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elcome to the Digital Meltd0wn Music Blog. The aim of this blog is to introduce the readers to music that is out of print, commercially unavailable, released under a creative commons license, or with approval by the featured artist. The majority of the music posted here would be considered underground. Don't let that fool you into thinking that the music featured here might be any less enjoyable than that of the mainstream artists you hear on the radio, as this couldn't be further from the truth. Please keep in mind that the majority of the artists that appear on this blog, along with their respective record labels, are not wealthy and need your support. If you enjoy the material that you find here, please support the artists/labels by purchasing their material afterwards. If you are an artist/label that would prefer to have your material removed from this blog, simply leave me a comment, and I would be more than happy to promptly remove the offending post. In addition to running this blog, I also work on a few other projects during my spare time. You can find links to those, as well as a few other important links associated with Digital Meltd0wn in the menu bar above.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Christopher Young - Hellraiser OST


In 1987, during a decade riddled with slasher movies, Clive Barker released one of the most original horror movies of the 80's. It also happened to be accompanied by one of the best horror scores of that time as well. While most horror movies were primarily using electronic synthesizers at that time, Christopher Young opted to use a full orchestra instead. Young had previously composed the score for A Nightmare on Elm Street 2", in which synths did play a major role, but he showcased his versatility to great effect with the score to Hellraiser. The use of powerful brass, sweeping strings, and menacing piano cues helped to set this score apart from others during the same era. Young's score combines magical amounts of mystery, horror and intrigue that reflects the black magic nature of the film. The evil atmosphere is laid on so thick in the music that some tracks are actually bone-chilling.

The score consists of many pieces which sound dramatically different when separated, but they all fit together like a puzzle to bring the listener hell on earth, much like the Lament Configuration itself. The first and most obvious was "Resurrection," a creepy but attractive waltz. "Seduction and Pursuit," was easily my favorite track. Clocking in at just under three minutes, it still manages to transition multiple times. It begins with what sounds like hellish carnival music, or a satanic jack-in-the-box, which gradually transitions into menacing strings before finally exploding into a climax filled with powerful percussions and horns. Young seemed to conceive his score as a whole, rather than as a series of cues to accompany scenes, and it worked that way, having a cumulative effect.

Track List:
1. Hellraiser
2. Resurrection
3. Hellbound Heart
4. The Lament Configuration
5. Reunion
6. A Quick Death
7. Seduction and Pursuit
8. In Love's Name
9. The Cenobites
10. The Rate Slice Quartet
11. Re-Resurrection
12. Uncle Frank
13. Brought On By Night
14. Another Puzzle

Download: Christopher Young - Hellraiser OST
Download Size: 59MB

5 comments:

AllyWonderland said...

Aww. Pinhead is so cute and that leather is so fashionable. :)

Unknown said...

thanx man, I loved this movie!
-Robin

Anonymous said...

Thanx for sharing. If you like this score, enjoy the REJECTED score for Hellraiser, by Coil: it's a riveting and haunting one, in its own way :
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DA22MLIW
I'm sure you'll thank me ...

Zer0_II said...

Anonymous: Thank you for the alternate link for Coil's rejected Hellraiser OST, although I already posted it here: http://digitalmeltd0wn.blogspot.com/2008/10/coil-unreleased-hellraiser-themes-vinyl.html

Anonymous said...

link is down..