Mortal Kombat Soundtrack

Review by Dann
Mortal Kombat Soundtrack

Artist: Various

Year: 1995

Genre: Score, Industrial, Techno, Ambient, Metal

Notable Songs: Juke Joint Jezebel, Zero Signal, What U See

Tracks:
01 - A Taste of Things to Come (0:48)
02 - Goodbye (demo) (3:11)
03 - Juke Joint Jezebel (Giorgio Moroder Metropolis Mix) (5:16)
04 - Unlearn (Josh Wink's Live Mix) (4:51)
05 - Control (Juno Reactor Instrumental) (6:27)
06 - Halcyon + on + on (9:24)
07 - Utah Saints Take on the Theme From Mortal Kombat (3:00)
08 - The Invisible (3:43)
09 - Zero Signal (5:58)
10 - Burn (4:45)
11 - Blood & Fire (Out of the Ashes Mix) (4:29)
12 - I Reject (2:48)
13 - Twist the Knife (slowly) (2:52)
14 - What U See/We All Bleed Red (4:11)
15 - Techno-syndrome 7" Mix (3:24)
16 - Goro Vs. Art Featuring Buckethead (2:59)
17 - Demon Warriors/Final Kombat (3:50)

Enhanced: No

Cover Art/Booklet: The motal kombat logo. Inside is just credit info; almost more for the movie than the artists.

Details:
I got this album for 50 cents at a yardsale, and it's one of the best ones I've listened to. It ranges from Indutrial, to techno, to ambient, to metal, and finally some scores from the movie.

A Taste of Things to Come (0:48)
This is a clip from the movie. It consists of mostly drums and isn't the most engaging track but who's complaining, there's more to come.

Goodbye (demo) (3:11)
One of my favorite bands, I originally got the CD for this track (for 50 cents, who wouldn't). It is a demo from Goodbye which in on their self-titled CD. The song doesn't differ much from the album version except it is slightly quieter on the guitars.

Juke Joint Jezebel (Giorgio Moroder Metropolis Mix) (5:16)
This track was another reason I got the CD. It doesn't sound much different, as some remixes do, but I like this version better than the original. There's less of the high pitched guitars, which gives it more of a 'rock' sound.

Unlearn (Josh Wink's Live Mix) (4:51)
This is one of those techno songs that seem to go on forever and don't go anywhere. I'm sure fans of techno miht appreciate it, but I just couldn't get into it.

Control (Juno Reactor Instrumental) (6:27)
I don't like techno too much, but Juno Reactor does it well. There's some good bass which you can use to vibrate things off tables and such. The beat flows fairly well as well, and should take well with most techno fans.

Halcyon + on + on (9:24)
After the last track, which is fairly energetic, there's Halcyon, which is a soft almost ambient track with female vocals. It's a good track, but feels out of place sandwiched between two techno tracks.

Utah Saints Take on the Theme From Mortal Kombat (3:00)
The main theme is remixed, and although I never heard the original, I like it. There's some clips from the movie thrown in, and then the list of characters is listed out. Not a bad things, and it adds to the purely techno-like song.

The Invisible (3:43)
Now we start with the metal songs. The former bassist of Black Sabbath joins up with Burton Bell of Fear Factory and gets away from all that annoying Ozzy Ozzborn-like music. I hadn't heard much metal before this point, but it got me hooked. It doesn't get much heavier than this before it degrades into sensless noise, and with Burton Bell on vocals, it stays heavy.

Zero Signal (5:58)
Fear Factory can do no wrong, and no wrong is done in this track. Taken from their Demanufactured CD, they combine the machinegun fire drums with almost gothic-type guitars. The vocals range from the typical growling to real singing that shows the talent that is there.

Burn (4:45)
I don't kmow much about Sister Machine Gun, but this song catches on pretty quickly. It isn't real heavy but doesn't need to be. It's a good song and works well with the rest on the album.

Blood & Fire (Out of the Ashes Mix) (4:29)
Type O Negative are the masters of creepy depressing music. This song is a very good example of the type of music that they do. The very deep vocals and haunting guitars combine to make song that show that it doens't have to be loud to be powerful.

I Reject (2:48)
This is a very heavy metal song, with all the gutteral growling that you'd expect. It's a fairly good song and doens't hurt the album.

Twist the Knife (slowly) (2:52)
If you imagined what a metal song sounded like but never heard one, it would probably end up like this. It's by far the roughest vocals on the album, and I can't for the life of me figure out what they say, but it's not a bad song.

What U See/We All Bleed Red (4:11)
I've tried to find more songs by Mutha's Day Out, but failed to obtain any. It seem that their CD is no longer available which is a shame. This song goes very fast, both in the instrumentals and lyrics. I'm not sure why We All Bleed Red is in the title, because that part of the song was cut out. This is one of the highlights of the album in my opinion nonetheless.

Techno-syndrome 7" Mix (3:24)
This is similar to the Utah Saints Mortal Kombat Theme, but mixed differently.

16 - Goro Vs. Art Featuring Buckethead (2:59)
17 - Demon Warriors/Final Kombat (3:50)
I've lumped these two into one catagory because they are both scores from the film. Some people may like this, and others may not. But they are both very good for what they are and contribute to the album well.

Bottom Line: Awesome album, with a large replay value. The different music styles, should please most of the people who watched the movie, and a lot who didn't.

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