Just when you thought these music masterminds couldn’t get any better.
John Carpenter is getting ready to release a brand new compilation album next week, Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998. He gave us his own rendition of “In the Mouth of Madness” a month ago. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ rendition of the Halloween theme song just dropped to whet our appetites for the record even more. To say it’s just regular creepy, synthy goodness would be too much of an understatement.
In typical Reznor/Ross fashion, the track is long and sounds like it has a narrative in its own right. This new take on the Halloween theme starts soft and atmospheric, before going into the familiar staccato beats we all know and love from the original. But the cover takes its time too and is hypnotic as hell, going through crests and troughs of unsettling ambience. The song builds so languidly and lavishly that by the time it gets to its extremely distorted final quarter, you’re just purely immersed. But turn it up anyway, because it’s so freaking good.
Carpenter himself has given the duo his blessing and praised their spellbinding work on such a classic:
“Moody and dark, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ version of Halloween does amazing justice to the original. I’m impressed.”
Have a listen to the magic below:
