Batman: Arkham City –
The Album
2011, Watertower Music
2011, Watertower Music
On October 18, 2011, Warner Bros. Interactive releases the
video game Batman: Arkham City. The follow-up to Arkham Asylum features many of the same gaming attributes, but
enhances features, weapons and tools in an open world environment. The soundtrack, Batman: Arkham City – The Album, drops on October 4, 2011, and
includes some big names in active rock.
Panic! At The Disco kick starts things with “Mercenary”, an
incredibly catchy rocker that’s certain to make room for itself on the
Billboard charts. It’s a perfect
introduction; the sort of song that pervades your consciousness and refuses to
let you go. It’s the best blend of
alternative/heavy rock and pop sensibilities on the collection. Coheed And Cambria “Deranged” and The Duke
Spirit “Creature” offer up solid if not terribly memorable tracks, while Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club gets overtly ethereal on the dream-rock number “Shadow On
The Run”. Blacq Audio seem to be
channeling 80s rockers such as the Thompson Twins on “Afterdark”, a solid
enough track that thoroughly fails to fit in with the other tracks offered
here.
Raveonettes make up for a lack of substance with lots of
fuzz and buzz on “Oh, Stranger”, paving the way for ††† (Crosses) and their
tortured, post-Smiths self-immolation, wrapped in dark commercial medal
forms. The Damned Things make a fine
impression with “Trophy Widow”, dropping a tremendous chorus on listeners. The blend of pop and metal sensibilities here
is intriguing and unique, although the screamed verses are more of a contrast
to the chorus than a complement.
Daughtry hits all the right notes on “Drown In You”. The song is well-written, the arrangement
tight, and the chorus sets up shop in your forebrain and declares its intent to
stick around for a while. The Boxer
Rebellion offers up a solid effort in “Losing You”, but it’s Serj Tankian who
steals the show with the closing track, “Total Paranoia”. If you’ve never heard him before, Tankian has
an eclectic and unusual voice that’s almost counterintuitive to this
environment on first listen, but he grows on you like dark thoughts in the
night. “Total Paranoia” is an exceedingly
pleasant surprise, and an example of how a music director, thinking outside the
box on a project such as this, occasionally strikes gold.
There’s no doubt that Batman:
Arkham City – The Album will turn out to provide far accompaniment to the
game itself, but as an album it has little sense of flow; the songs here don’t
have a common theme or driving factor other than the overly complex apocrypha
of Batman storylines and legends. Batman: Arkham City – The Album was put
together with an eye toward download sales of single tracks rather than an
attempt to build a cohesive theme, and it shows. On the left, it’s difficult to build this
sort of cohesion in a soundtrack collection featuring eleven different artists,
which is why being the music director for this sort of project is a thankless
exposition. In any case, this is a time
to pick and choose the tracks you want and download accordingly. There are some real gems here.
Rating: 3 Stars
(Out of 5)
CD MP3 MP3 + Score
iTunes.And if you're interested in pre-ordering the game, here are the links!
X-Box 360 X-Box 360 PS3
Special Edition
PS3 Windows
Special Edition Live
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