Album Review: Various Artists – Cult of the Lamb: Hymns of the Unholy

Well this is an unusual one! One of my daughter’s favourite games has a soundtrack (this isn’t unusual), but it’s been remixed and metal’d up by the likes of Howard Jones and Matthew K. Heafy. Even better, she actually likes it.

The songs straddle hard rock into metal mixed with chiptune and electronica in terms of sound and wrap around the original tunes from the games. My youngest cheerfully identified each initial bit of digital music and told me where in the game they were played, before the more Moshville Times-related material overlayed the source material.

The original music is just that – music – whereas this version adds lyrics, and they work really well. Each song has a simple one-word name an the lyrics tend to wend around that theme, though how game-related they are is probably better judged for those more familiar with digital cult manipulation as I’ve not actually played the game myself yet.

Lead single “Cult” is as good an example of the album as any, though one of the more eclectic numbers. It’s a little scattered in places, but just about manages to hold together without getting too messy. It feels a little like an overture, trying to get a little bit of every kind of music featured into its 5 minute runtime. I’m curious how much input each artist had into the writing as it really does come across like a Howard Jones song whereas “Chaos” which follows both features Matt Heafy and sounds more like something he’d release.

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“Famine” is more melodic overall with some pounding drums throughout and Jones’ vocals are back in fine form. I do rather like this one. “Pestilence” is  a belter with layered vocals and an epic outro, “Conquest” is decidedly tribal, and closer (aptly) “Death” throws everything metallic at the listener over its 6 minutes.

Overall an interesting collection and a great idea. I think game fans will get that little bit more out of it by being able to link the tunes back to gameplay, but it’s worth a listen out of curiosity even if you’ve not played Massive Monster’s disturbing little title.

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Cult of the Lamb: Hymns of the Unholy is out on October 28th

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