Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack [Blue Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive] in Bloomington, MN

Uniting artists from across the genre spectrum to create his own Justice League of heavy music, producer and composer
Tyler Bates
curated an unexpected and eye-popping soundtrack for DC's
Dark Nights: Death Metal
project. On par with the best of the '90s genre-blurring soundtracks -- think
Spawn
,
Judgment Night
, and
The Crow
--
Dark Nights
effortlessly joins disparate acts from the worlds of metal, industrial, punk, indie, and hip-hop, maintaining a dark and haunted mood that fits with the tone of the source material. While there's not much actual death metal on display, the 15-song set is plenty heavy.
Mastodon
kicks off the album with "Forged By Neron," a nod to the titular demon lord of the comic (the band's
Brann Dailor
also provides the voice for Darkseid in the online narrated video clips).
Chelsea Wolfe
-- the voice of Wonder Woman -- delivers the standout "Diana," a cacophonous lurcher that introduces the eponymous hero and her perspective in this series. Other highlights include the pummeling "ANTI-LIFE," a
NIN
-like collaboration between
HEALTH
and
Deftones
frontman
Chino Moreno
; the clattering punk blast "Bad Luck" by rappers
Denzel Curry
PlayThatBoiZay
; and "Skull with a Forked Tongue," a symphonic black metal epic by
Carach Angren
, which comes closest to the mood suggested by the project's name. Fans of
Dillinger Escape Plan
will also be pleasantly surprised by "Now You've Really Done It," which reunites
Greg Puciato
Gil Sharone
. Other surprises emerge on "Berserker," which joins British synthwave outfit
Gunship
with
Slayer
's
Dave Lombardo
, and on the soaring "Meet Me in Fire," which features
Maria Brink
(vocalist of
In This Moment
) and
Andy Biersack
Black Veil Brides
and the voice of Batman). There are plenty more gems to be discovered, and each listen reveals additional unexpected delights from the likes of
Manchester Orchestra
Starcrawler
Soccer Mommy
Grey Daze
, the late
Chester Bennington
's pre-
Linkin Park
group. Like the comic,
is cinematic in scope and grand in ambition, a thrilling experience that warrants both applause and attention. ~ Neil Z. Yeung