It's always nice when a movie's accompanying soundtrack has absolutely nothing to do with the movie itself. The only thing "Dracula 2000" and its soundtrack have in common is the ability to take something that was once original and creative, make it modern and rip its living soul out. It is a marketing tool and nothing more.\nJust as there is little new about the movie, the soundtrack is a boring rehash of new wave metal bands. All the notables are here: Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Powerman 5000, System of a Down, Monster Magnet and newcomer Linkin Park. Nothing on this album is original, just overbaked rock bands trying to make a few extra bucks.\nPowerman 5000 and Static-X, both of which have scored with the "alt-metal revolution," torture listeners with yet more repetitive grunge lines on top of angst-ridden lead singers whose growling voices hardly make up for actual singing ability. On the other hand, Disturbed and System of a Down, whose lead singers might actually pass for "talented," are too weighed down by bland and boring music.\nMonster Magnet, the gods of modern stoner rock, even provide a rather mediocre track, "Heads Explode," off its still-to-be-released-in-the-U.S. album, God Says No. Perhaps proof that metal needs a swift kick in the ass before the genre starts producing any more good music. Need more proof? Pantera of all bands comes off with "Avoid the Light," which is scattered in so many directions that the song makes little sense. But at least it goes along with the theme.\nMarilyn Manson's career seems to be pulling apart at the seams; his appearance on Godhead's "Break You Down" shows why. It's a mediocre and uninspired performance that sums up his latest album, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) and really, the entire metal genre right now.\nSoundtracks rarely create a consistent album of quality songs. Usually they score with a few decent tracks that give listeners a good accompaniment to the movie. But the Dracula 2000 soundtrack is so full of washed-up metal groups, it simply wastes away in the sunlight.
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