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Debney is a composer who has made a career out of adapting his own style to match that of others, and given the contemporary similarities in the talents of Debney and Silvestri, it should come as no surprise that the former has proven himself very capable of emulating the latter. To casual viewers of the film, Predators will sound like a comfortable fit with Predator, especially considering the extent to which Debney evokes not only the theme of the prior film, but a number of more general techniques as well. Debney and Rodriguez were in a bit of a difficult position in terms of balancing the direct references with new material, and, for the most part, the 2010 score successfully carries Silvestri's material in a different direction. That said, although there are attractive strengths in Debney's approach, there are weaknesses as well. On the positive side, the Silvestri references, instrumentation, and overall tone are very strong. Debney recorded a number of unique sounds for manipulation into a hunting atmosphere, taking the usual metallic scrapes and clangs and altering them for a dulled ambient effect. Key is the employment of Tibetan long horns to imitate the howling cries of large creatures (associated mostly on Earth with wolves). The spread of the percussive duties is extremely interesting, especially in the emulation of sound effects within the music, including those iconic sounds that come from the predators themselves. It's somewhat surprising that the choral ensemble isn't used in such a capacity; instead, it lends traditional power and awe to a handful of cues. The general tone is also nailed by Debney, with a combination of muscular, harmonic chase cues and eerie atmospheric dissonance often clashing violently. This is one incredibly brutal score, a tiring but exhilarating listening experience that successfully denotes a sense of cataclysmic battle. On the flipside, Debney's score for Predators lacks in its establishment of a dominant new identity for this fresh world, downplays some of Silvestri's interesting secondary ideas, and grates with two applications to the soundscape: electric guitars and a dry mix. Debney does dabble with a few new motifs, but their development is so obscured by the texture of the music that nobody will leave the theatre remembering anything other than Silvestri's theme. Despite Silvestri's wondrous space theme and ass-kicking baseline (pairs of forceful six-note phrases), neither is heard prominently outside of the token arrangement at the end of the album. Debney's electric guitars, a la Iron Man 2, cheapen the sound of the score as well. They're an unnecessary element. Finally, the dry recording mix and restricted dynamism of the score (or crappy album mastering?) reduces the impact of the varied percussion, especially diminishing the reprise of Silvestri's theme at the end.

While the overall impression left by Predators is a bit conflicted, there are individual highlights. The start of "Free Fall" is a clear homage to Silvestri's style, eventually yielding the first, full-fledged, propulsive action in "Trip-Wire." A thematic variant that Debney does expand upon, a relatively simplistic minor third set of progressions based on Silvestri's score, is grandly introduced at the end of "Not of This Earth." That theme is reprised faintly at the end of "Hound Attack" (and again with sympathy on strings in "Leg Trap"), a cue that appropriately imitates the sounds of sirens and dog calls. The first major statement of Silvestri's theme comes in "Predator Attack," sullied by electric guitars. Another singular moment of harmonic grandeur comes with the choral awe of the super villain in "Meet Mr. Black." Silvestri's chasing mechanisms flourish in "Smoke" and culminate in a fantastic crescendo at the end of "Nikolai Blows." The choral majesty of "Stans' Last Stand" is joined by notably bizarre horn and synthetic effects. The score's new theme over a chime-banging, countdown sequence at start of "Hanzo's Last Stand" is followed by (arguably cheap) Japanese flute and taiko drum stereotypes for the character. Silvestri fans will love "Edwin And Isabelle Captured," a cue dominated by familiar motifs. Large choir and chimes in "Predator Fight" lead to primal trumpet wailing before "Royce Runs" returns the track to a massive statement of the new theme with choir, guitar, and intentional distortion. "She's Paralyzed" opens with a distracting electric guitar rhythm under Silvestri's horn theme; why couldn't the old percussive rhythm be used instead? Electronic bass enhancements at the end of that cue return to obnoxious, Iron Man 2 levels. Not surprisingly, the climax in "Royce vs. Predator" includes monumental timpani, constant cymbals, and chorus for a satisfying resolution. The only impact of Silvestri's space/wonder theme comes in "Let's Get Off This Planet," a cue of false resolution that degenerates back to eerie Tibetan horns and sound effects to suggest more challenges to come. On the whole, there is much to like about Predators. It's exhausting, engaging music that finally utilizes Silvestri's original themes. But the application of those themes is not always satisfying, the score has no clear thematic identity to define the new setting (outside of its creative instrumental personality), the electric guitars are unfortunate, and the mix is restrictive. A score with this much intrigue in its soundscape, especially in the howling parts, deserves a bit more reverb and/or frequency range in the mastering. The "Theme from Predator" concluding the album will send you back to the original album, unfortunately, with seemingly sampled percussive sounds in the rhythm poorly served along with a mix even dryer than the rest of the recording. It's still good to hear, but it, like the entire score, is not quite Predator quality.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.33 (in 56 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.1 (in 49,960 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

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