Following up on our preview article, TERMINATOR:2018 now reviews composer Danny Elfman's original score for TERMINATOR:SALVATION, available in stores and on iTunes May 19th. 

With 15 tracks spanning just over 50 minutes run time, Elfman's score hits the film's dark tone and dramatic themes directly on target for McG's franchise rebooting exploration of humanity's nightmarish war for survival against Skynet.  Elfman blends traditional orchestration, played deep and brooding here, with less conventional motifs and percussion which effectively impose the Terminator's menace across the musical landscape.  The result could prove to be one of Danny Elfman's best scores and a major asset to TERMINATOR:SALVATION's confrontation of human heart and technological terror. Sample the score compositions below as our track-by-track review breaks down the complete CD:

Elfman's first salvo, appropriately entitled Opening (6:01), sets a high bar for the rest of the score, mixing thumping, thunderous percussion with somber but heroic horns in an evolving march.  The orchestral complexity builds with increasing tension and drama to a rousing finale, then skillfully segues into a solo acoustic guitar theme which demonstrates how Elfman can vary both tempo and instrumentation to evoke a range of emotions.  The track concludes with a nod back to Brad Fiedel's first two TERMINATOR scores, with low strings moaning out the Terminator's relentless motif in place of Fiedel's synthesized bass-warping tones.  This effect is a show of solidarity by Elfman, staying consistent with the franchise's existing music while stamping his own original talent on the library.

The situation for John Connor and the human Resistance gets more dire in All is Lost (2:45), as a tense grinding tempo increases the urgency in mechanical rhythms, yielding only to a somber passage with french horns and low strings.  The stomping battle march begins again at a distance with strings soaring higher against them in a confrontation of man and metal death. The heroic nobility of the brass is tempered by a melancholy mood suggesting loss and even defeat.  Once again, Elfman plays with expectations and emotions well in this orchestral skirmish.

The solo guitar returns again in the tender introduction to Broadcast (3:19), underscoring John Connor's radio plea to all surviving humans spread out across the wastelands not to give up the fight to save themselves and humanity.  It's quite likely Kate Connor stands at her husband's side in this scene, the mother of their personal future representing the heart of this tired warrior.  As horns pick up the spirit of the track, this could well be an introduction to the Resistance theme motif, acknowledging that heroism and hope are never bought cheaply but it's a price Connor and his ragtag soldiers continue to pay for humankind.  This track is already a thematic standout amid a strong score.

Elfman hits a high-action stride in The Harvester Returns (2:45), which mixes an accelerated tempo with droning bass strings which not only imitate the behemoth's mechanical operation but echo effects of Brad Fiedel's Terminator motif, fleshed out in full orchestration.  It's a nice call back of franchise continuity while maintaining Elfman's distinctive contributions — adding a flair of intense Bernard Herrmann-like strings for added angst.  The slapboard percussion and brooding bass exchanges really kick the track up a notch as it rushes headlong to its pyrotechnic conclusion — a thoroughly fun work out for one's ears and headphones with menace ever-present in its ambitious ride.

The acoustic guitar returns for Fireside, a short 1:30 track with a definite southwestern/latin flair.  Restrained strings hum and circle around the the guitar's plucking and strumming riffs, adding perhaps a tempered romanticism to the scene it scores.  Elfman reconnects with humanity here, but expands the scope of this theme beyond the intimate confines of Broadcast, avoiding the solitary, melancholy feel of the earlier track.

No Plan (1:43), the sixth track of the CD, returns to the crash-and-thump percussion style after an introduction of low string swipes.  Once again, the orchestra is in Skynet territory with its precise rhythmic tempo and harsh tones.  Yet rising horns and strings interject the human element gain altitude over the mechanized theme, albeit briefly in this short selection.  One would expect this confrontation to carry on longer in the full film score, but this is a nice representational slice for now.

With Reveal / The Escape clocking in at 7:44, it's the longest track on the score CD and it packs a wallop!  A slow start builds to a triumphant crescendo early on, a sweeping soaring anthem of horns and bold orchestral moves that's stirring to hear.  The exaltation doesn't last as somber strings and bass rumblings offer a more foreboding mood that something dark and dangerous is afoot.  About halfway into the track, the action and intensity build into movement that speaks of urgency.  Then hang on because Elfman takes the orchestra out for a controlled E-ticket ride, evoking more Herrmann-like string structures but never copying the master.  The Escape half of the track explores new thematic territory at alternately deliberate and breakneck speeds that once again enforces Elfman's creativity and departure from earlier, much simpler efforts in his career.  No doubt the scenes accompanying this music in TERMINATOR:SALVATION will impress just as equally.

