Billboard explains that the soundtrack album "paired hip-hop artists with modern rock acts,"[1] and The A.V. Club wrote that its musical pairings were "designed to capitalize on the burgeoning popularity of rap-rock."[2]A.V. Club further opines that although there had been "sporadic successful mergers" between individual artists in the metal and rap genres by 1993, "no one had yet thought to do an entire album based on getting established rap and rock artists in the same studio to hash something out. That revolutionary concept in doubling your market share fell to Happy Walters."[3] According to Rolling Stone, "it is largely due to the initiative of [soundtrack producer] Happy Walters... that so many leading hip-hop and alternative artists were assembled for the soundtrack," with Walters bringing in groups such as Pearl Jam, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, and Faith No More as collaborators on new material.[4] The Judgment Night soundtrack album was released by Immortal Records with distribution by Epic Records.[4]
According to DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, Faith No More, Helmet and Sonic Youth were the first bands to show interest in the project. He recalled, "Sonic Youth, Helmet, their managers were super supportive. Helmet were super into it. Faith No More was really into it. Those three, I think, were the first ones to come onboard, which were all credible and cool at the time. Which really helped with others."[5] A collaboration between Tool and Rage Against the Machine was attempted for the album, but neither band was happy with the results. The untitled song, commonly referred to as "Can't Kill the Revolution", has never been officially released, but a demo version has spread through fan bootleg networks such as Napster.
Rolling Stone said of the soundtrack, "Judgment Night's bracing rap rock is like the wedding of hillbilly and 'race' music that started the whole thing in the first place....It's an aspiring re-birth". Entertainment Weekly said they "can't vouch for the film, but the album is a MUST".[9]Q Magazine said the soundtrack "suggests that the future for both metal and rap as a kind of agit prop soapbox style is secure".[11]
Due to the success of the Judgment Night soundtrack, Walters took a similar approach to the soundtrack of the 1997 film Spawn (mixing rock/electronic) and the soundtrack of the 2002 film Blade II (mixing electronic/hip-hop).[2]
Score album
Intrada released a CD of Alan Silvestri's score for the film. Musician said of the score, "Tear down a few walls and it's amazing what tumbles out".[13]
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