CD REVIEW - KILL ZONE


Kill Zone
Music by Assaf Rinde
Composer Promo
31 Tracks 64:12 mins

Nothing to do with the videogames, of which Killzone 2 has just been released, Kill Zone (note the difference) is an action thriller, which IndieFilmReview describes as " a throwback to the old school action movies of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah and John Woo," and certainly the music for the film reflects this. Its composer is a new name to me, Israeli Assaf Rinde, who graduated USC, and has since worked on scores with fellow composers Christopher Young, Christopher Lennertz and Michael Giacchino, as well as having written his own scores for more than 20 films, the latest of which is Daheli Hall's new comedy for HBO.
Rinde's score for Kill Zone starts off with the lonely sound of plucked guitar against rather ominous string writing in "The First Day," before the cue builds percussively to a big climax. The "Overture" follows and, after a macho opening, builds suspensefully to a climax" "Opera (Main Title)" opens big on drums, displaying a Hong Kong cinema influence, before the track moves impressively along in pseudo-Italian western style, but with modern rhythmic accompaniment. The same theme, which is to become the heart of much of the score, in one form or another, is transformed into the poignant "Haunted," with acoustic guitar again featuring; the mood continuing into "Twilight" and a couple of brief cues that follow. The sinister "The Second Day" breaks things up, and is followed by another brief track, the mournful "Michael." "A Twisted Memory" initially sounds appropriately evil, but the mournful guitar soon returns to close out the cue. The guitar is transformed somewhat romantically in "Connection" and "Another Connection," with the malevolent "Damages" spoiling the mood in between. "The Bead" is again on the poignant side, but is followed by "Marsh Landing" which, after a tense opening, builds to a pounding climax, before ending almost ethereally. Listening to this track, you can definitely tell Rinde worked with Giacchino on Lost.
The love theme returns in all its glory for "The Patch," played, as usual, on guitar, but this time with keyboard also pitching in and, to put the icing on the cake, wordless soprano. It's all quite lovely. Out of left-field comes the smoky jazz of "The Last Dance," another lovely romantic track of a different flavour than what's come before. It's back to the lonely guitar in the poignant "The Wages of Brock's Sins," which is followed by the dark menace of "The Law of Braxton." A sad variation on the love theme follows in the haunting "Reparations," with soprano again returning.
The unbearably tense "An End With No Means" gives way to a lonely echoing piano version of the love theme in "Night's End," and further variations in "The Third Day" and "Last Encounter," with its dirge-like conclusion.
"Path's End" leads disturbingly, with its malevolent organ chords, to the tense prelude to a showdown in "Prescot's Way." Action then alternates with more tension in "The Schoolhouse" and "The Settling of Accounts," with the "Main Title" theme re-asserting itself in fine style at the conclusion, and continuing, with the addition of soprano, into the decisive "Finale."
The penultimate track on the CD sees the calm-after-the storm music of "Aftermath," with delicate keyboards and guitar leading to a final vocal reprise of the love theme, which gives way to the "Epilogue (End Titles)" and a powerful reprise of the main theme, with a delicate reprise of the love theme as its bridge. Great stuff!
I am indebted to Top Dollar PR for supplying me with this promo of Rinde's interesting and enjoyable score, which you can download from Amazon and iTunes. You might also like to check out the composer's website at www.assafrinde.com. I'm certainly looking forward to hearing more of his work in the future.