Even the music is back...

In 1991, Writer/Director James Cameron made one of the most innovative, entertaining, and visually stunning movies ever: Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The sequel to 1984’s classic film The Terminator tells the story of John Connor, son of Sarah Connor, the heroine from the first movie. Sarah has been institutionalized due to her belief that the world will be destroyed in a nuclear holocaust brought on by computers with artificial intelligence, and that she was nearly killed by a cyborg from the future, and her son must survive to save the human race. John is a troubled 10-year-old lad who has been in and out of foster homes, and who bears no resemblance to anyone who will be a great leader.

And to top it all off, there’s another terminator running around, claiming to be sent back by John himself to save him from a new menace. The film boasted a much larger budget than the original, and Cameron made use of brand new visual effects he helped develop during the filming of The Abyss. And for a movie that encompasses elements of action, science fiction, and drama, you need to have the proper score to accompany it.

"Diehard fans of the film will enjoy it greatly, as will collectors, or those who are into sweeping, electronic soundscapes"

Enter composer Brad Fiedel, former keyboardist for Hall & Oates, and composer of several other film scores, including Fright Night (and its sequel), The Serpent and the Rainbow, True Lies, and the original Terminator. While his score to the original film seems dated by today’s standards, the soundtrack for T2 is wildly different. The score plays like a blend of ambient soundscape and industrial metal. Steady percussion, sounding almost like the sounds of the factory, is blended with warm keyboards and electric violin, seeming ethereal at times. The music fits the movie very well, highlighting action at moments, and giving the sense of a robotic presence. It fits the visual effects perfectly. It is, however, not a soundtrack for the casual listener. Diehard fans of the film will enjoy it greatly, as will collectors, or those who are into sweeping, electronic soundscapes. If you enjoy listening to NPR’s Hearts of Space, you will probably love this album.

Many tracks incorporate low bass notes and electric violin, often creating the sense of danger needed for an enemy as formidable as the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick). Tracks like “Tanker Chase” heighten the danger onscreen with a steadily increasing pace and high, frantic violin. “Desert Suite” is a very nice track, incorporating keyboard strings and finger-picked guitar.

SilvaScreen Records’ re-release is remastered, and sounds terrific, even after nearly twenty years. It isn’t one to pop in the CD player for a road trip, or for a dinner party, but for a nice background soundtrack for your day, it works well. The liner notes are sparse, merely Fiedel giving a brief rundown of the type of schedule he had for recording and he explains how he created the music, utilizing two separate computers for his score. As a musician, I hoped for more in depth discussion about recording, but alas, it was lacking. Still, I did enjoy the overall score, both as a fan of the film and as a fan of this style of music. While not for everybody, I think there are those folks out there that would enjoy this CD.

SilvaScreen Records’ re-release of the soundtrack was released on October 5, 2010.