MusicZeitgeist.com originally reported about the involvement of Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream as the composer for the then decidedly Blade Runner styled reboot of The Punisher franchise by director Lexi Alexander.  Well things have changed with composer Michael Wandmacher taking over the scoring duties and an original soundtrack being announced which shows things have since taken a turn for the very heavy.

Punisher vs. Spiderman

Lionsgate announced the upcoming soundtrack for PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, from Marvel Comics’ latest film adaptation of fictional vigilante antihero Frank Castle who originally appeared as the man hired to assassinate Spider-Man.  Punisher has since evolved into an unrelenting but somehow sympathetic force for doing the dirty deeds that all else are unwilling or afraid to take on. His emblematic skull logo is one of the most recognized pop cultural icons in the world today.

The lethal motion picture soundtrack features a powerful collection of A-list rockers including the first new music in more than three years from Rob Zombie in addition to heart-pounding songs from rock monsters: Seether, Slipknot, Rise Against and Slayer!  The fifteen-track album will land like a bomb at stores nationwide November 25th, 2008.  Punisher: War Zone opens nationwide on Dec. 5.


The PUNISHER: WAR ZONE track listing:

WAR ZONE
Rob Zombie

FINAL SIX
Slayer

PSYCHOSOCIAL
Slipknot

HISTORIA CALAMITATUM
Rise Against

FALLEN
Seether

BULLETPROOF
Kerli

tbd
Contest Winner

THE PAST IS PROOF
Senses Fail

BUTTERFLY WINGS
Machines Of Loving Grace

GENESIS
Justice

SHOWDOWN
Pendulum

REFUSE
Hatebreed

LUNATIC
Static-X

DAYS OF REVENGE
Ramallah

THE PUNISHER MAIN TITLE
Michael Wandmacher

Punisher: War Zone opens in theaters nationwide December 5th

Adding to the PUNISHER: WAR ZONE soundtrack will be the winner from the Lionsgate/Clear Channel “Unsigned Artist Contest” that attracted nearly 5,000 bands and millions of listeners to be announced on October 24th, 2008 at www.punisherwarzonemusic.com.

With the roaring success of Marvel Studios inaugural independent feature film “Iron Man,” there are a lot of eyes on what will happen with the company’s subsequent releases (both reboots) “The Hulk” and “Punisher: War Zone.”

One of the most interesting aspects of these films is that they demonstrate how the perspective on translating comic book heroes to film has grown up. Arguably refashioned by Chris Nolan’s “Batman Begins” that endeavored to remain much more faithful to the work of Frank Miller by pressing the human behind the mask rather than the superficial caricature, the new slate of films employs some of today’s top dramatic talents – from Christian Bale, the late Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Edward Norton and in the case of Punisher, goes one step further to put lesser known names in the title roles in exchange for their proven abilities as actors (Ray Stevenson will play the Punisher in a film that also features Dominic West and Colin Salmon.)

Most interesting about Punisher is that it is looking to be far less reliant on the ubiquitous CG to which these big action films are prone, and more interested in mis-en-scene – using (gasp) lighting and atmosphere to evoke the Marvel Universe comic book style that the characters inhabit. To add to this the film will be scored by founder of Sonic Images record label and one-time member of Tangerine Dream – Christopher Franke.

Hrm. Evocative, rich and dark lighting, relative unknown actors hired for their talent and appropriateness for their respective roles, an ambient electronic musical score – sounds like a film that came about some quarter century ago starring Harrison Ford, Edward James Olmos, Rutger Hauer and debutante Sean Young.

Franke has scored many projects prior to Punisher: War Zone; High School Confidential and over 150 episodes of reality TV show “Big Brother” among them so simply being associated with Tangerine Dream does not necessarily mean we can expect the next Vangelis masterpiece, however when coupled with the dark contemporary urban subject matter of the Punisher framework, odds are we may get close.

Punisher: War Zone is slated for release December 5th, 2008 from Lionsgate Films.