Almost as if it were a present to all the horror fans who didn’t see Halloween Kills last year, Master of Horror John Carpenter has finally released the long-awaited third album in his solo series with Lost Themes III: Alive After Death. Like the two previous albums, Carpenter teamed up with his son, Cody Carpenter, and his godson, Daniel Davies, to create ten sinister tracks that bring on a much darker feeling than albums that came before.
Where Lost Themes and Lost Themes II brought several upbeat moments filled with rockin’ guitar riffs and hopeful moving synth parts, Carpenter dips deeper into his horror roots for Lost Themes III, and the album as a whole feels much closer to his more droning and unsettling scores, like Prince of Darkness, or The Fog. The tracks “Dripping Blood” and “Vampire’s Touch” sound like they could be pulled right from John Carpenter’s Vampires and In the Mouth of Madness scores. Most tracks offer a dark and brooding ambiance, then add little touches of Western, dance, or rock.
When I listen to scores, there are two categories I usually divide the composers into. Some write brilliant music that accompanies a story flawlessly, like Hans Zimmer. However, John Carpenter goes into the category of brilliant composers who tell a story with their music (like John Williams). Many of his scores give you the visualization of a film without ever needing to see it. Lost Themes III is no exception.
When I listened to “The Dead Walk,” it was all too easy to envision an entire roaming zombie infiltration scene. “Weeping Ghost” immediately made me see a final showdown with a malevolent being. “Dead Eyes” made me feel grief, caution, and hope all on the same track. “Cemetery” felt like I was going through an “all hell breaks loose” scenario from Return of the Living Dead. I saw and felt all these things go down in my brain without ever having to actually see anything. It’s the perfect album for anyone with a vivid imagination.
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I love the concept and the tracks, but as a musician and general lover of music, I sometimes find it difficult to accept these songs for what they are: themes. I wanted longer tracks and more closure from the endings rather than the fade-out you would hear during a film’s ending credits scene. This is obviously intentional, as these tracks were very specifically created as “short stories,” and I could never ding that intent.
My only real issue was with the album’s length, which was seven minutes (2-3 JC themes) shorter than the last two Lost Themes albums. The one positive there is you can listen to the entire album several times in a row, and it doesn’t feel like it eats up too much time.
I’m extremely thankful to get new, strong content from the horror legend. Lost Themes III is the perfect mood setter to start your day off the spooky way. I can’t wait to see what the trio puts out next. I’m crossing my fingers for Halloween Kills or Anthology 2.
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