Rocknworld.com - SoundTracks - The latest soundtrack albums

Welcome to soundtracks! Our look at the latest offerings in the soundtrack world.

Daredevil The Album
Label: Wind-Up
Rating:
Review By: Scott Slapp w/ antiGUY

Tracks:
Won't Back Down - Fuel
For You - The Calling
Bleed For Me - Saliva
Hang On - Seether
Learn The Hard Way - Nickelback
The Man Without Fear- Drowning Pool/Rob Zombie
Right Now - Nappy Roots/Marcos Curiel
Evening Rain - Moby
Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
Until You're Reformed - Chevelle
Right Before Your Eyes - Hoobastank
Fade Out/In - Paloalto
Caught In The Rain - Revis
High Wire Escape Artist - Boy Sets Fire
Raise Your Rifles - Autopilot Off
Daredevil Theme - Graeme Revell/Mike Einziger (Blind Justice remix)
My Immortal - Evanescence
Sad Exchange - Finger Eleven
Simple Lies - Endo
Let Go - 12 Stones

Someone was paying attention to the Spiderman soundtrack and its success because a very similar formula was employed with the Daredevil soundtrack. It’s packed with a whose who of nu-metal and modern rock and should please fans of both genres.

The album starts off with a rather undistinguishable track from Fuel. Don’t get me wrong the song has the hooks and melodies but it just doesn’t seem to knock the ball out of the park.

The Calling come up next with the typical soundtrack fare; a song that is so generic that it should fit right in with what’s on the radio at the moment. The Calling are great at what they do, which is writing songs that are geared towards radio and capturing a readymade audience.

Saliva go on the slow-tip with “Bleed For Me,” this sounds like it was an outtake from their latest album, “Back Into Your System” where the band went from being Korn Jr. meets RATM to a modern rock band. It was rather a shocking transformation and this track sounds like it was written specifically to attract a mass audience. It would be a bit shocking if we didn’t get a taste of the change with “Back Into Your System”. This is a solid tune but it still takes a bit of a leap to get over the fact that this is Saliva.

Seether is South Africa’s answer to Nirvana and you really get that feel from this song, with its light verses to heavy choruses. “Hang On” is a definite highpoint for this disc so far, its so basic yet compelling in much the same way that Nirvana's music was.

I didn’t even recognize who was playing this next track until the chorus. “Learn The Hard Way” is definitely a different direction for Nickelback. Chad employs processed vocals in the verses that makes it sound like he’s singing through a bullhorn. The riffs here are killer in a 70’s arena rock fashion. I couldn’t help but hitting repeat on this one.

The next track was the one I was most looking forward to hearing. Being a fan of both Rob Zombie and Drowning Pool I was curious to how a collaboration between the two would sound. I was a little disappointed in the end result. It ended up sounding more like Korn than DP or Zombie. It’s a good track but it could have been so much better.

Things take a turn with the next track, “Right Now” a collaboration between Nappy Roots and Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. It starts out with what really is a self-promoting jingle for Nappy Roots; repeating their name over and over again. Then it breaks into a generic rap-rocker. One listen to this track and it is evident why that genre is dying, there isn’t much you can do with it and after a while the songs all end up sounding the same.

Another base is covered with “Evening Rain,” A monotonous little piece of Moby music. This song acts as a speed bump right in the middle of disc and I could go to my grave content if I never again heard Moby say, “I can’t stand / To see the morning come / While the evening rain still falling”

Next up is the first of two tracks from Wind Up’s latest signing, Evanescence. At first this group sounds like an attempt to jump on the Avril bandwagon with a female fronted modern rock group but then the male rapper checks in and the songs morphs into what Linkin Park might sound like if you replaced Chester with a female singer. Who knows if this is going to play in Peoria or not but it’s an interesting twist on the now overly familiar formula.

Chevelle checks in next with “Until You’re Reformed,” which might have been a track left off of their latest album, “Wonder What’s Next.” It’s a bit slower in temperament than the typical Chevelle song but it has it's charms.

“Right Before Your Eyes” comes up next. A new track from Hoobastank Fans of the band won’t be disappointed as this song has all of the elements that endeared this group to fans when their debut album hit in 2001. They aren’t exactly the most original band on the block but they know what works for them and won’t dare to divert from that path.

One of the best tracks on this disc come next, “Fade Out/In” from Paloalto. This track is a mix between modern rock and classic 80’s style alt-rock.

Revis comes out strong with “Caught In The Middle” until you get to the vocals that sound like your run of the mill grunge ripoff. The use of layered vocal tracks doesn’t help distinguish the vocals from any number of bands that have tried to ride the coattails of Nickleback or Creed who made a career of mimicking Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

Boysetsfire is one band featured here that I feel really sticks out. They guys are really much better than the average nu-metal band but they never seemed to catch on in a big way. It’s unfortunate because they have a lot more to offer with their music than your typical nu-metal band. The guitars on this song are almost hypnotic. This is easily one of the best songs here.

Autopilot Off is the latest in the pop-punk food chain. The riffing is actually pretty cool but the nasal tinged vocals are an acquired taste. If you like pop-punk, this song is one of the better offering but this group sounds like any number of bands on the Drive-Thru label and break absolutely no new ground.

I’ll skip over the instrumental remix of the Daredevil theme, which is really a track that showcases a self-indulgent D.J. or producer having fun in the studio.

Wind-Up’s Evanescence checks in next with their second song on this disc which kind of took me by surprise. I was expecting another Linkin Park with a female Chester but this song is actually a piano ballad with an orchestra backdrop. This definitely isn’t Linkin Park. If anything this sounds like something Christine McVie might record. I definitely haven’t heard a song like this in recent years and it helped to get my curiosity going. I am now interested in hearing this group’s debut album to see what other areas they explore. Just goes to show you, you can’t just a band by a single.

I began to think that this CD was back-loaded when I got to “Sad Exchange” from Finger Eleven. Sure the “big” bands start this disc off but the better music lands at the end and this track is no exception. I’ve always liked Finger Eleven and this song just reminds why.

I found myself scratching my head when this next track came on. Was this the same Endo that Columbia Records was hoping to use to cash in on the rap-rock trend in 2001? This song doesn’t sound anything like that group. If it is them, than all I have to say is “Thank God!” They seemed to have found a new direction that really sets them apart from the pack. The generic rap-rock vocals are replaced with a Morrissey like delivery set against an interesting and dynamic modern rock musical score.

The album ends strong with a mellow rock offering from 12 Stones, one of the better bands on the Wind-Up roster. This tracks falls into the 3 Doors Down category, actually more so than 3 Doors Down’s new album!

Overall this isn’t a bad collection of songs and one of the better soundtracks for an expected “blockbuster” film to hit in a couple of years. While most of the tracks are “safe” radio friendly numbers, that’s what will help this disc find a mass audience.

If you like modern rock, then definitely pick this soundtrack up. If you don’t like that style of music then you better run as fast as you can in the other direction!