Search - Charlie Clouser :: Saw 2

One of the BEST soudtracks for one of the BEST movies...

Damian Gunn | I am everywhere | 11/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a fan of soundtracks. They always feature b-tracks that weren't on the artists album for a reason or the same lame songs you hear on the radio everyday...but when I was cruising amazon I found this soundtrack and since I had just got done watching the film and was still on a high sort-of-speak I quickly clicked on the link to view the track list. I was shocked with all the remixes and songs by bands I had never heard of that I said 'what the heck' and purchaced the album. I'm SOOOOOO glad I did. From open to close this album delivers brilliantly and so I just had to spread the good word.



1. "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" (Venus Head Trap Mix) MARILYN MANSON



Manson always delivers a solid REMIX for everyone of his songs, and while not quite my favorite of his mixes (fight song slipknot mix is killer) I still have to say that this song is a great start to an album sure to get your blood pumping.



2. "Sound Effects and Over Dramatics" THE USED



I've begun to LOVE this song after hearing 'Take it Away'...These guys rock in every direction and have come so long from where they started. One of the best songs on the CD and even on their latest album



3. "Forget To Remember" MUDVAYNE



I love this song, my only regret is that it's straight of the album and with all these wonderful remixes it would be awsome if Mudvayne would have remixed this song for the movie...oh well, still rocks hard



4. "September" BLOODSIMPLE



MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM!!! This band rocks, made up of remaining VOD bandmates, including the lead singer who just has the best rock voice...They deliver one freakin awsome song here!



5. "Blood (Empty Promises)" PAPA ROACH



This is an original song not found on 'Getting away with Murder' and it ROCKS...Awsome song...this is the Papa Roach I love



6. "REV 22:20" (Rev 4:20 Mix)PUSCIFER



Maynards second side band after Tool...The original version of this song is on the Underworld soundtrack (another awsome soundtrack)...This is the stripped down version, really creepy and somewhat antichrist so if you were offended by Judith you may want to skip this track...



7. "Pieces" SEVENDUST



Great song, but it's edited, even on the PA version of the CD...stupidity...other than that the song is tight...breaks down into a very Godsmack sounding bridge with that signature Godsmack Wah-Wah sound



8. "Rodent" (Ken `Hiwatt' Marshall remix/ DDT mix) SKINNY PUPPY



AWSOME!!!! The reason I bought this CD was for this song. I have never heard Skinny Puppy b4 but I had heard they were pretty cool and they just sounded like they would be and I'm happy to say I was NOT dissapointed...very eerie techno feel to it.



9. "Burn The Witch" (Unkle Variation) QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE



I hate this band, but this song freaking rules...it's just so catchy that you can't help but love it



10. "Holy" A BAND CALLED PAIN



This band sounds alot like a product of Godsmack meets STP meets Sound Garden...it's okay, worst on the CD



11. "Three Fingers" BUCKETHEAD & FRIENDS w/SAUL WILLIAMS



I love this song...the beat reminds me of the song Moby did for Gone in 60 seconds, but the lyrics and the style the song is done is just really cool...not eerie like most of the other techoish songs, more like a boppy Queens of the StoneAge type vybe to it



12. "Home Invasion Robbery" THE LEGION OF DOOM



Really harsh...this song is the def. of crashing techno...awsome awsome song...You will love this



13. "Caliente (Dark Entries)" REVOLTING COCKS FEAT. GIBBY HAYNES (Butthole Surfers) & AL JOURGENSEN(Ministry)



Not a huge fan of this song...listened to it once and just wasn't impressed...so I take back my statement about the band called pain...this is the worst song



14. "Step Up" OPIATE FOR THE MASSES



I had never heard of this band, but this is the reason I'm so glad I bought this CD...This song is so freaking killer...I will buy any CD this band puts out...they are just awsome... I can't describe how they sound...a little System in there, but they really are a sound all their own...AWSOME



15. "Don't Forget The Rules" (score) CHARLIE CLOUSER



Creepy as hell...awsome way to close the album and keep you in the mood to listen to it all over again!

"

Yowza!

