Unless you've been living on the moon for the past few months you'll no doubt know that the sequel to the groundbreaking movie The Matrix is out in multiplexes the country. To coincide with this momentous occasion a two disc soundtrack has been released. Disc One contains the usual suspects of goth, nu-metal, rock music including Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park. Disc Two on the other hand is the actual music score from the movie.

Let's start with Disc One. Rob Dougan's "Furious Angels" is drum & bass mixed with a more traditional orchestral soundscape resulting in a very sophisticated, moving and impressive piece of music that's both memorable and euphoric. Unusually for the Deftones the track they've donated is a techno offering, the surprisingly effective "Lucky You". This change of direction for the band is a smart move and makes for a suitably unsettling moment. Angsty, po-faced, Christian rockers POD's offering is the rather good "Sleeping Awake". It's more reflective than usual and is bereft of the bands usual moralizing. Rage Against The Machine's "Calm Like A Bomb" is a suitably angry, political rap-rock attack with the understated techno leanings - it's just a shame the ferocious metallers have split up.

Disc Two is all instrumental film music. Well worth a listen and extremely interesting is Juno Reactor / Don Davis' "Mona Lisa Overdrive". It's bombastic and arresting and combines amazing percussion, brass and orchestral arrangements to marvellous effect. Without wanting to sound too over the top, it really has the effect of getting your heart pounding and your pulse racing. Rounding off the Matrix Reloaded is the mammoth 17 minute masterstroke "Matrix Reloaded Suite" by Don Davis. Obviously this works better and makes more sense in the context of the movie like all musical scores.

The Matrix Reloaded is an album of two halves with an original composed score and a plethora of contemporary rock music. It's an interesting mix with something for everyone.

Nicholas Paul Godkin