V/A - DC Dark Nights: Death Metal
A disparate but hugely entertaining tie-in...
Whether you're a fan of comic books or not - it can't be denied that their cultural impact in the 21st century has been incredible; super hero stories are now an all-conquering, cape-wearing pop-culture juggernaut, dominating cinema and television. But while the mega-budget Hollywood productions continue to riff on the same crowd-pleasing formula, the graphic novels that spawn these characters at least attempt to tell interesting stories, with much darker and edgier aesthetics.
'Dark Knights: Death Metal' is DC's latest critically acclaimed storyline, and in a further cultural crossover, the makers have gathered some of alternative music's biggest and most exciting names to soundtrack the series. And whilst a soundtrack to a comic book may be unusual, they've fully committed to it, with executive producer Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy, John Wick) enlisting artists from a variety of scenes to take a hands-on approach and contribute songs directly inspired by the story. The result is a diverse yet thematically coherent tracklist, a smorgasbord of genres that provides enough quality throughout to please most fans.
The hellish dark Earth of the comic suits many of the artists here; New York's Show Me The Body sweat brooding nihilistic energy with 'Stone Cold Earth', while IDLES' 'Sodium' showcases the band at their most uneasy, albeit with a guitar line directly taken from The Walker Brothers' proto-doom masterpiece The Electrician. Manchester Orchestra stretch their cinematic muscles on 'Never Ending', a moody indie piece that's as good as anything on their most recent album.
Elsewhere, some of the stand-outs come from the one-off collaborations put together by the producers. 'ANTI-LIFE' sees HEALTH and Chino Moreno pull out all the stops for an industrial metal chug fest, 'Bad Luck' has Denzel Curry and 'PlayThatBoiZay' offer up an agitated punk/hip-hop cross over that The Transplants would have killed to have written, and on the record's peak, Berserker sees Gunship team up with legendary metal drummer Dave Lombardo for an 80s synthwave masterpiece; definitely the silliest but undoubtedly the most fun track on the album.
There are misses; headline artist Mastodon's first new song in four years lacks any of the chaotic energy that made their early records so brimming with excitement, Chelsea Wolfe fans will hope the EDM squelches that taint Diana are just an aberration rather a sign of her future output, while LA glam rockers Starcrawler's 'Goodtime Girl' hilariously manages to evoke the Brass Eye pastiche 'Playground Bangaround' more than it does T-Rex or New York Dolls.
But overall, 'Dark Knights: Death Metal' works - the buy-in from artists of all genres ensures that the tone of the original material rings true, no matter the type of music. A good soundtrack album can both add to the universe of its subject matter, and also curate and create a stand-alone album that works as a record in itself. What's more, it can also introduce the more curious listener to new worlds of music. In that sense, Death Metal ticks all three boxes - a very successful project indeed.
*7/10*
Words: *David Weaver *
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