Ranting Sweed | Bath, Ohio | 10/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD was supposed to come out on Tuesday, but because the label is based in Florida, where Hurricane Wilma hit, there was a delay and as of now, it is out only at Best Buy. None of the other places will carry it for some reason. This my first review for a CD on this sight, so I'll do the track by track thing that I see people do.



The Venus Head Trap Mix of Irresponsible Hate Anthem by Maralyn Manson-This is another "reinvisioning instead of merely remixing" courtesy of the Danny Lohner crew. This Remix was done by Danny Lohner (Black Light Burns, ex NIN, ex The Damning Well), Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns, Big Dumb Face, Eat The Day, ex The Damning Well, Goatslayer), Charlie Clouser (ex NIN, did the score for this Saw and the prior Saw) and Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv, probably involved somehow in Black Light Burns according to pics on Wes' site) and is one heck of a way to kick things off. After weird vocal noises from Manson and those big bombastic drums, an ominous bass riff probably from Lohner comes in followed by this volcanic raunch riff from Wes that drives each chorus of this song. Manson's voice is incredible, with his soft vox that are erie and almost spoken word like, and his screaming that is beyond intense. People say the NWOAHM bands have intense screaming. They've obviously never heard of Manson. The bridge is cool with a really neat electronic-ish drum twist with a weird yet cool subdued vocal part from Manson, and once this song takes off, grab a hold of something. This reinvisioning of the song is fantastic. This song is meant to be played very loudly,



Sound FX and Overdramatics-wow! As soon as this song started, I instantly thought "okay, um, is this the band that wrote "the taste of ink?" It is beyond sweet, the intro is just completely weird and fanstastic and original and unexpected, and this is easily the best song I've ever heard by the Used. It is sonically really cool and is really heavy and totally not something I'd except from the band of "that wiener that dated Kelly on the Osbournes". There is a cool U2-ish guitar solo in this song, and a little after this, there is a quasi-bass solo part under a quasi-guitar solo part that is really cool sounding. Whoever mixed this song rules and the band rules for writing a song like this.



Forget to Remember by Mudvayne-I used to love Mudvaybe before they put out their most recent CD. The recent stuff, which this is from, is way too radio friendly for me. The verse is cool, but the heavy riffs are a little too Traptish for me and anyone that knows me knows I despise Trapt for their upmost lameness. The singing is cool spots and the verse guitar riff is cool, but that's about it for me and is one of the reasons why I rated this CD a 4, not to be a wiener or anything.



September by Bloodsimple-the weird tremolo FX on the soft guitars sound cool, but I don't like this song cause it's way too radio friendly. That's just my opinion though so don't jump in my case. I just like bands and musicians that take things over the edge and this doesn't do that to my ears.



Blood by Papa Roach-this is a radio friendly song as well, but actually isn't that bad. The verse guitars blend the lines between rhythm and lead, which is cool and you don't hear often, and although they could've taken the song further it is still pretty cool. Pretty cool. Not exactly the Manson remix or the song by the Used but is still pretty cool and fits on this CD filled with members of the avant garde metal scene.



The Rev. 4:20 remix of Rev 22: 20 by Puscifer- Puscifer is the side project of Maynard from Tool/APC and Danny Lohner that like nobody has heard of. They put out an awesome song that to me sounded like dark lounge music with awesome beats and guitars on the Underworld soundtrack (the soundtrack that debuted the short lived Damning Well) and this remix is by Danny Lohner, Maynard, Charlie Clouser, and Josh Eustis and is really cool. It is a lot easier to tell what Maynard says in this remix than the original (that was not a stab at the original) and the removal of certain guitars and addition of certain really cool sounds and the structure of the song was changed a little and is cool.



Pieces by Sevendust-I lost interest in Sevendust long ago. It is an alright song, with chuggy palm muted riffs and that one guitar player of theirs shouting behind their singer's singing. It is an alright song with a double bass drum soloish part that comes outta nowhere. Some wah guitars in the verse and guitar solo are ok. This song isn't radio friendly, but isn't experimental metal either. I think the Papa Roach Song is a lot better as far as the less experimental songs on this CD go.



