Masters of Horror II, Various Artists
Apparently, Masters of Horror is a cable TV show in the states where each episode is directed by a different acclaimed horror film director. I'm guessing then that this is the soundtrack from the show, and with there being a big 'II' in the title, it's the second instalment in the series. A quick glance at the track listing provides something of a mixed bag of bands and songs. There's the good (Hatebreed & Eagles of Death Metal), the Bad (Chimaira) and the downright shite (Cradle of Filth).
Hatebreed's 'New Hate Rising' is an effective start to the affair, with Jamey Jasta and co. getting things off to a suitably mental start. It's typical Hatebreed with crazy fast double bass drum beats and drop-c guitars, but when has typical Hatebreed ever been a bad thing? Elsewhere, The Eagles of Death Metal have contributed 'I like to move in the night' to the comp, and it's a great showcase of the band's unique sound. Minimalistic in parts, and retro down to a tee, It's Josh Homme's satirical take on the late 80's/early 90's Goth scene.
Aside from these two cracking tracks, there's little else of substance here. Wax on the Radio's 'The Devil' is one of the few other tracks managing to stay the right side of average, along with the straight-up rock outfit The Smashup offering 'Effigy'. It's when we get into the territory of Seether's frankly awful live version of 'needles' and Wounded Cougar's 'Drop your panties' that you realise this record isn't worth the fifteen pound price tag for just a few songs worthy of a listen.
It's always hard to review a compilation record, because you need to take into account what the producers were going for as well as the quality of the songs themselves. In terms of being a soundtrack for a horror film TV series, I can see this being an effective mix of music, with the majority of the included songs coming from metal bands with dark horror influences. However where the actually calibre of the tracks is concerned, there are few diamonds in the rough, and most tracks here are nothing more than average rock and metalcore.
Andy R
