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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you seek a somewhat campy but ultimately rewarding early horror score from Mark McKenzie, with two lovely melodies to sustain your interest. Avoid it... if the underwhelming ensemble performances and abysmal recording quality in parts are too much of a detriment to an otherwise fine composition. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
By a miracle, though, McKenzie not only managed to get the music recorded, but he produced a remarkably enjoyable score. The sound quality, most likely due to its recording location, is suspect in parts, but the substance of the music well compensates for this occasional deficiency. Contrary to its genre title, Warlock: The Armageddon is not a pure horror film. Of McKenzie's several themes, the title piece for the warlock is an obvious tip of the hat to Jerry Goldsmith's establishing of relentlessly propulsive orchestral power and Latin chanting for The Omen. McKenzie opted not to copy Goldsmith's style for the original Warlock, however. The choral sequences are a tad light to be completely believable as religiously frightening, though they weave effectively in the mix with the orchestra during several cues. For the Dies Irae sequences (from the Latin Requiem), McKenzie provides haunting lyrics for the Catholic mass and utilizes them throughout the score as well. The score opens with a bombardment of orchestral majesty that attempts to muster the energy of Christopher Young's more robust, over-the-top horror scores. The attempt by McKenzie to produce the same level of fright is admirable, but even with the Latin chanting, the cues for the warlock far squarely in the corner of cheesy campiness. A re-recording with a proper ensemble and studio would make this music legitimately terrifying. The other two themes are beautiful melodies representing first the Druids and then the love story. The theme for the magical Druid element is downright gorgeous, introduced in "Ken's Magic" and expanded upon in "Samantha Becomes a Warrior." The somewhat muffled recording makes the muted solo horn in these cues sound like a fugelhorn or deep sax, and subsequent upbeat, faster tempo high brass performances are a little too upbeat in a silly, heroic sense, but the theme still deserves to be resurrected by McKenzie for a far better film. A separate theme for the love story is a string affair, with lovely whimsy in its performances; a few of those violin statements whine in the treble region, however. As usual, McKenzie (a firm believer in suites from his scores) took the time to compose a suite of the themes from Warlock: The Armageddon, appearing at the end of the album. Overall, this score is quite commendable given the circumstances of its creation. A re-recording by an accomplished ensemble in a suitable studio would be welcomed. ****
The insert includes a note from the album's executive producer, Douglass Fake, from which following excerpt is taken:
The text for the chorus, derived from the classic Requiem Mass, includes: Dies irae dies illa - The day of wrath, that day solvet saeclum in favilla - shall dissolve the world in ashes quantus tremor est futurus - what trembling shall there be Tremens factus sum ego - I am made to tremble and to fear et timeo dum discussio venerit - at the destruction that shall come. Calamitatis et miseriae - calamity and misery dies magna et amara valde - great and exceedingly bitter day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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