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| Album Information |
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Batman: Gotham Knight |
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2008 |
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Soundtrack |
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B0018YIVOE |
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N/A |
| Listener Rating |
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| 23 listener votes for this album. |
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| 3 composers give it some variety |
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| By: | LadyInque |
| Date: | 21 Jun 2009 |
| Rating: |
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This is the soundtrack for a collection of 6 related animated shorts, done in the style of Japanese anime and released in the summer of 2008, to coincide with the release of <i>The Dark Knight.</i> Three composers created the music, each taking two segments. The soundtrack does have something of a uniform sound in that many of the score elements take their inspiration from recent Batman music and action scores. But each composer contributed something different.
The possible exception is Robert Kral. His two segments, “Field Test” and “Deadshot” (Tracks 9-11 and 22-25, respectively), sound most like generic action score, and each other. It’s not bad; it’s just not very interesting. Track 11 has a Batman theme that sounds most like a knockoff of recent Bat-themes. It’s mostly tense action music, and I can’t really pick out any of these tracks as special. “Gordon/Batman/The Train” is probably the best. “Parents Killed” has some nice piano.
Christopher Drake scored “Have I Got a Story for You” (1-6) and “In Darkness Dwells” (12-16). The first segment, indeed the first track, has some of the most interesting music on this album. After some predictable horn blaring, the music settles into the story: kids swapping tales about Batman. The score is energetic but not non-stop action, which is a relief. “In Darkness Dwells” is more about sweeping Gothic horror, suiting the nature of the story. Track 16 has the most “Batman” sound to it, I think, with a brassy main theme.
Kevin Manthei managed to produce my most and least favorite music on the album, which I suppose is an accomplishment. In the latter category we have “Crossfire” (7-8). I cannot recommend enough that you skip this uninteresting, electronic noise. It’s edgy, I guess, but not great independent listening. Track 7 is especially tedious. However, Manthei also wrote the score for “Working Through Pain” (17-21) which is my favorite segment of the film and the soundtrack. In this story, Bruce Wayne travels to India to learn about pain. The music is soft, ethnically inspired and very pretty. The first and last tracks of this segment, which frame the story, are melancholy without overdoing it, which I like.
<b>Request:</b> The “End Credits Suite” will give you a taste of each segment. In the film, each transition lined up with the credits for that particular short, which I thought was cool. Anything from “Working Through Pain” would be pleasant to hear, if not the dynamic Batman music you may be looking for.
<b>Avoid:</b> “Crossfire” and “Inferno,” because they are <i>that</i> boring out of context.
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