Issue #42: Mortal Kombat OST

Released:  August 15th, 1995

Genre:  Various/Electronic, including industrial and industrial rock/metal.

Record Label:  TVT

Duration:  68:28

Producers:  Lawrence Chan, Steve Lee

Track Listing

Why the Mortal Kombat OST is One of My Favorites

When it comes to the 1995 film based on the popular video game series, opinions vary; some loved it, some hated it, and others, like me, were caught in the middle.  In fact, it’s included on Nerd Bacon’s list of Best and Worst Video Game to Film Adaptations.  But when it comes to the soundtrack, sales speak for themselves.  The record went platinum in a matter of 10 days, a true testament to the brief mainstream popularity that industrial music and its rock/metal derivatives enjoyed during the mid 90s.

If you’ve been keeping up with this series, you’ll probably remember that I didn’t really get into a lot of “heavier” music until about 1998/1999, though I did have the occasional hard rock album at a younger age (Sublime’s self titled, Offspring’s Smash, Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie…).  Industrial rock and metal would be 2 genres that would define a large portion of my taste in 90’s music, but back in 1995, I had no idea what this was.  I did, however, see Mortal Kombat in theaters, and I guess the soundtrack really stuck with me, because it was one of the first pieces of music I ever owned.  I first purchased it as a cassette, one of only 3 cassettes that I ever owned before getting a CD player.

When I first owned it, I enjoyed the cuts with clips from the film, as well as the “Theme from Mortal Kombat” and another catchier song here and there (the “Juke-Joint Jezebel” remix in particular), but I really didn’t connect with it much at 10 years old.  A few years later though, I started seeing some of these names pop up in my searches for industrial music – Type O Negative (well, they’re more of a gothic metal outfit), Sister Machine Gun, Fear Factory, KMFDM, and Gravity Kills.  And then it started clicking that I had heard of these bands somewhere, and there they were on my neglected cassette.  I picked up on CD circa 1998 and had a whole new set of ears to listen to it with (well, ear to be more correct; I’ve always been deaf in my left ear).

To be fair, the Mortal Kombat Original Soundtrack (OST) is more techno and dance oriented than industrial, though a lot of these artists have large amounts of material rooted in industrial music or some form thereof.  Many of the tracks are remixed to de-emphasize some of the harsher industrial elements and bring a more accessible and danceable beat to the table.  As such, it isn’t always a great representation of what some of these groups sound like (though this doesn’t always hold true), but it is a great introduction to electronic music in general that has a less poppy feel to it than what made it to the radio.

Some tracks have a pleasant albeit generic feel with repetitive beats, likely geared towards club play or other background functions.  I don’t really hate anything on here, but between you and me, I do tend to skip over some tracks of this nature, such as “Unlearn.”  Others work quite well as instrumentals (or near-instrumentals) yet tend to drag on a bit too long for my tastes (“Control,” “Halcyon”).  “Control” really has that “Mortal Kombat feel” going for it, with some pumping synth and a catchy guitar riff, it just needs a focal point or some structure to break the monotony for its 6:26 runtime.  “Halcyon” starts off beautifully (reminds of of Brian Eno’s seminal ambient landmark, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks for the first couple of minutes) and builds into a reasonably catchy dance track – the problem is that it goes on for nearly 10 minutes.

The highlights of Mortal Kombat are when it veers towards the more aggressive stylings of industrial.  The problem with NIN’s The Downward Spiral being my introduction to industrial rock and metal is that everything else of the style is…well…not The Downward Spiral.  But even still, the soundtrack does offer up some true gems from the era.  “Goodbye” is/was arguably the finest thing that Gravity Kills ever came out with, and the “Demo” version presented here is actually a strong version of the track and not some crappy “demo” in the conventional sense of the word.  “Burn” is certainly one of the best songs penned by the odd funk predilections of Sister Machine Gun.  “Twist the Knife (Slowly)” is a bit of an odd pick from grindcore giants Napalm Death, though it is an effectively heavy piece of death metal-esque music to spice up the record’s electronic foundation.

Upon my rediscovery of the Mortal Kombat soundtrack, I was hot on the heels of several bands.  As mentioned, Gravity Kills and Sister Machine Gun don’t really get any better than what was featured on the OST, though I can’t blame the record for that – if anything, it’s a good think that the soundtrack contains these group’s strongest material.  “Zero Signal” eventually led me to Fear Factory; their album Obsolete is the focus of Issue #8.  My first stop was KMFDM, and the remix of “Juke-Joint Jezebel” brought me straight to Nihil, which ultimately helped me get into the “purer,” less guitar-driven divisions of industrial.

I’m most indebted to this OST due to its inclusion of Bile’s “I Reject.”  From the moment I heard this song (after owning the CD), I was instantly hooked to the crunchy and grinding guitars with their chainsaw buzzing.  The aggressive “singing,” distorted vocals, pulsating rhythms, and of course the guitars were the exact sound that I was looking for and would continue to look for.  Bile turned out to be one of the most shockingly irreverent and misanthropic industrial metal bands to ever hit the scene.

All in all, Mortal Kombat is a solid collection of music spanning from metal to electronica and hitting a lot of the area in between.  There are a few low points, but not enough to bring the record down.  The compilation may seem a little dated by today’s standards, though it can still serve as a competent introduction to industrial rock/metal if you missed it the first time around.  I especially like that alternate mixes of many songs are included so that the OST is given a degree of exclusivity.  The success of the Mortal Kombat soundtrack would go on to spawn a second compilation, Mortal Kombat: More Kombat, full of exclusives from the same and similar artists.

Written by The Cubist

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Written by The Cubist

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Find out what these ratings mean and how I rate video games.

I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

Currently in love with: Mortal Kombat

Email me anytime, about anything: thecubist@butthole.nerdbacon.com