Anarchy rules ECW soundtrack
By ALEX RISTIC -- SLAM! Wrestling
You have to give it up to ECW. They not only aptly titled their
soundtrack ECW: Anarchy Rocks, they more than adequately described
what the listener is getting when picking up the soundtrack.
All of the 12 songs but one are of the new harder, edge-rock variety, or
bounce metal as it is called in many circles. Heavy hitting rhythms
propel the soundtrack along, married with shredding guitar riffs, and
vocals that range from a straight-out belt, to being delivered through a
rap-like cadence.
And the music does fit to a certain extent. The chaotic nature of songs
from Linkin Park, Disturbed and Coal Chamber are easily connected to the
style of wrestling that made ECW famous, however, the soundtrack is far
from perfect.
First, the obvious. Because the vast majority of bands on the soundtrack
are from the same genre of music (i.e. Static-X, Powerman 5000, Cold),
you are not getting much of a variation in overall sound. After three or
four tracks of the same style, the music tends to get boring after a
while.
Second, having seen the likes of Jerry Lynn and Balls Mahoney wear
various T-shirts that represent death metal bands (Dying Fetus and
Immolation just to name a couple), it's hard to envision that the stars
with a penchant for extreme music would, if given their druthers, come
to the ring by songs from Coal Chamber and Jesse James Dupree (singer of
Jackyl) respectively.
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CD Winners
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We've got FIVE copies of ECW: Anarchy Rocks CD for the following people:
Elizabeth Goncalves, Toronto
Debra K. Manning, Indianapolis, IN
Andre Leo Paul Manseau, Riverview, N.B.
Igor Horniatko, Mississauga, ON
James Kalyn, Saskatoon, SK
Thanks to everyone who entered!
ANSWER: Accept originally recorded "Balls To The Wall".
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Of final complaint, for a federation that prided itself on being extreme
and having an underground cult following, the bands, not the music, kind
of fly in the face of the ECW ethos, as several of the acts are either
gold or multi-platinum selling artists. Bands like Coal Chamber, Rob
Zombie and Disturbed hardly classify as underground, and because of
their huge sales it can be argued that they represent more of the pop
music side of rock and roll (if you sell over 500,000 records, you're
popular -- there is no argument). While you can't fault ECW for trying to
make a few bucks by bringing in big names, it does kind of seem
hypocritical in the sense that an extreme wrestling brand didn't utilize
more extreme forms of music for their wrestler entrance themes.
Otherwise, the people who buy this record will most likely go home
happy. The music is very abrasive, much like the wrestlers the songs are
associated with, and there are a couple of other goodies the purchaser
gets. Chief among them is a video, playable through your computer, with
a various montage of classic and present EC-dub wrestlers, from various
classic matches, with Chimaira playing a cover of the Accept classic
"Balls To The Wall" in the background.
You also get various ECW stars giving introductions to the songs, such
as Rhino, Jerry Lynn, Joey Styles and Dawn Marie. The liner notes are
also funny, and include quotes from the above named stars, among others.
All in all, it's fair to say that ECW: Anarchy Rocks is a much better
buy for your buck than the current WWF Volume 5. You're actually getting
you money's worth through original songs from name bands, the extra's
are cool, and the CD can also be used as a keepsake, to remind you of
ECW, as sadly, the fed no longer exists.
