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Music Reviews:

Stake Land - Music by Jeff Grace

Screamworks Records – 2011

First off, hooray for the creation of the brand new record label Screamworks Records.  I'm more than psyched that they are devoted to releasing horror film music.  As you know from this site, I'm a huge listener/reviewer and fan of scary movie soundtracks.  It's about time a label is dedicated to giving these scores the attention and platform for all to enjoy.

Jeff Grace has put together a pretty diverse sound for his score for STAKE LAND.  Sure it's got suspenseful intense music but for me the real strength of STAKE LAND is the music that represents America.  The composition feels like it comes for our country's heartland with a richness rooted in people and what we represent.

"Main Title" carries the heritage of the United States.  The violin in "Lockdown Town" represents a sadness and warmth at the same time.

The understated piano in "Orphans" is a perfect set-up before the fangs strike blood in "Barn Attack."  This horror cue has some interesting string scrapes and odd clangs that provide teeth for the track.

The string work in "Sister Agatha" is very classical and dramatic.  The marching orchestra that stomps underneath is cool.

The undercurrent of intensity that flows beneath "The Brotherhood" is done with great subtly, but is one of the most powerful on the soundtrack.

Acoustic guitar conveys real human touch to the first half of "Nothing Out There."  But the last half of the seventh track is pure terror.

The solo violin with piano brings poignancy to 'Belle and the New Family."

The bouncing, distorted percussion n in the middle of "Jebediah Done" has a nice effect while listening with headphones.

"Alarm Trigger" has a cool little instrumental sound that kind of rattles when it hit.  The clean guitar is unique within this fourteenth cue.

The swell of the strings about 3/4 into "Sister Is Gone" is quite beautiful.  The bass pattern in "Thinking Vamp" reminds me of what John Carpenter and Ennio Morricone did in his remake of THE THING.

I like the clean guitar in "Taken."  It's an instrument that I think could be used more often in movie scores in ways not tried before.

The strings are frantic in "Showdown."  These hovering strings bunched together produces teeth-chattering fright.

Jeff Grace makes "Goodbye Belle" dignified and an emotional character send off.

I had a ho-down of sorts when listening to "Strivington Band" as the violins to fiddled away.

The last cue "Training" ends the score with sort of a dreamy, bright future.

STAKE LAND is no run-of-the-mill score for a horror film.  It's stately, elegant and done with substantial talent.  Jeff Grace makes a statement that he is a composer who has arrived.

Screamworks Records has taken the first step in the right direction in establishing themselves as a soundtrack label to whole heartedly support.

http://screamworksrecords.com/