Various

Underworld Evolution [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (2006)

Bryan

"Underworld Evolution"'s soundtrack is filled with a mix of metal, punk, 'core and industrial music. It's a combination that would have worked better several years back when nü-metal was in, but now it feels a little bit dated.

Evolution has a few upsides to it. First off, the Atreyu song, "Her Portrait in Black," is easily the best song on the album. The song is way better than Atreyu's older work and while it seems to be a typical Atreyu song for a while, it's obvious that the songwriting skills by the band have improved and the song's solo is top notch. The soundtrack is also filled with a few good songs by metal rockers Trivium and Alkaline Trio. And while I hate Hawthorne Heights, I find their song title, "Where Do I Stab Myself in the Ears," to be properly titled.

As for the rest of the album, we're forced to endure a nü-metal side project of Chester Bennington that is pretty bad and sounds so much like Linkin Park that if you weren't told otherwise, wouldn't make a difference. There's also horrendous remixes of crappy emo bands such as Hawthorne Heights, Senses Fail and Aiden. And any album featuring Slipknot and Cradle of Filth is in a lot of trouble to start with.

In the end, the album has three good songs, and it's pretty obvious that I can't recommend it. However, the Atreyu song is extremely good and the tracks by Trivium and Alkaline Trio are pretty good, so all's not lost.

Next time, just drop the nü-metal remixes of emo bands and all the industrial music and then maybe we'll have a good basis for a better soundtrack.