Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 01/25/2005
It can long be debated what software maker Ubisoft expected when it hired
Amon Tobin to soundtrack the
Tom Clancy video game
Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory, but surely it never predicted getting, along with the deal, a ragtag lineup of desperate musicians that spanned three continents and included the composer of one of time's strangest cult films, the surrealist 1971 Mexican fantasy
El Topo.
Tobin, long a fan of vintage
soundtracks himself, had evidently wanted to expand his comfort zone after a series of increasingly similar (but excellent) LPs recorded for
Ninja Tune. When he got the gig for
Chaos Theory, he promptly began collecting a live band (to sample), which eventually absorbed -- in true
Dirty Dozen form -- a reclusive Mexican composer named
Nacho Mendez (who anchors the rhythm section with his earthy bass),
Massimo and
Umberto Modugno, a pair of feuding Italian brothers who work magic with the Hammond and Mellotron, and a Japanese flutist named
Eiji Miyake (among others). Despite the kudos for originality, however,
Chaos Theory doesn't separate itself from
Tobin's previous work -- although, of course,
soundtracks aren't intended to stand out but only convey a cinematic mood with music. Much of the record is a murky bath of oppressive breakbeats and eerie effects, a cauldron of atmosphere that most of the musicians aren't able to escape from with personalities intact.
Tobin occasionally rescues the feel of a collective under his baton, on the nocturnal nightmare
"Kokubo Sosho Stealth" and a pummeling opener,
"The Lighthouse." As the accompaniment to game play,
Chaos Theory is a standout in its field; just don't expect it to be as memorable as the typical
Amon Tobin effort.
~John Bush, All Music Guide
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