The Ken "Hiwatt" Marshall DDT remix of Rodent by Skinny Puppy-This song is really cool and has a really cool feel to it. Al Jourgensn is in the credits with Skiny Puppy as to writing it, and while there are cool chuggy guitars in a through a slew of FX, there are little "lead fill" like guitar parts here and there and I can't tell if those riffs are Al as well. The beats in this song are really neat and original and modern (but not modern as in modern day music that sucks, modern as in it sounds really state of the art). The little keyboard splices are cool and there are a lot of little things going on in the beats of this song that make it cool headphone material.



The U.N.K.L.E. Variation (remix) of Burn The Witch by Queens of the Stone Age-certain little guitar parts of the original and Josh Homme's voice are prevalent throughout the whole song. Lavelle and File of U.N.K.L.E. stripped most of the other things away to give it an electronic tinge and undercurrent that sounds neat and different from the other stuff on this CD. It isn't an outright overtly industrial/electronic remix, cause most of the original vibe and certain other things of the original are prevalent, but there are little things going on with keys and beats that are cool that make it a remix. This is neat and both U.N.K.L.E. fans and QOTSA fans should like it.



Holy by A Band called Pain-This is a decent song. The song kicks off with guitar riffs that are part Saimese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins meets CKY Alice In Chains. Not that the riffs are as punchy as CKY or wild as Pumpkins or as Dense and chuggy as AIC, but that's the amp sound. The band sounds very AIC inspired The song itself is O.K. and is an unexpected change in mood in the CD. The singing is kinda reminiscent of Pat Lachman of Damageplan meets Layne and Jerry of Alice in Chains. There is a Jerry Cantrell-ish wah wah guitar solo in there. This song is alright. Kinda like the sevendust song, in a sense that it isn't radio friendly but isn't experimental.



Three Fingers by Bucket and Friends featuring Saul Williams-This song opens with a cool sonically advanced hip-hop ish beat, and then Saul Williams comes in. Saul Williams, Zach De La Rocha and Eminem are easily the best rappers of the last 10 or so years and it is really cool to hear his stuff. Buckethead's guitar riffs are all over the place, from little and bluesy, to wah drenched fund, to big pounding riffs (not like his insane "Cukoo Clocks of Hell" CD that has one of the most monsterous amp sounds this side of Pantera and Wes Borland and the Melvins) and a little off kilter digitech whammy part, and a wild arse solo. There is some really cool soul-ish singing which is refreshing to my ears cause in the last couple years, people have gotten really back into soul music but it doesn't sound fresh, but on this song it does. Defidently one of the more experimental songs on the CD and is really really really cool.



Home Invasion Robbery by The Legion of Boom-This is a really dark industrial song that uses sounds and beats and things of the like that I've never heard any other industrial band use. It is really cool and has a dark yet spastic feel once it picks up after the little intro. Then it gels out for a second with really neat use of samples, a grand piano, and a cool beat deep in the mix. There are little churning guitars for a little while, before going in a new section before back to a frantic section. The sense of rhythm, melody, and sense of direction that this group shows in this song is extremely cool and original and I'm defidently gonna try and scoop up some of their stuff because of how great this song is.



Caliente (Dark Entries) by The Revolting Cocks with Gibby Hanes and Al Jourgenson-This song reminds me of the sound of Ministry having lots of fun out somewhere isolated. It's Sex Pistols-ish riffing in the verse are cool and fun. I should probably look up the lyrics to this song cause ive heard that the lyrics to Rev. Co. songs are really funny but I couldn't tell what they were. I'm suruprised that it is mentioned "featuring Al Jourgenson" because I thought he started up RevCo, but I don't keep up with them. This a really cool and fun song.



Step Up by Opiate For The Masses-opens with a creepy vocal sample and then a sample of this one beat from a song from Hrbrid Theory by Linkin Park, then kicks into an OK metal riff followed by a spastic singer. The chorus vocal parts are really cool and continuous, before going into a Minsitry type march section with chants of "left/right", then a verse with cool slapped bass. The song is propelled in places by a continuous kick drum a la NIN's "Head Like a Hole" but doesn't sound NIN-ish. The singer sounds like he's been listening to a lot of post-Faith No More Mike Patton works of art, cause I hear certain characteristics to his voice that he probably got from Patton. It is an decent song with cool electronic touches and is alright.



