SAW 3-D - Soundtrack (CD review)

SAW 3-D – Music Inspired by the Motion Picture (Sony) CD review – The “D” in the title could stand for “done” as this is the seventh and final installment of this horror series.  Only six songs appear in the actual film, so as before, the rest fall under the “inspired by the movie” category.  The SAW 3-D soundtrack gathers a wide scope of what’s considered “metal” from all over the planet.  I’m not kidding here when I mean all over the planet:  only six of the 16 tracks are from American groups.  You get bands from Canada (Default & My Darkest Days), Australia (Karnivool), Ireland (Kopek), Finland (Lordi), Switzerland (Krokus), Britain (Nitzer Ebb), and three bands from Japan (Dir En Grey, Boom Boom Satellites & Wagdug Futuristic Unity).  Two of the best songs on the disc are exclusive to this soundtrack: Saving Abel’s driving “Never” and Saliva’s anthem “Badass.” There’s even one unsigned band, I-Exist, out of Indianapolis.  What really makes this work is the diversity of bands.  You get radio-ready metal (Hinder, Saving Abel), alongside bands that radio wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole (Dir En Grey) and throwback bands (Krokus & Lordi).  Especially good is Kopek’s “Love is Dead,” where they list a whole lot of things that are dead, then ask “is it dead”?  If this is indeed the final chapter of this movie (and who really believes that one?), this serves as a worthy musical keepsake.  –Tony Peters