About the Soundtrack: Lakeshore Records released the soundtrack to Gamer, composed by Geoff Zanelli and Robert Williamson. The score material is comprised of a wide array of electronic instruments and electric guitars, mashed together to create a hyperactive score with scattered, gloomy backdrops. There are also three song tracks on the album, and while these aren't new cues, they are the high points of the soundtrack. Yes, Marilyn Manson earns the top honors here. Yikes.
What You Need to Know: What have I been saying? Certain scores are not suited to be packaged as soundtrack releases. Period.
Gamer is one such project, where the score is intended to be scattered, dissonant and fast paced, a helter skelter combination that the composers achieve without question. There's no way, however, that this should have earned an official soundtrack release; it wasn't built for one.
I like Geoff Zanelli and his work (hey, I am featuring him in an upcoming book after all!). But neither he nor Williamson had much of a chance with this one. In fact, the music from this score can best be described simply as a sound design; there is very little in the way of melody. The only component that can best be described as a theme is the use of electric guitars that represent the Slayers in the film. Other than that, and perhaps 10 to 20 second snippets of melodic fragments, it's extremely difficult to listen to this soundtrack without wanting to turn away from it.
My concern with a soundtrack release like this is the impression that it leaves on someone who is listening to the composer's work for the first time. It is my hope that each listener has enough judgment to know that this is more an experimental score than it is a soundtrack that marks a definitive style. While I have not heard any music by Williamson before now, I can definitely vouch for Zanelli -- Gamer is not the type of venue where you will hear just how talented he is. Try
Outlander or
Disturbia instead.
Final Grade: Gamer leaves very little for a music fan to grasp onto. It's harsh and disruptive, which matches the film's tone, but leaves out any room for a worthwhile soundtrack experience. This is a game best left unplayed.