Don't forget the rules by Charlie Clouser-Clouser did the film score for this movie and has this song from it on the Soundtrack. After a creepy and unsettling opening that gives the feeling that something really bad either has happening or is happening, Wes Borland comes in with his trademark two hand tap riffs (which is used as rhythm instead of lead the way he does it), which is something us Wes fans haven't heard from him since Limp Bizkit put out Significant Other. Well, there is tapping in the guitar solos that Wes put in his 8 minute thrash metal freakout opus track called "Darkness Becomes" by Big Dumb Face, but as I said earlier, this is tapping that is easier to ID of his because it is used as rhythm guitar, abiet for way under a minute. But Wes is in the song for not as long as I'm spending time elaborating on in this interview, cause there rest of the song is awesomeness courtesy of Charlie Clouser. Frightening Piano parts and string arrangements surf their way into the mix with sounds flying back and forth from headphone to headphone and unsettling under-melodies underneath certain parts give a twice as frightening feeling. Sonic crashes and booms are offset by really minor-sounding string parts that are then offset by a strange atmospheric sound. At another part just rhythm parts come in and then more extremely dark piano parts come in with an undertow of sadness in the melodies come in followed by a full out sad piano part and then it ends. Without a doubt the most experimental song on the S/T, and depening on who you ask, the best on the ST.



This is without a doubt one of the best CDs to come out in the last three years. A great specifimen of experimental music that defidently is a middle finger to the faux "exeperimental" sounds of Mastadon and all of their lame death metal underlings that started playing guitar solos and saying they were gonna be the next Metallica and Megadeth. Even though I could do without a few of the songs on here, the strong songs are so strong that they easily overshadow the radio friendly bands.

"

Surprisingly Good

Andrew Estes | Maine | 02/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Man, I just love it when a good horror movie is backed by a strong soundtrack. "Saw II" is an incredible movie, a sequel that surely lives up to it's predecessor, and it's soundtrack album seems bound and determined to capture that energy. Sure, it's one of those cases where 90% of the music wasn't featured in the movie, and that a few of these songs were obviously put on here as promotion for X Band by X Record label, but the results are cool, nevertheless.



So, this album could easily be split down the middle. On one side, there are the obligatory hard-rock/metal tracks (which often happen to be singles) and on the other side are some more industrial groups, with a few remixes thrown by the wayside. You know what to expect from bands like Sevendust, Papa Roach and Mudvayne, and their songs are all great (even if they have been released). I'm not usually a big fan of buying something I already have, but it's great to hear these songs again. Bloodsimple deliver an unreleased song, "September," and I can't help but feel that their debut would have been even better with this song included. Definitely a standout for me. The "Venus Head Trap" mix of Marilyn Manson's "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" is also worth noting. Done by Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle), Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit) and company, the song is twisted and remolded almost into an all new song, which is exactly what a remix should do. Manson fans should take extra note of this entry and pick up this album just for that reason. Puscifier, a side-project made up of Lohner and Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman, Maynard James Keenan, submit a remix of "REV 22:20," a song that first came up on the "Underworld" soundtrack. Again, this is a top notch remix and is actually a little more eerie and appropriate than the "Underworld" version.



Elsewhere on the album is a mixed bag. The Used don't quit fit in, but hey, there's a cool remix (if you want to call it that) of Queens Of The Stone Age's "Burn The Witch" done by Unkle, plus some creepy techno by way of Skinny Puppy (with another remix). Heck, at the end of the album, we are treated to some score from the movie, courtesy of Charlie Clouser (another Nine Inch Nails alumni). Perfect way to close the album. Clouser did an excellent job on the first movie, as his music really helped intensify the mood, and the second is no exception.



If you can stomach some predictable, but serviceable hard rock with some mature techno thrashing, then I think you have found a worthy soundtrack. If you just can't get enough of "Saw" and it's sequel (and upcoming sequels), this soundtrack will definitely satisfy you. I can't find a bad song, and just about each song sounds like it was intended just for this movie.



"