Judgment Night is the soundtrack to the 1993 film of the same name. It was released on September 14, 1993, through Immortal Records and Epic Soundtrax and was produced by many of the album's performers. Every song on the soundtrack was a collaboration between hip-hop artists and rock artists. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and spawned four singles, "Fallin'" by Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul, "Another Body Murdered" by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., "Just Another Victim" by Helmet and House of Pain, and "Judgment Night" by Biohazard and Onyx.
| Judgment Night | |
|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | September 14, 1993 |
| Recorded | 1993 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 45:11 |
| Label | Immortal, Epic Soundtrax |
| Producer | Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Chyskillz, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Faith No More, Fatal, Helmet, House of Pain, Living Colour, Andy MacPherson, J Mascis, Mudhoney, DJ Muggs, Pearl Jam, Rick Rubin, Run-D.M.C., Sir Mix-a-Lot, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Therapy? |
| Singles from Judgment Night Soundtrack | |
| |
Production and release
editBillboard explains that the soundtrack album "paired hip-hop artists with modern rock acts,"[1] and The A.V. Club wrote that its musical pairings were "designed to capitalize on the burgeoning popularity of rap-rock."[2] A.V. Club further opines that although there had been "sporadic successful mergers" between individual artists in the metal and rap genres by 1993, "no one had yet thought to do an entire album based on getting established rap and rock artists in the same studio to hash something out. That revolutionary concept in doubling your market share fell to Happy Walters."[3] According to Rolling Stone, "it is largely due to the initiative of [soundtrack producer] Happy Walters... that so many leading hip-hop and alternative artists were assembled for the soundtrack," with Walters bringing in groups such as Pearl Jam, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, and Faith No More as collaborators on new material.[4] The Judgment Night soundtrack album was released by Immortal Records with distribution by Epic Records.[4]
According to DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, Faith No More, Helmet and Sonic Youth were the first bands to show interest in the project. He recalled, "Sonic Youth, Helmet, their managers were super supportive. Helmet were super into it. Faith No More was really into it. Those three, I think, were the first ones to come onboard, which were all credible and cool at the time. Which really helped with others."[5] A collaboration between Tool and Rage Against the Machine was attempted for the album, but neither band was happy with the results. The untitled song, commonly referred to as "Can't Kill the Revolution", has never been officially released, but a demo version has spread through fan bootleg networks such as Napster.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Calgary Herald | B+[7] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[9] |
| Music Week | [10] |
| Q Magazine | [11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
Rolling Stone said of the soundtrack, "Judgment Night's bracing rap rock is like the wedding of hillbilly and 'race' music that started the whole thing in the first place....It's an aspiring re-birth". Entertainment Weekly said they "can't vouch for the film, but the album is a MUST".[9] Q Magazine said the soundtrack "suggests that the future for both metal and rap as a kind of agit prop soapbox style is secure".[11]
Due to the success of the Judgment Night soundtrack, Walters took a similar approach to the soundtrack of the 1997 film Spawn (mixing rock/electronic) and the soundtrack of the 2002 film Blade II (mixing electronic/hip-hop).[2]
Score album
editIntrada released a CD of Alan Silvestri's score for the film. Musician said of the score, "Tear down a few walls and it's amazing what tumbles out".[13]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Performers/Artists | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Just Another Victim" | Helmet & House Of Pain | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Fallin'" | Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul | 4:28 |
| 3. | "Me, Myself & My Microphone" | Living Colour & Run-D.M.C. | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Judgment Night" | Biohazard & Onyx | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Disorder" (Medley of 3 Exploited songs: "War", "UK '82", and "Disorder") | Slayer & Ice-T. | 4:58 |
| 6. | "Another Body Murdered" | Faith No More & Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. | 4:24 |
| 7. | "I Love You, Mary Jane" | Sonic Youth & Cypress Hill | 3:52 |
| 8. | "Freak Momma" | Mudhoney & Sir Mix-A-Lot | 4:00 |
| 9. | "Missing Link" | Dinosaur Jr. & Del Tha Funky Homosapien | 3:59 |
| 10. | "Come And Die" | Therapy? & Joe Fatal [14] | 4:27 |
| 11. | "Real Thing" | Pearl Jam & Cypress Hill | 3:33 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[15] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Rosen, Craig (April 19, 1997). "Ability To Sign Acts Is Part Of Immortal's New Pact With Epic" (PDF). Billboard. American Radio History. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ^ a b Ward, A. A. (October 26, 2016). "Like its inspiration, Spawn's soundtrack cobbled together coolness". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ^ O'Neal, Sean (August 24, 2016). "The Judgment Night soundtrack foretold the rap-rock apocalypse". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ^ a b Ehrlich, Dimitri (August 19, 1993). "Pearl Jam, Slayer Team Up with Run D.M.C., Ice-T on 'Judgment Night'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ^ "Judgment Night OST: The story of the greatest rap-rock soundtrack album of the 90s". 16 May 2022.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Judgment Night - Original Soundtrack". Retrieved January 20, 2009.
- ^ Muretich, James (October 3, 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (March 1, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
- ^ a b Entertainment Weekly. September 24, 1993. p. 93.
- ^ Jones, Alan (October 9, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 19. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Q Magazine. November 1993. p. 122.
- ^ Rolling Stone. September 30, 1993. p. 100.
- ^ Musician. November 1993. p. 88.
- ^ O'Neal, Sean (24 Aug 2016). "The Judgment Night soundtrack foretold the rap-rock apocalypse". AVClub. Retrieved 1 Sep 2022.
- ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Judgment Night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
Further reading
edit- Weingarten, Christopher R. (2018-09-13). "Oral History of the 'Judgment Night' Soundtrack: 1993's Rap-Rock Utopia". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-10-01.