I present a case where a movie’s soundtrack can be a complete stand-alone product. The Punisher was a decent movie. Thomas Jane is easy on the eyes, and I do love a good gunfight. However, it’s not a spectacular movie. It’s not even particularly memorable. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is one of my favorite CDs period.
It starts strong with Drowning Pool’s “Step Up” - a driving rock tune that gets the blood pumping. That’s followed by “Bleed For Me,” which is less obnoxious than most Puddle of Mudd songs. Then we’re back to the heart-pounding rock tunes with Nickelback’s “Slow Motion.” I don’t care what anyone says about Nickelback - their songs rock and their guitar riffs are super-catchy. “Slow Motion” is no exception, in fact I think it’s one of my favorite Nickelback tunes.
Sadly I never understood the fascination most rock fans seem to have for Queens of the Stone Age - I’m just not a fan. Their track on this soundtrack, “Never Say Never,” is repetitive, monotone, and boring. Skip it.
“Broken” is my personal favorite track on the disc (and actually the reason I bought the CD in the first place). I’m a huge Evanescence fan, so any track with their lead singer on it needs to be in my collection. In this case, the combination of the gritty Seether music & vocals with Amy Lee’s angelic vocals is perfect.
“Finding Myself” by Smile Empty Soul has really well-written lyrics and a catchy chorus. Trapt’s “Lost In A Portrait” isn’t the strongest song on the disc, nor is it Trapt’s best work, but it’s not a bad track overall. The same can be said of Chevelle’s “Still Running.”
The guitar on Damageplan’s “Ashes to Ashes” is awesome (R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell).
“Sold Me” is a great song, if only for the fact that they use the word “periphery“. Seether sucks live, however, and has tainted my view of the song. “Eyes Wired Shut” is extremely catchy. In fact, even just typing the title has launched the song’s chorus playing in my head.
“Slow Chemical” - I bought all of Finger Eleven’s CDs after listening to this song repeatedly. It’s definitely my second favorite song on the CD.
Ben Moody, formerly of Evanescence, made his first venture without Amy Lee on this disc. “The End Has Come” shows that Amy was the lyrical force of the band. The track rocks musically, but the lyrics are superlame.
Strata’s “Piece By Piece” is an excellent rocking track. I recommend it for everyone’s “gym mix” playlists. “Bound to Violence” has scary, angry vocals and is headbanger-ific. I’ve never heard of Seven-Wiser, and sadly their track “Sick” doesn’t really stand out. Same can be said of Submersed’s “Complicated” - it sounds like every band I listened to in the late 90s. The CD finishes out with “Time for People,” a supercreepy track from Atomship. They’re an awesome live band, but holy crap are they creepy!
In case you’re wondering what I think of Mark Collie’s track on the disc…I pretend it doesn’t exist. It’s that forgettable.
Tracks you can’t miss:
- Track 1 - “Step Up” by Drowning Pool
- Track 5 - “Broken” by Seether featuring Amy Lee of Evanescence
- Track 12 - “Slow Chemical” by Finger Eleven
- Track 14 - “Piece By Piece” by Strata
In case you missed it, check out last week’s Movie Tunes review, Underworld.
Release Date 11/14/2008 
