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The Path of Neo
Composed by Tobias Enhus, Juno Reactor, Amon Tobin, Junkie XL, The
Crystal Method
Promo Release (2005)
Rating:
7/10
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Due to legalities no clips of this release are available.
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“In the end, THE PATH
OF NEO is a very
entertaining listen. It is distinctive from any other
Matrix-score, yet keeps clearly tethered to franchise.”
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Jacked Back In
Review by Christopher
Coleman
Back in 2003, The
Matrix was everywhere.
One of the many
releases from the
franchise was it's
first game, ENTER THE
MATRIX. The hype
machine was on
full-blast that year
for anything attached
to the new
mega-franchise.
For some, neither of
the feature film
sequels or the game
quick lived up to
expectations. In
regards to the game,
the complaints were
many, but few, if any,
revolved around Don
Davis' and Erik Lundborg's work for
the score.
Playing side
characters like Ghost
and Niobe was not what
gamers were after.
They had fantasized
about playing the
roles of the main
characters, Morpheus,
Trinity and of course,
Neo.
Fast forward to 2005
and the Wachowski
Brothers heard the
cries of the people.
The second game
release would be
centered on Thomas
Anderson's journey to
becoming Neo, the One,
which was chronicled
in the trilogy.
Also connected with
some of the stories of
THE ANIMATRIX,
developer, Shiney's,
latest matrix game,
THE PATH NEO was
met with much more
acceptance and
critical acclaim than
it's predecessor.
One of the striking
difference in THE
PATH OF NEO from
any other major
release from the
franchise, was its
departure from having
composer Don Davis'
score as a major part
of the accompanying
soundtrack. THE
PATH OF NEO would wind
in a slightly
different direction.
Composer TOBIAS ENHUS,
who had already worked
on portions of the
music from the feature
films, and assisted in
the role of musical
supervisor, was
brought in to not only
write portions of the
score for the new
game, but to
coordinate the work of
some of the other
composers and
musicians from the
trilogy. Juno
Reactor, Junkie XL,
The Crystal Method and
others from
electronica genre were
brought on board to
contribute to the
musical texture of
THE PATH OF NEO.
Tobias Enhus writing
several of the pieces
directly also worked
with the other
composers in bringing
a consistency to their
diverse talents.
Sampling some of the
live orchestral
performances used in
ENTER THE MATRIX,
Enhus and crew began
moving down a new
musical path - a path
which would maintain
the same synthesized
vibe established with
the combination of
orchestral score with
electronica source
music first heard in
THE MATRIX.
THE PATH OF NEO
leans toward the
electronica side than
it does the live
orchestral. For
those who enjoyed the
work of Juno Reactor
and Rob Dougan's for
THE MATRIX RELOADED or
moreover the
harder-core selections
from the likes of
Linkin Park, The
Deftones, or Rage
Against the Machine,
will find quite a bit
to enjoy in this
game's score.
Given the type of
score THE PATH OF
NEO is, there is
certainly a large
audience that would
find the music
appealing for
successive listens a
part from the game
itself. Those
who connect with the
sub-genre's of big
beats, psychodelic-trance,
or
hard-rock-hip-hop-blends,
will find a lot to
like here. The
soundtrack opens with
a rousing piece by
Tobias Enhus which
features samples of
Davis score from ENTER
THE MATRIX, but is
merely one element of
countless others.
A myriad of percussion
and low-freq,
industrial eruptions
fill the track as
brass and voices
ascend.
Continued echoes and
reverberations
reinforce the
some of the foundational ideas
first introduced in
Don Davis' works.
Such characteristics
can be found
throughout this
release.
In "Mega Smith" (19)
we get a dose of the
familiar brass
flutters used
frequently in the
films' action-scenes.
Beyond the connections
to Don Davis' work,
the involvement of
artists such as Juno
Reactor also bring
additional musical,
tie-ins to the other
Matrix projects.
Two untitled and
uncredited tracks (3,
20) on the promo
release function as
Rage Against the
Machine's
contributions to THE
MATRIX and THE MATRIX
RELOADED. The
two tracks feature a
primarily-acoustic
band with strong lead
guitar and aggressive
and sometimes raspy
vocals...complete with
expletives (track 20).
Possibly the only
electronica artist who
didn't "jack back in"
for this project was
Rob Dougan, who,
unfortunately had a
scheduling conflict.
In the end, THE PATH
OF NEO is a very
entertaining listen.
It is distinctive from
any other
Matrix-score, yet
keeps clearly
tethered to franchise.
From the expansive
intrigue of the
opening track to the
1980's-video-game-inspired,
"Retro Kung Fu
(Training)", to the
climactic "Mega Smith"
Tobias Enhus and co.'s
work is a detailed
synthesis of the live
orchestral work from
previous Matrix scores
with layer upon layer
of electronic rhythms
and instrumentation.
The score for THE
PATH OF NEO was
slated to be released
by Lakeshore Records
back in 2005/2006, but
negotiations broke
down between the
artists and the label.
Unfortunately, there
are now no plans for a
future release of this
soundtrack. So
as far as the Oracle
can see, to enjoy this
score, you are going
to have to continue to
walk Neo's path.
Rating:
7/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
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1 |
Main Theme
(Tobias Enhus) |
3:04 |
**** |
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2 |
Lobby Dream
(Tobias Enhus, Juno
Reactor) |
3:18 |
**** |
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3 |
Untitled
Track #1 |
2:22 |
*** |
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4 |
Government
Building
(Rob Bennet,
Tobias
Enhus) |
3:27 |
*** |
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5 |
Japanese
Winter
Training
(Photek,
Tobias
Enhus) |
2:35 |
**** |
| 6 |
Retro Kung Fu Training (Tobias Enhus) |
1:57 |
***** |
| 7 |
Lafayette Hotel (Tobias Enhus, Meat Beat Manifesto, H. Scott Salinas) |
2:29 |
*** |
| 8 |
Roof Top (Tobias Enhus) |
1:27 |
*** |
| 9 |
Industry Hall (Amon Tobin) |
1:41 |
*** |
| 10 |
Subway Showdown (Tobias Enhus, The Crystal Method) |
4:22 |
*** |
| 11 |
Free Your Mind (The Crystal Method) |
3:10 |
*** |
| 12 |
Industrial Fight (Tobias Enhus) |
3:04 |
**** |
| 13 |
Club Scene (Junkie XL, Tobias Enhus) |
1:23 |
*** |
| 14 |
Tea House (Tobias Enhus, Photec) |
2:11 |
*** |
| 15 |
Burly Brawl (Tobias Enhus, Juno Reactor) |
2:53 |
*** |
| 16 |
Red Pill Rescue (Tobias Enhus, Junkie XL) |
1:21 |
**** |
| 17 |
Supermarket (Tobias Enhus, Adam Shiff, Marcus Brown) |
0:50 |
** |
| 18 |
Super Brawl (Tobias Enhus, Juno Reactor) |
0:36 |
*** |
| 19 |
Mega Smith (Tobias Enhus, Mark Kilian) |
0:42 |
**** |
| 20 |
Untitled Track # 2 |
0:25 |
** |
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Total
Running Time |
46 minutes |
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