The Animatrix: The Album (2003)

There are a few extremely nice, balmy hits of diversity present here, which is fitting given the source material. Though, a number of tracks would have benefited from a more strict editorial hand, sticking around long past their welcome as they do. This is ironic considering the appalling brevity of some of the cues elsewhere on these soundtracks. The elephants in the room are Red Pill, Blue Pill and The Real. Were they serious with these? I’m aware of the technique of sampling audio but when EVERY Game Grumps remix I’ve ever heard is better than these, something is horribly wrong.

Songs of Note: Blind Tiger; Under the Gun

2 Sultry Shuffle-beats out of 5

The Matrix: Music From the Motion Picture (1999)

This is the antithesis of the film's score (as initially released at retail). Hard rock, electronic music (don't ask me to split hairs on genre terminology; I'm not equipped), metal, and nu-metal mingle to create a really listenable and exhilarating album. Alright, the nu-metal sucks, but it's the Deftones song I can tolerate the most, so I'll allow it. Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Rob Dougan, and Rage Against the Machine. Check, check, check, and motherfucking check.

Everything I need from a licensed Matrix release and a lot more, to be honest, as it captures—no, CREATES—the feel and atmosphere of much of the first movie.

Songs of Note: Mindfields; Wake Up

4 Windows All of Us Have Yet To Look Through out of 5

The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score (1999)

Straight up, I own this for completion's sake. Nothing here is particularly meaty and in some places it's alternately Looney Tunes-esque and on-the-nose hokey, out of context as it is. I'm fishing for positive things to say, but I do like the subtle bongos/timpani drums at the outset of 'The Hotel Ambush,' before the usual clash, bombast, and drone set in. I'm willing to bet a longer version of this exists, but this release just isn't a pleasing listen, for me. I'd rather watch the movie.

Songs of Note: Main Title/Trinity Infinity; The Hotel Ambush

1½ Disapproving Glares Over Being Forced to List the Main Theme As a Song of Note out of 5

VARIOUS ARTISTS / The Matrix Revolutions: Music from the Motion Picture (2003)

Akin to its predecessor’s album, Revolutions’ stand-alone musical offering opens well, with rapid-fire, churning percussive elements that crest from quieter idylls, hitting in scintillating fits and swells. Without the pacing provided by the film proper, however, the center’s more generic stretch unfortunately becomes somewhat shrill. The final quarter of the track listing is where things get exciting, with Smith and Neo’s own take on Sephiroth’s One Winged Angel, and a roiling, expansive suite-unto-itself, which incorporates that track’s forceful chants as well as Indian vocals and scripture, over bubbling electronic undertones. Ultimately, though, while I’d argue this is a more tidy listen than Reloaded’s fractured smorgasbord, I can really only recommend this particular release to completist fans.

Songs of Note: Tetsujin; Navras

NOTE: A 2-disc, limited edition version was released last year.

3 Nodes on a Larger Circle out of 5

VARIOUS ARTISTS / The Matrix Reloaded: The Album (2003)

The first disc hits hard out of the gate and finishes strong. It’s the nu-metal filled chasm between Rob Dougan’s masterful, pseudo-symphonic cool and Rage Against the Machine’s grounding contribution that destroys any chance of this being an uninterrupted listen. I’m fairly incapable of separating the score from the visuals and concepts of the film itself and, consequently, while it's commercially presented as brief tracks and a singular suite, I’m still surprisingly content. Don Davis and Juno Reactor’s duels result in both terse and spacious interludes that sometimes build and sometimes jump between demanding of you subtle, DJ-worthy grooving and wide-grinned heart palpitations. Only slightly less gripping than the film, because what flies, soars, turds be damned.

Songs of Note: Furious Angels; Calm Like a Bomb

3 Bands Who Think They Get It, But They Do Not out of 5