BUY FROM AMAZON: CLICK HERE!
MSRP $17.46
LABEL Lakeshore Records
RUNNING TIME 46 Minutes
AVAILABLE ON VINYL? No

I’m not going to see I, Frankenstein, and I think you can figure out why. If somebody pitched Kevin Grevioux’s concept of Frankenstein’s monster vs. gargoyles vs. demons to me when I was ten years old, I would have loved to watch that cartoon on a Saturday morning. But I’m a grown-ass man, and I know enough to know that it would take a fucking miracle for that concept to work on film. To my knowledge, the film doesn’t have that miracle. It didn’t screen for critics, and the reviews that hit the web yesterday have been abysmal. It’s the kind of movie where Frankenstein’s monster wears jeans and a hoodie, and Bill Nighy’s character is named Prince Naberious, which is a subtle variant on names like Baron von Evil or Badguy McBadguy. I’d better shut up, because I’m starting to convince myself to go see it.

On the plus side, a bad film doesn’t necessarily mean a bad soundtrack or score, so I was excited to get the chance to review these albums. Up first is the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, featuring ten original songs from By Maker, the pairing of ex-Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo and Year Long Disaster frontman Daniel Davies. This duo was brought together specifically for this soundtrack, and their sound mostly leans toward industrial. It’s an odd pairing, because Davies doesn’t really have the kind of voice that you’d associate with industrial rock. He’s great for the bluesy alt-rock of Year Long Disaster, but against Lenardo’s chugging industrial riffs, Davies sounds way out of his element.

He sounds small, as if he’s being dragged along by the music, instead of leading it. Most (if not all) of his vocals on the album are double tracked, which, instead of adding depth, lends a mushy, warbling quality. He also doesn’t get a lot of dynamic range on the album, always singing at the same volume and intensity. The best rock frontmen can drop to an intense whisper and build to a full-on scream, but every song on this album is a straight line, creating a monotonous, passionless feel. In short, I don’t think Davies’ strengths are being fully utilized here. He’s not a bad singer, I just don’t think this sound suits him.

By Maker’s first two songs on the album, Misgiving and Trouble, are featured in the actual film. Misgiving is more like a misstep, because the more energetic Trouble would have been a better opening track. Trouble is one of the better By Maker tracks, but I wish that was really saying something. Their songs are mostly hookless and lyrically uninteresting. Lenardo’s guitar grooves are driving, but lack complexity. The other eight By Maker songs aren’t heard in the film, and they’re a mixed bag. Tracks like Perennial Flow, Gimme Soul, and Possessions Mine all have grinding, pulsing industrial intros, like something you’d hear in an S&M club (in a good way), but not a single one of them ever becomes a good song.

The rest of the soundtrack album consists of: Scream Where My Heart Should Be by 8mm, Feed Me More by composer Justin Lassen, and Geno Lenardo’s cover of Edgar Winter’s classic instrumental, Frankenstein. The Frankenstein cover is the coolest thing on the album, and has become somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me. It features a couple of Joe Satriani-inspired guitar solos from Prashant Aswani that would get any metal fan’s head banging. It’s a strong, fun way to close a very weak soundtrack album.

Standout Tracks:

  • Frankenstein by Geno Lenardo, featuring Prashant Aswani

Rating:
★½☆☆☆

Out of a Possible 5 Stars


BUY FROM AMAZON: CLICK HERE!
MSRP $15.96
LABEL Lakeshore Records
RUNNING TIME 75 Minutes
AVAILABLE ON VINYL? No

Now, on to the Original Motion Picture Score, which I’m pleased say is much better. You might recognize composers Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil as frequent collaborators with Tom Tykwer. Together, those three composed the astonishing score to Cloud Atlas, and they’ve also made music together as Pale 3. Klimek and Heil’s score features lots of brooding violas and cellos, big choirs, and simple melodies. Vocalist Lisa Gerrard (featured prominently in Samsara and Gladiator) also appears on three tracks, and her voice is as haunting and ethereal as ever.

Using their electronic experience to their advantage, Klimek and Heil know how to layer their orchestral arrangements, making sure that no instrument is ever lost, that every element is heard, without making the music too busy. Tracks like All I See is Darkness demonstrate their ability to remain subtle, giving the cello section a moment to shine, even with the addition of synths.

The track Ride of the Gargoyles is about as epic as it gets, which means the whole brass section is blaring, the whole choir is singing, the whole string section are playing their hearts out, the electric guitar is strumming away, Lisa Gerrard is wailing, all while the percussion pounds away. Miraculously, it’s never overloaded. It’s cheesy, but appropriately so. It’s pleasant.

Q: Wait, pleasant? What the fuck kind of praise is that?
A: Slightly damning praise, I guess.

I think Klimek and Heil’s objective on the score was not to create memorable themes, but to create a huge-sounding score that compliments the huge, gothic imagery of the film. In this respect, the score succeeds. I say that because while the score is a hell of a lot of fun, I can’t for the life of me recall a single melody from it. It sounds like trailer music, basically. So it’s pleasing to the ear, but I must admit its generic nature doesn’t make a lasting impression. There are recurring motifs in the score, but I had to listen intently to identify them. A good leitmotif or theme is simple, but it’s not that the composers went too complex here. The themes just aren’t terribly interesting. They sound just like any other melody in the score.

So while you definitely won’t be walking out of I, Frankenstein* with the main theme stuck in your head, I feel that Klimek and Heil have written a score that compliments its film very well, at least in terms of the immense gothic aesthetic. Their track record is not tarnished by I, Frankenstein, but it certainly won’t be the score people mention when they talk about Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil.

Standout Tracks:

  • It’s Alive
  • The Vault
  • The Journal
  • Ride of the Gargoyles
  • A Higher Purpose

Rating:
★★★☆☆

Out of a Possible 5 Stars


*I suspect many of you won’t be walking out of I, Frankenstein at all. Those of you who do walk out might do it halfway through.