'Underworld' Album Boasts a Diverse Roster
Fri September 19, 2003 09:23 PM ET
By Carla Hay
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Just like the Screen Gems horror thriller "Underworld," the film's soundtrack has been positioned as somewhat dark and mysterious.
To prevent Internet piracy of the album, Lakeshore Records -- which released the "Underworld" soundtrack Sept. 2 -- kept a tight grip on advance copies.
Nine Inch Nails member Danny Lohner, who produced the set, assembled an array of talent to contribute songs to the album, including A Perfect Circle, Skinny Puppy, Finch, Trust Company, David Bowie, Lisa Germano, Sarah Bettens, the Icarus Line, Milla, Concrete Blonde singer Johnette Napolitano and Dillinger Escape Plan.
Finch's "Worms of the Earth" is the soundtrack's lead single, which has been sent to rock radio. The videoclip for the song has been released to music TV outlets.
Also on the album is "Awakening" from the Damning Well, a supergroup consisting of Filter lead singer Richard Patrick, Lohner, veteran drummer Josh Freese (who has worked with such acts as A Perfect Circle, the Vandals and Guns N' Roses) and former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland.
Other "Underworld" soundtrack highlights include a new Bowie song, "Bring Me the Disco King (The Loner Mix)," which features Maynard James Keenan (lead singer of Tool and A Perfect Circle) and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante.
Keenan also wrote his first song for a film soundtrack, "REV 22:20," which he recorded with Lohner under the name Puscifer.
Lohner performs three instrumental cuts on the album under the name Renholder: "Now I Know," "Down in the Lab" and "Falling Through the Sky."
The film, which opened Sept. 19 in U.S. theaters, stars Kate Beckinsale as a vampire warrior named Selene who is caught up in a war between vampires and werewolves.
Although many of the soundtrack's songs are not in the movie, Lohner says it was because "Underworld" director Len Wiseman preferred to have the music in the film be based primarily on a timeless score instead of a parade of hit songs.
Lohner says of forming the Damning Well: "I kept running into Wes Borland, and we knew we eventually wanted to work with each other. I had written a song that Trent Reznor was going to work on, and that song turned out to be 'Awakening.' I always liked Richard Patrick's voice, so he was a natural choice to do the song."
Regarding Keenan's contributions to "Underworld," Lohner tells Billboard, "Maynard and I watched a rough cut of the film, and that was the reason why he wanted to get involved. He and I have been friends for a long time."
As for juggling the dual responsibilities of soundtrack producer and performer, Lohner says that he learned an important lesson: "Most of my time wasn't spent on music but on the phone dealing with issues.
"It took me about three months to get all the artists cleared, and they were super cool about lowering their fees. I learned a lot about multitasking from working with Trent Reznor."
Lohner adds, "You don't have to have tons of money in a huge recording studio to do this kind of soundtrack. A lot of the music was recorded at my home studio."
