February 14, 2014

  • McCreary Gets Badass

    Perhaps with tongue firmly in cheek, Knights of Badassdom (2013) finds a group of friends heading out to enact a real-life Dungeons and Dragons-like scenario only to inadvertently call up a real evil force.  Joe Lynch shifts to be behind the camera for his first feature film.  Fortunately, he has managed to secure Bear McCreary as his composer for this fantasy/comedy.  Adding an edge to the score are a host of heavy metal and rock musicians from Whitesnake (Doug Aldrich) to Oingo Boingo (Steve Bartek).  The film appears to have had a very limited US release in late January.  The score is being released on the composer's Sparks and Shadows label and as a download.

    After a few birdcalls, “The Kingdom of Eliphaz” starts with Celtic-flavored folk music that quickly turns into Celtic folk rock.  The use of Uilleann and other pipes throughout the score helps set up this ethnic flavor well and often provide the primary thematic statements in the score.  Thematic ideas are again quite engaging and McCreary perfectly shifts from lyrical orchestral sounds to the more folk rock styles very well within a sequence often by moving to a solo instrumental statement of an idea.  It is somewhat amusing to hear the use of guitar licks against some of these ethnic ideas in tracks like “Slightly Badass” and “Demon Apes.”  The heavy metal sound an also take over the music in places like “Paintballers.”  It also helps add to some of the horror music intensity for tracks like “The Hell Lord Abominog” which also features some female wailing (courtesy of Raya Yarbrough).  McCreary moves from these larger masses to more traditional orchestral subtlety as “Earn Our Valor” begins.  Then it grows into a more heavy metal track.

    There are a few songs here composed for the film.  “Your Heart Sucks My Soul” features a “garage” version and a more “restrained” version.  Brendan McCreary is the featured vocalist here and in “Joe’s Power Ballad” and the concluding “At the Gates”.  The blend of Celtic sounds help create a nice epic feel with the heavy metal portions providing a more contemporary thrust as needed.  Easily recommended to those fans of Celtic-flavored scores.  Knights of Badassdom is yet another example of McCreary’s versatility.