Review : God of War® : Blood & Metal

SNDTK - God of War^® : Blood & Metal
released March 8, 2010 on Roadrunner Records

I had never been given a digital compilation EP to accompany a video game in my five years reviewing Metal. It is interesting that a company as vertically integrated as Sony needed to tap a competing label for music talent, but who knows how these things work. Anyway, this is the only place you can currently hear these songs; all were written exclusively for God of War^® : Blood & Metal.

The Killswitch Engage kickoff is tellingly titled “My Obsession”, indicating exactly how the game manufacturers want you to feel. Trivium‘s contribution continues the thrashy metalcore assault, and is the first to feature new drummer Nick Augusto. Seasoned veterans Dream Theater lend a long instrumental jam to the mix, entitled “Raw Dog” (an anagram of “war god”), which sounds more like a Liquid Tension Experiment demo, with an inexplicably abrupt ending. Taking Dawn apparently thought they were writing about 300, as their goofy tune even uses direct quotes from the movie. Thankfully, Opeth comes by to class up the joint with a gorgeous acoustic track that Mikael Åkerfeldt beautifully sings, without his signature growls. Mutiny Within ends on a stinker, with another odd moment that seems as if the sound engineer left the room with his Zoom H4n and kept recording outdoors.

This EP is by no means a necessary purchase, and I doubt fans of the game will be wowed into another dimension with the accuracy and depth of the accompanying musical journey; it is simply cross-promotion. If any of the bands interest you, drop a buck and download.

FCC OK

Try 3, 5

1. Killswitch Engage – My Obsession
2. Trivium – Shattering The Skies Above
3. Dream Theater – Raw Dog
4. Taking Dawn – This Is Madness
5. Opeth – The Throat Of Winter
6. Mutiny Within – The End

Rating : 2.5 / 5