Piranha 3D Composed by Michael Wandmacher
Lakeshore Records (2010)
Rating:
7/10
Soundclips below from AmazonMP3
“...[Piranha 3D] is
a profoundly stupid masterpiece, eschewing the sophisticated terror
of a Christopher Young score in favour of sheer raucous noise and
gleeful blasts of dissonant shocks.”
No Safe Shores
Review by Marius Masalar
Pulp horror fans have been delivered a
treasure trove of B-movie goodness in the form of PIRANHA 3D. It’s the
perfect recipe for the genre: gratuitous violence and gore dressed up in
gimmicky 3D. Oh, and it’s a remake. However, considering that’s precisely
what director Alexandre Aja promised to deliver, the film is a resounding
success. But beyond the blood and boobs (plenty of both), there lies
another element that deserves mention and, yes, even praise: MICHAEL
WANDMACHER’s musical score. The score is just as gratuitous, loud, and
angry as the rest of the film, so you’re in for a treat (if that kind of
thing floats your boat, so to speak).
“Whirlpool” (1) starts us off with a bang: screaming orchestra swirls over
a bed of deep bass beats and large percussive hits before dissolving into
a flurry of buzzing strings. “Pirahna” (2) introduces the deliciously
old-fashioned X-Files-like main theme on a creepy piano, hovering over
some seriously distorted string elements, before things calm down briefly
for the ambient “Empty Boat” (3). “Cold Feet” (4) is an unassuming solo
guitar line that broods and hints at peace while maintaining a sense of
uneasiness, one which “The Cave” (5) expands upon — there are no safe
shores in these waters.
“Pack Attack” (6) marks the entry into the score’s main body, which covers
a lot of very similar ground. The track is violent, and obscene synth
elements fry the mix as the orchestra tortures itself. It’s actually a
spectacular piece of scoring. “Mutiny” (7), “Swimming for Blood” (8), and
“The Bucket” (9) offer a brief ambient respite, leading up to the two-part
gore-fest that is “Marina Attack Part 1” (10) and “Marina Attack Part 2”
(11). As expected, these two variations on the theme of oh shit are brutal
and uncompromisingly loud. Rock elements emerge sporadically through the
mix, fighting with the instruments and synth distortions for dominance.
“Bits and Pieces” (12), the aftermath, is hardly noticed on the way to
“Trapped” (13), where the creepy theme of the film is finally reprised
more clearly. “Seasick” (14) is an unexpectedly tender and dramatic cue
that propels us into “Massacred” (15). This is a challenging scene and
WANDMACHER’s music unleashes an extra layer of psychosis with the thick
distorted guitar sound and deep bass rhythms that tear into some
unbelievable brass rips and truly evil choral dissonances in the latter
half. This is the sound of an orchestra self-destructing.
“Rescued” (16) is one of the only fully tonal and clearly listenable
tracks on the album (which could have ended here), with a gentle guitar
reprise of the main theme. Clearly we’re not getting off the hook that
easily though, as “Prey” (17) and “Sunbathers” (18) dutifully remind us
with their slow build back to anger. Having already reached the pinnacle
of evil, “Army of Teeth” (19) sounds more like a formulaic continuation.
The brutality is desensitizing us by now. “Connect the Boats” (20) is an
exercise in tension, building into “Blood Red Sand” (21) with its fairly
terrifying guitar solo ending.
As we approach the final stretch, “Tightrope” (22) continues the tense
atmosphere with increasing force, adding in the main theme for good
measure. “Bait” (23) is the final offering of action, a final spasm. Both
“Pressure Wave” (24) and “Breathe” (25) are beautiful reconciliations and
offer a surprisingly satisfying denouement to the CD. The “End Titles”
(26) track is, of course, a heavy rock reprisal of the main theme with the
orchestra playing a bit more sanely along. It’s very effective and the
perfect send-off for this kind of album.
PIRANHA 3D is a tricky customer. As a study in musical violence it is,
like Jason Graves’ DEAD SPACE before it, a masterpiece. But it is a
profoundly stupid masterpiece, eschewing the sophisticated terror of a
Christopher Young score in favour of sheer raucous noise and gleeful
blasts of dissonant shocks. Of course, to provoke such basic reactions,
one requires a solid grasp of the craft of film scoring, and MICHAEL
WANDMACHER is certainly a crafty one.
For horror music fans, it will be an instant delight and a guilty
pleasure, offering liberal doses of visceral grinding. For the rest, it
will remain, along with the rest of its genre, ignored for being too
noisy.
