The Mutant Chronicles tells the story of the last mission of the only surviving humans on earth, a hopeless task which ends in bloody failure against an army of Mutants. The visual backdrop of muddy trenches and huge WWI style weaponry is aided by Richard Wells’s music. Reflecting the ever increasing futility of the mission, the score starts with a haunting melody in the trenches before the mission begins and then becomes ever more discordant as the survivors die one by one until the final violent act, accompanied by a dreadful dissonant cacophony...

From the composer of Jake West’s cult debut Razor Blade Smile, the martial arts smash hit Ong-bak and the hit BBC3 TV series Being Human, comes an intense contemporary orchestral action score. Sadly, while on balance the soundtrack to Mutant Chronicles shows promise, there's very little here that stands up and makes you take notice.

The opening track, Take Off, is instantly forgettable and sadly sets the trend for the rest of the album. This is a soundtrack that shows promise but ultimately contains tracks that start off well, but go nowhere.

The opening to 'Mutant Attack' reminded me of the soundtrack to the next gen console game Bio-Shock.

'Mitch and Adelaide' gives Wells an opportunity to show that his music has a heart - this was a great chance to showcase a beautiful, moving theme. Sadly, once again, it promises much but never fully delivers. Equally, 'McGuire' stars well, with what could have developed into a beautiful theme, but again it seems to go nowhere.

While an interesting enough soundtrack, there are a few too many tracks - 'Sewer' and 'Tunnel of Bones' being prime examples - that are simply music cues and general atmosphere pieces. While these are no doubt do a great job of adding a little something to the movie, the lack of any emotion or well crafted themes means that these tracks are a little dull when listened too on their own.

If rather bland stock music is your thing then you'll be in heaven. Those who like their soundtracks to have a little personality and memorable themes should look elsewhere

4

Darren Rea