the rest of the song is okay, and I like the recording and the fact that they still use additional percussion and subtle layers of acoustic guitars. Spineshank's "Beginning of the End" is a lot different than what I remember having heard from the band in the past, complete with a ridiculously catchy chorus and great vocal harmonies. Mushroomhead is a goofy band that could be almost tolerable if they'd drop the ridiculous image, but they'd still get compared to a nu-metal version of Faith No More, and they still wouldn't be that good, so... I can't make up my mind about the From Autumn to Ashes track because, even though it's pretty good, and definitely easier to grasp than their old material, it's sort of generic, and the singing vocals are annoyingly nasal. Devildriver is a really weird band that sounds like a mix between Drowning Pool and Six Feet Deep or something like that... it's fast and has a thrashy vibe to the picking, but it also has a dirty texture and a rock sort of feel, in addition to some ridiculous mosh grooves. I don't know. And then there are the songs that have already been released, ranging from the terrible (Powerman 5000, Nothingface, Type O Negative), to the tolerable (The Blank Theory), to the stuff that's actually good (Lamb of God, In Flames). That's it. The mastering is a little strange, as most of the songs seem to have the vocals placed oddly out in front of the music (not to an obnoxious degree, but it is noticeable), and the Hatebreed track sounds monstrously thick and muddy by comparison, but for the most part it all sounds fine. The layout's okay. It's not that exciting but it does look consistent. You've got Freddy and Jason on the cover, Freddy and Jason on the back, individual shots of each inside, and then there are credits listed for each track and all that jazz, which is nice. For the most part I enjoy this. It would've been awesome if all of the tracks were exclusive, but whatever. A lot of these bands are really cheesy, and I would've preferred more diversity at the very least, which I think hits on the biggest weaknesses here. (6/10)
Running time - 75:59, Tracks: 20
[Notable tracks: Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, Chimaira, Sevendust, Sepultura with Mike Patton, Lamb of God]
Roadrunner Records - http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com

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