“What
if tomorrow this war could be over? Isn't
that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth
dying for?” Stirring stuff from
the lips of Morpheus as he rallies the
people before the final battle at the
beginning of Matrix Reloaded.
‘Matrix Reloaded’ followed
in the present trend of Hollywood movies,
where the sequel is better than the original.
(Although I must admit to the plot being
a bit too confusing for my associates
Lang Reid and Dear Hilary, both of whom
had their feathers thoroughly ruffled
in the confusion of who was what, and
where and when, Hilary kept on swooning
over Neo though.) Harry Potter's magical
second movie certainly outstripped it's
predecessor; the Lord of The Ring movies
just get better and better; Charlie's
Angels get sexier and sexier, and Terminator
gets more rowdy by the minute. Perhaps
the only one not managing to keep up with
the trend is the Star Wars pre-quells,
but then that was quite a hard act to
follow. ‘Matrix Reloaded’
was a huge seminal step forward from the
first movie, setting the bar even higher
for the others to follow. The same can
be said for the double C.D. collection
that goes under the collective title 'Music
from and Inspired by the Motion Picture'.
Knocking the soundtrack from the previous
movie into a cocked hat.
The music is split between the two discs
into inspired by and actual soundtrack.
The first coming under the various artist
category and the second mainly coming
from the pen of the wonderful Don Davis.
Opening song is ‘Session’
by 'Linkin Park', one of those bands that
perhaps us old metal dogs have been a
bit sniffy about in the past, because
of their cross overuse of sampling and
rap vocals. But this short little burst
fits in very well here giving off just
the right amount of vibes to set the Matrix
groove, opening the door to the experience
if you like. Certainly a band worth further
inspection.
Next song has a lovely quiet beginning
with tinkling keyboards before slamming
in with an almighty ‘More' and a
kick like Agent Smith X 20 smacking right
into the pit of your stomach. The guitars
slam and the vocals go from choirboy-like
to full blooded roar. It is, of course,
the magnificent new champion of shock/rock
'Marilyn Manson'. By the end of this song
you are right back in the Matrix.
Marilyn Manson is the perfect artist
to have on this collection with his song
titled 'This Is The New ‘Stuff’'.
(It's not actually called that, but the
Pattaya Mail is after all a family newspaper.
Hilary went all peculiar when she saw
what the real title was).
Fitting in perfectly with all these new
young artists is that old codger of heavy
metal 'Rob Zombie', who lets go with both
barrels on the third song of the opening
trio on 'Reload', affected vocals and
sledge hammer guitars. It is music that
Morpheus would of approved of in his youth.
(Do they have youth in Zion or are you
just there?)
Things are then slowed way down for three
relatively forgettable tracks by 'Rob
Dougan' - 'Deftones' and 'Teamsleep'.
Probably something for Trinity to relax
to when she is not racing a motorbike
the wrong way up the highway.
Things are brought back with a bang to
a more hard-edged sound with a couple
of songs from 'P. O. D.' and 'Unloco',
before 'Rage Against The Machine' weigh
in with a slab of ‘Calm Like A Bomb’.
'Oekenfold' gives us ‘Dreadrock’,
which sounds like an outtake from a bad
seventies disco movie and doesn't fit
in at all well here.
'Fluke' then gives us ‘Zion’,
which at least keeps the theme going.
The remix version of 'Dave Matthews Band'
‘When The World Ends’ is appalling
and would of been better left off the
album.
As the albino twins said: “We are
aggravated. Yes, we are.”
The second disc is pure class, the actual
music written for the movie. Three pieces
of music from Don Davis, two from the
pen of Ben Watkins, and one co-written
by the pair. Plus the pulsating ‘Chateau’
from Rob Dougan. This music lives and
breathes Matrix.
The ‘Main Title’ sets the
scene; ‘Trinity Dream’ is
the stuff nightmares are made of; and
‘Teahouse’ is the music from
the dance ritual in the movie, where Neo
and Trinity get it on, while Link and
Zee give it the Hoochie Choochie. (Let’s
hope we get more of Zee in the future.)
‘Chateau’ has the heaviest
bass line ever, almost knocking you out
of your seat as Neo does his Superman
thing. Then with over ten minutes of ‘Mona
Lisa Overdrive’ you can almost feel
the Keymaker hanging on for dear life
as Trinity weaves through the oncoming
traffic. The ‘Burly Brawl’
brings out the best of Neo as he battles
two, twenty, two hundred Agent Smiths.
Any Army marching to battle with this
as their battle cry would turn into a
bunch of berserkers.
Then to finish off the music is the ‘Matrix
Reloaded Suite’, where Don Davis
is able to bring all the threads that
musically tie the Matrix together during
its nearly 18-minute length. Very impressive
it is too, bringing out all the best parts
from the related music, sometimes slow,
some times loud, but always dramatic.
A very impressive way to end this collection
of songs.
The second C.D. also includes extras
that you can view on your computer.
We now wait with great anticipation for
the third and concluding part of this
trilogy Matrix Revolutions. The movie
should be great. Let’s hope the
soundtrack is too.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
