Dead Souls is an adaptation of the Michael Laimo novel starring Bill Moseley and Jesse James. Composers Matthew Llewellyn and Jonathan Bartz have created a wonderfully old-school horror score that pays tribute, above all, to Bernard Herrmann but also more modern scoring icons such as Alan Silvestri and John Williams. Featuring an exquisite performance by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra conducted by film music veteran Allan Wilson, the score is filled with exciting set pieces and a refreshingly straight-forward approach to the on-screen action...

Horror scores seem to come in two distinct varieties. There's the rousing orchestral scores that deliver beautiful themes and then there's the bland atmospheric offering where the composer (usually instructed by the director) takes the easy route of allowing the music to create suspense and horror which the director has failed to capture in the visuals.

Thankfully, Dead Souls is very much of the former, paying homage to some of Hollywood's greatest composers. There are tracks influenced by the great Bernard Herrmann (most notably 'Frenetic Spirits'); John Williams ('Prelude' has elements of Jaws and the opening of 'The Spider and the Fly' reminded me of the Tatooine scenes from Star Wars). In addition, 'Final Sacrifice' sounded like it was influenced by the work of Jerry Goldsmith.

'The Spider and the Fly' is an interesting track with a spooky vocal based on Mary Howitt's The Spider and the Fly poem (1829).

The album contains 20 tracks and lasts for 43 min, 30 sec. This is certainly an album I'd recommend. There are numerous wonderful themes - very few of which are repeated - and it almost plays like a collection of the composers greatest hits.

9

Darren Rea