Review of Various Artists - Resident Evil: Apocalypse

1. Slipknot - Vermilion
2. The Used - Just A Little
3. The Cure - Us Or Them
4. A Perfect Circle - The Outsider (Resident Renholder Mix)
5. Lacuna Coil - Swamped
6. Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
7. Rammstein - Mein Teil
8. DevilDriver - Digging Up The Corpses
9. Cradle Of Filth - Nymphetamine
10. CKY - Escape From Hellview
11. Deftones - The Chauffeur
12. HIM - Join Me In Death
13. Demon Hunter - My Heartstrings Come Undone
14. Thrice - Under A Killing Moon
15. 36 Crazyfists - Bloodwork
16. Cold - End Of The World (acoustic)
17. Rob Zombie - Girl On Fire (Renholder's Apocalypse Mix)
18. Massive Attack - Future Proof

I remember when Resident Evil was just a kick ass video game. I spent many hours blasting zombies and other undead creatures in the second installment of the survivor horror behemoth. Then it became…a franchise. The usual milking commenced--sequels to the sequels (usually stepping further and further from the quality of the early games), action figures, tee shirts, posters, and finally, a movie. I’m not a fan of the first film and didn’t take much notice of the soundtrack, but decided to give this new disc a spin. Soundtracks seem to usually take one or more of a couple of approaches. I’ve found the best soundtracks to be the ones that focus on unreleased or remixed tracks that give fans stuff they can’t get in other places. The Singles soundtrack is a good example. Another approach is to give fans a companion to the film experience. I don’t quite understand this, and would much rather listen to the score to get this effect. Third, some soundtracks simply aim to assemble a package of marketable tunes that form a kind of mixed tape. To my disappointment, the soundtrack to Resident Evil: Apocalypse seems to rely on this last strategy. Of the 18 tracks on the album, only five are previously unavailable. Rammstein and DevilDriver contribute new tracks, a Cold tune gets the acoustic treatment, and Renholder (mainly Danny Lohner from Nine Inch Nails) remixes tracks from A Perfect Circle and Rob Zombie. Not exactly a trove of hidden treasures.

As you can see from the track list, this isn’t an album to get excited about from a metal perspective. The new Rammstein track has the most to offer. Although I’ve never really been a fan, this seems to be the band doing what they do best, and fans should be well pleased. Most of the other metal tracks are mostly old news, and if you like these bands then you probably already own these songs on their original albums. Also, it seems clear that the metal songs included were selected based on their accessability and therefore commercial viability. Still, highlights include the title tracks from the new albums by Killswitch Engage and Cradle of Filth, with the latter mostly being true because of the angelic vocals of guest Liv Kristine.

The brighter moments on the album actually come from the non-metal contributors. The remix of A Perfect Circle’s “The Outsider” trades some of the dark heavy punch for a more ambient sound. It results in an interesting listen, although the remix is ultimately nowhere as good as the original. The somewhat surprising inclusion of a 2002 track from little known hard rock act CKY proves satisfying. Ironically, one of the heaviest moments on the album comes from a band at which most metal fans would promptly turn up their noses. The Cure’s “Us or Them” is a scathing indictment of the campaign of fear used to drive support for the war on terror. As one would expect, it is not the melody of the song that is heavy, but rather its venomous delivery, especially Robert Smith’s snarling lyrics. You can almost feel yourself being peppered with spit through the speakers. The Deftones track is a bit disappointing. It doesn’t sound like them at all, and after a little research I learned the track comes from a Duran Duran tribute album (the original version was on Duran Duran’s Rio album \m/!). I wouldn’t have guessed the origin of the song, but it doesn’t sound like Deftones’ style either. The ethereal Massive Attack’s electronic beats and keyboard melodies close the album with the entrancing “Future Proof.”

The album does a good job maintaining a fairly consistent sound, as far as soundtracks and compilations go. There aren’t many of the jarringly dissimilar tracks that are often found on other various artist albums. Although there are some interested moments, I can’t really recommend this one, unless you are new to these bands and would like a sampler, or if you’re the kind of fan that doesn’t mind picking up an album for just a couple of tracks you like.

Release Details

Various Artists

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

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