The Matrix Reloaded Album Not as Strong as Original, But Hard Hitting None The Less

As the release of the The Matrix Reloaded is coming up really fast these days, the soundtrack for the movie was released early to give people a musical taste of the 2nd Matrix installment.

Looking at this album compared to the original Matrix soundtrack, they look very much alike. Once again we have appearances by Marilyn Manson, Rob Dougan, Rob Zombie, Deftones, and Rage Against the Machine. There are also some new artists thrown into the mix including P.O.D., Dave Matthews Band, Paul Oakenfold, Fluke, Unloco, and Team Sleep. Also on the album are some orchestrated pieces from the score of the movie performed by Don Davis and Juno Reactor.

So what can we expect from this album? Well, hopefully we'll get treated to some high quality rock music that is reminiscent of the original Matrix soundtrack. So the big question is... does it?

SONG LIST

Disc One opens up with an instrumental song from Linkin Park named "Session". A very haunting, fresh, rock song filled with skips and digital alterations and sound effects.

Next up is Marilyn Manson with "This Is The New Sh*t". Although I do like this hard rock song, it doesnt have the quality of "Rock Is Dead". There doesnt seem to be anything new about it at all. Its overly repetitive but none the less the chorus is catchy, and is also one of my favorites.

Rob Zombie gives us "Reload", a pretty good loud hard rock song. Digital alterations and heavy metal all in one.

Then we have an orchestra with a rock background in Rob Dougan - "Furious Angels" thats pretty good with an accelerated pace. It doesn't seem to fit the soundtrack though.

"Lucky You" by Deftones isn't that great, its slower paced, the lead signer has a haunting sound.

"The Passportal" by Team Sleep is a boring song, it has a techo background and a synthesizer sound, which I usually like, but not this time.

"Sleeping Awake" from P.O.D. is the first "single" off the soundtrack. Its a Matrix Reloaded original song, but its not even that great. Its pretty catchy, but its not "Alive" by any stretch. I listen to it often, but its not going to be the deciding choice that makes you buy the soundtrack or not.

I wasn't a big fan of "Bruises" by Unloco when I first heard it, but it grew on me. A good heavy rock song, and I always enjoy them.

And then we have our Rage Agsinst the Machine song, "Calm Like A Bomb", its not that great, I'm sure any RATM fans heard it by now, its not "Wake Up" by any means, not at all.

Paul Oakenfold always makes great contributions to soundtracks like Bourne Identity and Swordfish. "Dread Rock" is the song on this album and its great. Very fast paced, heavy techno.

Fluke's "Zion" is a more somber techno song, seems more like background music than anything you'd hear up front.

Ending up Disc One is a Paul Oakenfold remix of Dave Matthews Band's "When The World Ends". I do not like DMB at all, but this song is good.

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Disc Two is all of the score of the movie. There are 7 tracks. Most note worthy is "Burly Brawl" by Juno Reactor vs. Don Davis. Its my favorite, very big and powerful. The rest are just score pieces, and they'll only sound great after we see the movie and have a chance to attribute them to images.

COMMENTS
Although the album is generally great all around and the songs are all good enough to listen to, I find myself only listening to Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, P.O.D., and the 2 Oakenfold songs multiple times. Those are the best, most solid contributions. Those and "Burly Brawl" from the score are the best.

All of the artists who appeared on the original Matrix soundtrack who have a contribution here all have songs that are not as good as their previous contributions to The Matrix universe.

The CD set also has some bonus features:
- a making of the "Enter The Matrix" video game scheduled to be released for GameCube, XBox, and PlayStation 2 on May 15.
- a preview of The Animatrix and some trailers for the movie.

So is it worth buying? If you want a taste of the artists, I'd say yes. The songs are good samples of the artists' music. If you like all of the artists, I'd say get it, although you'll just end up getting these songs again if you buy their respective albums at another time. If you like rock and techno, and a stylish combination of the two, then get it.

Me? I'm a rock/techno fan, and I'm happy with it. I think its better than getting a rock album dedicated to one artist, since theres a lot of filler on albums these days. Also, I'm a big Matrix fan.