This is, I believe, the 4th soundtrack review I’ve done for the DV, and I always approach these with a little reserve because they can be so hard to evaluate as a stand-alone piece of work.
The soundtrack for this blockbuster action gore-fest was no exception. I did, however, refrain from the review until I saw the film this time. For the record, your humble reviewer has now seen it twice and it’s well worth seeing, but not recommended for the kids, PETA members or those with weak stomachs.
The 300 soundtrack is primarily an instrumental score combining orchestra, heavy techno-metal and choral elements. In the context of the film it’s a perfect accompaniment. Whether it’s the orchestrated industrial metal and thundering percussion that accompanies the intense battles, or the moody and ethereal pieces from the quieter moments featuring beautiful chanting vocals by Azam Ali, composer Tyler Bates did a stellar job of scoring this film.
Yet as an album, 300 leaves a lot to be desired. The music really loses all its meaning away from the scenes it was written for. I didn’t feel a lot of cohesion or distinctive themes, and the short tracks are definitely lacking. The heavy bits all sound very much alike, as do the quieter bits. These 2-3 minutes snippets of incidental scene music when pasted together don’t have a lot of commonality other than an overall dark mood.
Basically, I lost interest about halfway through. I found it very much like video game background music. You gamers will know what I’m talking about; fire up Half-Life or Diablo and you’ll get an idea what this sounds like. This is not something I’d listen to regularly, but it would be a great choice the next time you host a Worlds of Warcraft party.
