Released:  July 29th, 1997

Genre:  Various, including alternative metal, nu-metal, and industrial metal.

Record Label:  Sony

Duration:  62:10

Producer:  Various

Track Listing

Why the Spawn OST is One of My Favorites

Technically titled Spawn: The Album, I continued with my previous naming convention to avoid confusion.  This particular soundtrack is unique because it put together many of 1997’s popular hard rock/metal bands with relatively well known producers, DJs, and electronic artists.  In most cases, a single song is used and is then somehow modified by the other party.  The influence is varied; for example, Manson’s “Long Hard Road Out of Hell” merely lists the Sneaker Pimps as “co-producer” and the track is never listed as a full-on collaboration elsewhere, while Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” undergoes a complete remix, and “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do” is a direct collaboration and a wholly original song born of both The Crystal Method and Filter.  So while the album’s insistence on listing the tracks as “Artist & Artist” or even “Artist vs. Artist” on some pressings is partially misleading, it’s still a great collection of songs that brings together “rock” and “techno” (to put it simply).

Like Strangeland, I initially owned the Spawn Original Soundtrack (OST) because it featured Manson.  Unlike Strangeland’s inclusion of a then-4 year old song, however, Spawn gives us the all new “Long Hard Road Out of Hell” (which I actually later found as a single to my delight).  This is probably the most misleading labeling on the package.  Nowhere else in the Manson catalog are the Sneaker Pimps ever credited in this way, and it is likely that the only contribution from the Sneaker Pimps was their lead singer adding in some backing vocals during the pre-chorus.  Furthermore, “Long Hard Road Out of Hell” was an outtake from the recording sessions of Antichrist Superstar, much like the other “new” Manson songs that would pop up on soundtracks in surrounding years (“The Suck for Your Solution” on Private Parts, “Apple of Sodom” on Lost Highway, and “Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes” that eventually made it to the Celebrity Deathmatch soundtrack).  Despite the rather disenchanting story, it is still one of the stronger non-album Manson songs and rightfully earned itself a single release and a video; few soundtracks generate a single in this manner.

“(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do” is an original composition from both The Crystal Method and Filter and is one of the better examples of the wave of dance music that gained brief popularity in the late 90’s.  “Kick the P.A.” is essentially a Korn song produced by The Dust Brothers, and stands as a strange entry in Korn’s catalog.  The combination works, I guess it just jars me a little because of how familiar I am with Korn’s sound.  It does foreshadow Korn’s move into more hip-hop and dance-oriented rhythms the following year with Follow the Leader.  “Tiny Rubberband” is classic Butthole Surfers weirdness, though even after looking at the album credits I’m confused as to Moby’s role.  “For Whom the Bell Tolls (The Irony of it All)” is a fun piece that amps up the tempo of the original while maintaining the metal instrumentation.  DJ Spooky did a great job turning this song into something completely different.

“One Many Army” deftly combines Prodigy’s overall sound with the advanced guitar stylings of Tom Morello.  (Morello is known not only for his work in Rage Against the Machine, but also for producing very non-guitar-like noises with his guitar.  Silverchair and Vitro’s “Spawn” is one of the most seamless collaborations.  Vitro’s remix leaves a surprisingly effective industrial metal footprint.  “No Remorse” is a pummeling blast of crossover thrash as Atari Teenage Riot shouts over extremely distorted guitar riffs lifted from Slayer while a drum machine cranks out British big beat rhythms with a blinding fury.

Some of these remixes and collaborations work better than others, though I do appreciate the record’s approach to providing exclusive material.  Despite both “forms” (I use the term loosely, referring to hard rock and techno) achieving a reasonable degree of commercial success during the time, it wasn’t easy to find these styles rolled into one save for a few remixes stuffed away as a B-side on a foreign single.  For a soundtrack, Spawn is surprisingly unique and experimental (with an unusually large British presence), and, if only for a moment, added a bit of spice to both the hard rock and electronica camps.

Written by The Cubist

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Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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