Soundtracks are a sticky wicket for a reviewer. Does one review on the merit of the bands included? The individual songs? How the album plays as a whole release? How the songs relate to the movie? (this is a soundtrack album). But those sneaky marketing weasels have found out that people will buy soundtrack albums for the nostalgia of the movie even if the "soundtrack" is nothing more than a showcase for big label bands' management to get their acts more exposure.

With this realization, the soundtrack has morphed into a hodgepodge of songs that are actually appearing in the movie, soundtracks/samples from the movie and songs by artists that "fit the vibe" of the movie, further confusing the average reviewer. So I've decided that a soundtrack like this, which contains all of the above elements, should be broken down on a song-by-song basis. Most of these songs you can find elsewhere, so the collector's aren't going to find a lot of those "previously unreleased" tracks (with the exception of "Coal Chamber's" "Blisters" and "Slayer's" "Human Disease" - which for the record did not appear in the movie). With that said, here are the songs on the album.

"Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies" - "Boogie King" - A swampy/bluesy rock that has the sensibility of the Black Crowes, plus the attitude and sound of Monster Magnet/Lucy'sFurCoat straight up rock. Smacks of something you've heard before, but has a definite boogie hook (if not childish lyrics "Boogie-Woogie King from the mountain top is what I am" um...Ok). Decent catchy tune and a cool band name...but not for this band.

"White Zombie" - "Thunder Kiss '65" - This song has been on a number of compilations, soundtracks and TV shows, not to mention the huge selling "Le Sexorcisto" it was originally released on. If you haven't heard of White Zombie or this song, too bad, you're clueless (and don't deserve a review) and they broke up recently anyway.

"Coal Chamber" - "Blisters" - One of the "new metal" bands. Sort of like Korn, and I bet they hate that, but it's true. This is a draggy, sludgy, waving piece of uncomfortable insecurity. Not the coolest Coal Chamber song I've heard (the tempo is a bit sluggish). Kind of a dry structure without much dynamic, but rolls along with a decent skipping guitar, and the vocals are pretty static, avoiding the dynamic howls and whispers singer Dez is usually credited for. Great song production though. Coal Chamber's got a deviant thickness that's always a pleaser. (This song does not appear in the movie.)

"Monster Magnet" - "See You in Hell" - It's got this Innagaddadavida type keyboard trailing on top of the skipping ride cymbal, which gives the normally Sabbath-induced Monster Magnet a sort of creepy-softer shine, and the guitars are noticeably pushed back from their usual supporting crunch. The song is not extremely catchy in dynamic (kind of rides the same tempo and mood through the whole song), but the general sound vibe is memorable, with definite props to MM for their willingness to experiment on their approach.

"Judas Priest" - "Blood Stained" - A very thrashy and surprisingly aggressive offering. This is Priest sans-Halford, and to be blasphemous, it sounds better than most of JP's later catalog. There's gruffly chanted chorus' and edgy scraping guitars (and only one solo, but sounds almost Slayeresque), bridges into washed out chunkiness, and overall...precise thrashyiness. Quite decent and structured intelligently. Impressive considering the source (sorry JP fans, but the band had slipped toward the end of the Halford-era). Those quick to dismiss the "new" Priest had better give this song a listen.

"Type O Negative" - "Love You To Death" - This one is dark, goth, vampire "scary" music. Almost all Type O sounds the same. This song is one of their more famous ones, so either you're already a fan and familiar with it, or probably never will be. Orchestrated slow heaviness on thick guitars and dreamy piano/keys plod along, supported only by the beautiful bassy vocals that are Type O Negative's calling card. Very beautiful(?) song.

"Slayer" - "Human Disease" - Slayer in it's evilest. Since I can't locate this song on any release, this might be the only place to get it. Probably the gem of this album, if nothing else for it's rarity. Nice to see the boys still putting out skull crushing metal. Slayer has learned to build intensity through tempo and mood (as opposed to their trademark lightening speed riffs and devil's wail guitars, but never fear - the latter shows up for the last 10 seconds of the song). This song is a mid-paced, growled, spoken and spit dragging piece of Slayer destruction. Fans should be pleased, newcomers should be asked "You never heard of Slayer?" (This song is does not appear in the movie.)

"Stabbing Westward" - "So Wrong" - Bigger guitar sound than I associated with SW. Singer's voice drifts nicely into the chorus that blurs into white noise keys (which is the same as the bridge between lines in the verses). Hits hard, then pulls back, hits hard, then pulls back. Lots of screechy feedback on the guitars and keys until about 3/4 into the song - then it cleans up for a few bars before cracking back into the bouncy noise of the chorus. Better then their radio offerings.

"Powerman 5000" - "Son of X51" - Crawling intro that breaks into funky-smooth vocals on top of a pudgy bass sound with a big guitar chorus consisting of a simple guitar progression they use through the whole song. Lots of textures on the vocals from movement to movement. Short tune. A kinda funky-core.

"Bruce Dickenson" - "Trumpets of Jericho" - No matter what, Bruce Dickenson will always sound like Iron Maiden. No matter how chunky/thrash the guitars get, that howl will always be Maiden. The drums skip along like vintage Maiden to add to the confusion. Bruce should just give in and do the Iron Maiden reunion tour like all the other 80's metal. Plus this song is way too long. (The music 'taint bad though.)

"Static-X" - "Bled for Days" - Static-X (pronounced just 'Static') are an upcoming Hollywood band. Just signed to Warner Bros. in Feb, their new album isn't out until Feb '99. Be the first on your block to be turned on. Probably one of the strongest songs on this disk. A kind of harder "Just One Fix" type Ministry. Jackhammer guitars on top of cool looped percussion samples and simply growled and repeated vocals with dynamic guitars that pull the mood on the bridges/chorus areas before shutting down into the edgy, sticky quick accents. Recommended.

"Motorhead" - "Love for Sale" - Motorhead is Motorhead. This is great Motorhead. Sounds like most any other Motorhead you've heard, but for some quirky reason, this song really exhibits a stronger dynamic and overall rockingness (and chorus catch) that made Motorhead the legends they are. Nothing new, but not digressing really either. Solid.

"KidneyTheives" - "Crazy" - A Willie Nelson cover done by a moody Fiona Apple sounding female with some spacey keyboards.

"Greame Revell" - "We Belong Dead" - This is basically someone masturbating on a keyboard/sampler. A kind of cacophonic attempt at cartoonish freakiness with samples of Chucky and his new Bride worked in sporadically. It gets louder and more "intimidating," and just keeps building on it's own nonsense until it pulls the plug. Fodder.

Summary - If you're a die hard "Coal Chamber," "Slayer" or "Static-X" fan, I guess this is worth the buy. If you must have all things Chucky, again, worth your time and money. If you just kind of like soundtrack compilations, this one's a bit on the weak side, with the best songs not even appearing in the movie. The strongest offerings are weighed in by Motorhead, Judas Priest and the aforementioned "not in the movie," but a fun listen none-the-less. Chucky would dig it.