Thirty years after it was originally released, Lakeshore Records reissue Christopher Young's original score for Hellraiser (1987). This release has gone back to the original 24-Track 2-inch reel-to-reel analog tapes in order to give fans a remixed and remastered soundtrack. From horror master Clive Barker comes this chilling nightmare featuring the first appearance of the hideous zombie Pinhead, who terrifies his brother and his estranged wife now inhabiting his former home. When a drop of blood partially resurrects him, all hell breaks loose as Pinhead forces his sister-in-law, formerly his lover, to kill and kill again so he can become whole. A creepy, thrillingly perverse tale straddling the thin line between heaven and hell, extreme pleasure and unbearable pain, Hellraiser will haunt your dreams...

I've had the original release of the Hellraiser score for years, so this holds little in the way of interest for me as far as repurchasing it... unless you factor in the fact that this has been completely remixed and remastered from the original 24-Track 2-inch reel-to-reel analog tapes, with the entire process being overseen by Christopher Young.

In fact, I know this score so well that on the first play through I noticed it does have a deeper, richer sound (mind you you can achieve the same effect, pretty much, by messing with your audio equaliser on your mp3 player / ipod / PC or stereo system). However, on the first track I noticed a duff note (which had been lost in the mix of the original release. If you want to hear this yourself (because you're an anal nerd like me) skip forward to 0.47 on the opening track. It's not overly noticeable if you're not familiar with the score, but it stands out like a sore thumb if you know Young's music inside out.

To be honest I don't think I've ever even seen Hellraiser. I originally bought this album on the back of hearing Young's work on The Fly II (1986) and then picking up his latest score at the time, which was Hellraiser. From time to time I still listen to both of those scores as they are still incredibly powerful and beautiful works (although I have to admit I'm slightly more fond of The Fly II).

What originally drew me to both scores was that Young approached them not as cliched electronic horror scores (which was all the rage back in the '80s), but as beautiful dark orchestral symphonies in their own right. And the work speaks for itself. 30 years on and this is still as rich and exciting as it was on its original release.

A segment of 'Resurrection' was used In the '90s as the main theme to Andy Hamilton's Old Harry's Game. The BBC Radio 4 comedy series also used several other segment of music throughout its run from 1995 - 2012. And 'The Rat Slice Quartet' stands out as being almost Hitchcockian (ie Bernard Herrmann) in its delivery.

The album contains 14 tracks (43 min, 24 sec) and if you don't already own this now's the perfect chance to add it to your collection.

10

Darren Rea