The Vampire Diaries - Original Soundtrack (Album Review)
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Written by Katie Territt
"Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire" - The awesome tagline from The Lost Boys. The what? you ask. I guess nowadays The Lost Boys doesn't mean much anymore as it's all about Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. America have gone vampire mad, and the rest of the world are quickly catching on. As is the case with most movies and TV shows, the soundtrack is an integral part of the appeal, and now into its second series, The Vampire Diaries is about to release their first soundtrack from the show.
Written and published as a series of books in 1991, The Vampire Diaries were the first of this current phenomenon to hit the shelves of teens the world over. Skip forward a massive 14 years and the Twilight book was released. Another 3 years and the film saga was just beginning. It was obviously the HUGE success and cult following of Twilight that prompted the powers that be to realise that they could do the same for the world of TV by creating a vampire based teen TV series - and The Vampire Diaries were soon converted for the masses.
The soundtrack covers both series' of the show, and features a mixture of brand new bands, old classics, new tunes, and cover versions - a perfect combination. There's quite a good representation from the Brits on there, with Bat For Lashes, Goldfrapp, Stateless, Gorillaz, Placebo (yes, we claim them as British), and new band Morning Parade all contributing tracks. The Morning Parade song, 'Under The Stars' is the Essex bands' debut single, and is a fantastic little tune - definitely keep an eye out for them in 2011, their lead singer Steve Sparrow is a big big talent.
Exclusive new songs on the soundtrack include 'We Radiate' by Goldfrapp, 'On Melancholy Hill' by Gorillaz (potentially the most mainstream style dance/pop tune I've heard of theirs) and 'The Fellowship' by American heavyweights The Smashing Pumpkins. Alongside those are a couple of great covers. 'Running Up That Hill', Placebo's flattering Kate Bush cover originally released in 2003 on the bonus disc of 'Sleeping With Ghosts', and an intense, haunting, yet beautiful cover of Tears For Fears' 'Head Over Heels' by LA based duo Digital Daggers.
Big standout tracks on the album for me are 'Down', a gorgeous Jason Walker duet full of beautiful harmonies, and 'Bloodstream', a sexy compelling Vampire Diaries Remix of the 2007 single by Leeds boys Stateless. A band that should definitely have much more recognition, particularly when you listen to a song that good. It's these slow melancholy style tunes that are the real prominent could-be singles on the album. They completely encapsulate every feeling that the show is about and wants to express.
'The Vampire Diaries Original Soundtrack' is exactly what you'd expect it to be. It's full of self indulgent, self loathing teen angst. Woe is me, nobody loves me, life isn't worth living. Except it is when there's great music such as this around. The hip yet darkly compelling and sensuous vibe of this album is exactly what makes these kind of over-hyped shows worth watching. The songs soundtrack the show's themes perfectly, but also stand up on their own as quaility music made by fantastic artists. A definite recommendation whether you watch the show or not.
'The Vampire Diaries Original Soundtrack' is available to buy and download from Monday 22nd November 2010.
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The soundtrack covers both series' of the show, and features a mixture of brand new bands, old classics, new tunes, and cover versions - a perfect combination. There's quite a good representation from the Brits on there, with Bat For Lashes, Goldfrapp, Stateless, Gorillaz, Placebo (yes, we claim them as British), and new band Morning Parade all contributing tracks. The Morning Parade song, 'Under The Stars' is the Essex bands' debut single, and is a fantastic little tune - definitely keep an eye out for them in 2011, their lead singer Steve Sparrow is a big big talent..jpg)
