Genres: Alt-rock, Alt-metal, Goth-rock, Prog-rock
Underworld from 2003 was a film about Kate Beckinsale in sexy clothes. Every single reflection on the movie will involve this fact no matter how you slice it, Kate Beckinsale looks great in costume. There was also a running time of 121 minutes filled out by some nonsense with vampires and werewolves but that was only an attempt to force Kate Beckinsale into situations that make her look cool while also being sexy in a faux-BDSM way. The film is about style and an image. The producers wanted a franchise and modern franchises are about getting the same over and over again. This may limit choice and be only a business exercise rather than an artistic one but it limits arguments when you are trying to choose what film to see. It is better the devil you know. Underworld was not much artistically but it made enough money to warrant 3 other films in the franchise with the latest being Underworld: Awakening from 2012 which has Kate Beckinsale looking sexy while shooting certifiable humans instead of supernatural humans that are otherwise identical.
What was memorable about this film is its soundtrack.The soundtrack involves a lot of collaborations and remixing but sounds of a whole. It maintains the slightly sexy goth-tinged rock and heavy metal throughout with even the calculated departures from that mood seeming to blend with the rest in sequence. There is also incidental music that it little more than squelchy ambient stuff but listened to as a whole these make sense in this context of creating mood. If anything, this soundtrack is a good marketing exercise that actually ticks a few boxes on the artistic column.
David Bowie has his song 'Bring me the Disco King' from his 2003 album Reality reworked by John Fruschante (Red Hot Chili Peppers and solo work) , James Maynard Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifier) and Danny Lohner (nine inch nails, Puscifier) to sound far more dramatic and climactic. This is the best song on the disc though only a re-imagining. The Dillinger Escape Plan have the best departure from the formula with 'Baby's First Coffin' sounding pissed-off rather than a little conflicted and frustrated liked the rest, it appeared later on their 2004 album Miss Machine. The band between Danny Lohner and James Maynard Keenan called Puscifier turns in the best completely original cut with 'Rev 22:20' that sums up the sexiness and frustration without seeming like caricature, referencing the main Kate Beckinsale sexy but dangerous vampire character with lyrics such as 'Glady, now, suck me dry' and a few religious allusions. The collaboration between Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Bigdumbface, Black Light Burns) Danny Lohner, Richard Patrick (nine inch nails, Filter) and Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle) named The Damning Well turn in a worthy contribution with the album opener 'Awakening'. Milla Jovavich (!?!) teams up with Danny Lohner to create the moody song 'Rocket Collecting' and what is surprising is that is one of the albums highlights. There are two remixes of fine material from A Perfect Circle by Danny Lohner that don't improve the songs but make them work within the frame of the album. Page Hamilton (Helmet) turns in a fair effort with help from Charles Clouser (nine inch nails) called 'Throwing Punches' that continues what came before without hitting a home run. Skinny Puppy turn in a weird track called 'Optimissed' that is a slight departure from the norm but isn't very memorable.
This soundtrack seems to be Danny Lohner's baby and I'm glad is saw the light of day despite being attached to the film.
Below is a fan made video link that will play the David Bowie remix (with James Maynard Kennan, John Fruschante, Danny Lohner) 'Bring me the Disco King'. Enjoy!
Here is link to the Underworld soundtrack playlist on youtube. Some of the videos have been deleted and others are blocked by copyright. Shame, really.
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