Track 8, Hydrobot Attack (1:49), harkens back to somewhat more typical Elfman composition in its impact and intensity, but blended with a delightful stomping flavor of classic 'monster movie' scoring.  The result implies one of the soundtrack's more terrifying themes for what promises to be a cinematically lethal scene for the characters.  Composer Michael Giacchino is another wizard at making blaring deep brass calls evoke that retro creature feature scoring for rampaging beasties on the loose, and here Elfman gives his fellow artist a run for the money.  Easily one of the scariest sounding tracks on the CD, this mechanical menace lurking the water to attack Connor and his compatriots aught to have audiences flinching in their seats!

The second-shortest cut in the released score, Farewell (1:40), blends the sadness of French Horns with the humanist guitar themes from before in a bittersweet theme which implies a separation of ways more than a final parting.   Swelling strings support the guitar motif nicely to round out the emotional resonance of the track.

Marcus Enters Skynet (3:23) embodies a nice thematic collision between the thumping, clanging percussion signifying Skynet's technology with the brave mystery impelling the film's hybrid hero, Marcus Wright.  Spoilers abound when discussing this character, but to avoid giving too much away, I'll leave that this track underscores a crucial dramatic turn in the story and in Marcus himself.  Elfman gives this composition a very different feel than his Resistance themes, but still blends opposing motif forces to help illustrate Marcus' own internal struggle and painful journey of self-discovery.

A Solution is found in the 1:45 length of the eleventh track, though the brooding strings and distant low horns imply the answer may not be the desirable option to the question at hand.  The brief sample ends with an urgent, emotion-tempered crescendo which likely reveals the solution is hardly the last step in the battle to save humanity.

The journey only gets stranger with the appearance of Serena (2:28), which mixes high-end 'feedback' notation with a dark rumbling of strings and horns like an approaching thunderstorm.  A fluttering buzz whizzes around the atonal composition, giving the mysteries surrounding this character a very insect-like association.  Is this hinting at a hive-like mentality behind Serena's identity as a figure orchestrating the motives behind the war?  This may not be your favorite track to enjoy on an iPod, but no doubt it couples with a crucial and terrifying revelation in the feature film.

The 4:14 of Final Confrontation open in high gear and build intensity throughout with a wild yet disciplined conflagration of themes and signatures from before.  Elfman pulls out all the stops without ever taking the track over the top in excess of either cacophony or hubris.  Skynet's techno-tempos clash with heroic Resistance brass, with screaming strings adding fireworks to the battle between life and extermination.  Buckle up for this stand-out track, one of Elfman's best.

Salvation (3:05) introduces a very human, personalized touch with piano that foregoes the flair of the earlier guitar work.  The effect is quieter and more intimate without the melancholy felt before.  Rising strings offer strength and hope to this moment of salvation while never becoming blatant or overly heroic.  It's a very simply and reflective composition which shows yet another thematic side ending Elfman's complex but careful score.

The final track, Rooster, is provided by alternative band Alice in Chains, likely a lengthy end-credit tune clocking in at 6:17.  Listeners will no doubt recognize the grunge hit single from the band's 1992 Dirt album.  It's mix of moaning vocals, electric guitar and dark lyrics speak to movement from dark to dawn, and that a new day will inevitably rise... even after the end has begun in the post-Apocalyptic 2018 world of TERMINATOR:SALVATION.  Personally I much prefer the Nine Inch Nails song The Day The World Went Away featured in an excellent theatrical trailer for the film, but alas it is not included on the official score CD.  You can always add it to your personal mix of the album though if you like an expanded score experience.

More to the point of our review, Elfman has delivered a strong original score for TERMINATOR:SALVATION, far removed from the thematic and arrangement comfort zones of his earlier film works. The post-Judgment Day world of TERMINATOR:SALVATION has given Elfman a creative opportunity to show other sides to his personality in tracks that may surprise the ears of his fans and film audiences later this week.

While it may well be impossible to go over the top of McG's mind-blowing vision for TERMINATOR:SALVATION, Danny Elfman appears to have crafted one of his better scores as a skilled collaborator in constructing this dark sci-fi epic which truly launches the TERMINATOR franchise into the future war of John Connor's destiny.  A perilous journey awaits this hero, and Elfman's composition provides an intriguing, dramatic set of musical landmarks as Connor advances the hopes of humanity on this new cinematic path.  Elfman's TERMINATOR:SALVATION Original Score is now available on CD and MP3 Downloads.