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Review: Doomsday
By Scott Gwin: 2008-03-23 23:24:05
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW:
Doomsday Tyler Bates Type: Score Label: Lakeshore Records IN A NUTSHELL: Bates’ score appears, full of repetitive themes and elements that sound borrowed from a myriad of other movies. Perhaps that’s fitting since the movie itself does a lot of borrowing as well. Unispiring strings, distorted guitars, panicked brass and out of control percussion take turns trading out alternating sleepy and chaotic moments that aren’t interesting in the least to listen to. I’ve heard Tyler Bates’ work before, but this is the first time I’ve listened to his music apart from the films they inhabit. I was wondering why that was when I realized that many of the projects he’s worked on were movies that I’d rather forget I’d ever seen. You Got Served, See No Evil, Slither - all movies that were little more than wastes of my time. I’m usually pretty attentive to the score when watching a film, but if the movie itself isn’t holding my attention it’s unlikely that the music is going to stand out either. The one recent exception was 300, one of Bates’ most recent projects. Again, I didn’t really enjoy the movie but the score was such a massive and vital part of the film’s eclectic style of storytelling, it was hard to not to notice. Bates’ latest release is from yet another cinematic disaster, Doomsday, and with it he echoes the same visceral, almost tribal qualities that could be found in 300. There’s one problem though: it’s missing the vitality that made the score to 300 so stirring, and without that, most of Doomsday’s music feels as flat as the Casio keyboard on which it sounds like it was recorded. I can’t say as I completely blame the composer. After all, some of John Williams’ least interesting work was what he composed for George Lucas’ new Star Wars trilogy. That’s not to say it wasn’t good work, after all this is John Williams we’re talking about. But, the point is sometimes even a good composer can have difficulty creating something inspiring for an uninspired film. Such is, I believe, the fate of Tyler Bates with Doomsday. The soundtrack itself starts off on a disappointing note with Adam Ant’s “Dog Eat Dog” a bizarre sort of punk swing song that feels painfully out of place. Even if it was used in the film, it doesn’t do the disc any favors by being included. Things slide downhill fast with Marco Pirroni’s and Frankie Goes To Hollywood's “Two Tribes (Carnage Mix)”, a confused and convoluted combination of musical moments that carry the quality of a Windows midi file. Somewhere in the middle someone decided it would be a good idea to incorporate some lines from the movie in a techno fashion, sort of like Paul Oakenfold’s “Rule The Planet Remix” only not nearly as well done. And then come the lyrics. If you even get that far before skipping the track, you’ve wasted too much of your time. Finally Bates’ score appears, full of repetitive themes and elements that sound borrowed from a myriad of other movies. Perhaps that’s fitting since the movie itself does a lot of borrowing as well. Unispiring strings, distorted guitars, panicked brass and out of control percussion take turns trading out alternating sleepy and chaotic moments that aren’t interesting in the least to listen to. Usually the score that accompanies these kinds of harsh movies don’t make great background music for your everyday, but that doesn’t mean they have to be this flat and tedious. As I said before, I don’t totally blame Bates. I suspect this might be the case of a good composer trapped doing scores for a chain of really crappy films. “Exodus” is the one track on the disc that shows promise, and one that I might actually consider sticking in my usual line-up. If there’s one thing that the score proves, it’s that Bates has talent with odd techno-sounding scores and, if given a sufficiently interesting film to score, might come up with some really interesting stuff. That’s a fairly narrow niche, but I’m thinking that the producers for the proposed Tron sequel should probably give him a call when the time comes around. As if the disc itself weren’t disappointing enough, it closes with Ariel Rechtshaid’s “The Can-Can”. The crazy circus-style music feels like someone is blowing a giant, spittle-filled raspberry right in your face. It’s a rough ending to a rough score and not a bright point for anyone involved. Track
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