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MUSIC BOX: Dream evil
There must be some dark secret about video games that inspire movies which in turn inspire killer soundtracks. The same can be said about the original soundtrack of Hollywood’s more recent releases, Resident Evil. All hard-music enthusiasts will be creaming themselves to this gathering of the nu metal and industrial tribes.
Iowa scare rockers Slipknot get the party started with My Plague, a fiery bombast of rock solid rhythms, spiralling vocals and chunky guitars. Such total abuse of the poor distortion pedal has seldom been heard, and the tune is a harrowing introduction to the monster tracks, ahead. The ever-annoying Marilyn Manson follows with Slipknot remixing his Fight Song. Not the instrumental, but Manson’s mouth leads the track downhill. California’s Coal Chamber liven things up again, with Dez Fafara’s amazingly unique vocals billowing a tale of disaffection over tough-as-nails music.
Vegas Electro-geeks, the Crystal Method, can be found here performing one of the most infectious numbers. Name of the Game is a three and a half-minute funk fest of hip-hop beats, wickedly controlled guitar and illicit flows by some anonymous rapper. Brilliant is how the track can be defined. Fear Factory’s morbid Invisible Wounds synthesizes Burton C. Bell’s vocals with the band’s megalithic sound and fifth-dimensional imagery being extremely powerful. Deutschland refuses to die, with Rammstein’s Halleluja. The German dramatic theatre metal is anchored by ace guitar work, and the angelic voice chanting the title gives a very otherworldly feel.
Electronic godfathers Depeche Mode offer a totally lifeless contribution. Dirt sounds like something the band created after they crawled out of bed; a lazy, dragging tempo. A lot more was expected from a band of their calibre. Mudvayne — one of the hardest bands of the album — comes up with Dig. The barked vocals, crunching bass, blistering double kick and needling guitar work offer a glimpse into where metal should be headed.
Other notable names from the hard music world include Ill Nino, Adema, the Prodigy along with Saliva. Despite one or two forgivable hitches, this soundtrack is a must for all connoisseurs if brutal metal and harsh electronics.—QAM
Musically inclined
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Mohammed Yousuf, the only Pakistani snooker player to win the world championship (so far), has not confined himself to the game only, but has indulged in a hobby that soothes nerves after going through a gruelling competition which is music. His album Mera sahel is no rocket-like collection of modern pop and the more desi bhangra, but is a quaint mixture of the past and present.The player had stunned the world when he won the championship back in 1994, but did more than that when he released his album. Not many sport players delve into music, especially for singing purposes. Yousuf’s songs are influenced by our golden oldies mostly. Something which the grand-daddies will appreciate more than the youngsters.
The album opener, Tu maan ya nahin maan is a soft, slow rendition of love but fails to impress even though the mood of the song is cheerful. This album kicker is a unique piece of percussions and an electric guitar and the theme is love with the bard singing like a lovebird from the seventies. Tere bin nahin jeena yaar is a Punjabi bhangra, and one can understand the need for the most popular music beat of the country — it also helps the album from the sales point of view besides vying for a spot on the charts. What’s more, its pretty interesting listening to Yousuf singing love songs in Punjabi — Urdu is the only thing which is better after his game.
Love is the main theme of the entire collection — its evident in Tum bhi ho jawan, Tu hai mera sahil. Je li yeh hai zindagi is something which can be regarded as the best of all the songs. In between, we also get to listen to a patriotic song from Yousuf. A first attempt that has not swept the listeners off their feet, but kudos to Yousuf for giving music a try.—Khurrum Anis
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