X-Men and Spider-Man might be the movies that helped show studios that there was a passion to see Marvel characters jumping to the big screen, paving the way for the current superhero renaissance and leading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but 1998’s Blade crawled so X-Men could run. The Wesley Snipes-starring vampire movie quickly started to build a cult following, resulting in the development of 2002’s Blade II. In addition to the gruesome nature of the mythology and the films’ captivating performances, the films’ scores also amplified the effectiveness of the series, with both films’ scores coming to vinyl from Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings. The scores for Blade and Blade II are currently available to pre-order at B&N before they hit shelves on May 16th.
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Per press release, “Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings announce deluxe reissues for Blade and Blade II, from prolific composers Mark Isham and Marco Beltrami. Debuting on vinyl for the first time, both soundtracks — equally celebrated as unique contributions to the film canon — will be released in multiple unique color variants. Releasing on May 16th and available for pre-order today, these classic scores will be pressed on ‘Bloodbath’ red vinyl exclusively via Barnes & Noble, and ‘Blood Splatter’ clear and black translucent vinyl in a limited-edition run of 500 on the Varèse Sarabande store. Both scores will be available as 2-LP gatefold packages with brand-new artwork by acclaimed illustrator Micha Huigen.”
“Blade was a very interesting movie to be on,” Isham told author Randall D. Larson. “There were two factions that had a very strong musical voice. One was Wesley Snipes. He was involved in the hip-hop community, which was material that he felt reflected the urban part of the story. Then you had this young, sort of punk English director who was into English electronica, acid jazz, and things like that. He felt that Blade lived in more of that world. And then, of course, you have the score. So it was a challenge. I talked a lot with [director] Stephen Norrington and the studio’s music department about how to get these musical elements to all wrap around the story and feel like they belonged together.”
Isham added, “I tried to give Blade a sense of heroism, but also a darkness, a vibe to him that was somebody you’d be scared sh-tless to see on a dark street … Yet there’s a side to his theme that was much more emotional because there’s a part of him that is still somewhat tender about there being something more than just these sorts of overpowering relationships the vampires have with each other.”
In addition to establishing the gripping nature of the Marvel Universe, Blade II is notable for being one of Guillermo del Toro’s breakout filmmaking opportunities.
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“Our collaboration on Blade II was a continuation of the one we had on Mimic,” Beltrami says shared. “Sure it was creative, but it was like you were trying to keep something from your parents. Blade II gave me a lot more room to stretch musically, to use the whole orchestra and make a lot of sound and noise. It’s always fun to make noise.”
Beltrami’s continued, “Guillermo wanted those stylized Asian overtones for me to incorporate at a time before that sound was the rage in film scores … I appropriated instruments and brought them into what I was doing, as I hadn’t studied traditional Japanese music. I used them in a very ‘western’ way for Blade II. We also had the idea of Tibetan throat singing, so we got this guy who called himself ‘the lowest of the low.’ But he wasn’t quite able to do the overtone stuff we wanted. I don’t know if it sounded like someone who was singing or someone who had an upset stomach! But he became part of the sound, along with the sounds that Buck Sanders had been creating.”
The scores for Blade and Blade II are currently available to pre-order before they hit shelves on May 16th.
Will you be adding these albums to your collection? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
