“TRON: Ares” was released last October, and while the overall reaction to the film was generally mixed, one aspect many people agreed on was Nine Inch Nails’ (NIN) score and soundtrack. Most who panned the film itself praised NIN’s work on the soundtrack. The soundtrack’s leading single, “As Alive As You Need Me To Be,” even won a Grammy this year for Best Rock Song.
Many fans hoped for a remix album, like Daft Punk’s “TRON: Legacy” soundtrack got with the “Reconfigured” album. And last Friday, completely unannounced, NIN dropped “TRON Ares: Divergence,” a new album including the original tracks, remixes, and unused tracks for the film. I will be breaking the album down, starting with the unused tracks.
I absolutely loved the unused tracks. The biggest thing that stood out to me about them was their much more prominent techno sound, where the original soundtrack leaned much more heavily into NIN’s usual industrial rock style, these tracks in particular were much more reminiscent of Daft Punk’s score for “Legacy.” My personal favorites of the unused tracks were “Godmode,” “A Framework” and “The First Betrayal.”
“Godmode” had a great Daft Punk-esque beat and NIN-esque distortion effects, with its main melody surprisingly being very reminiscent of Wendy Carlos’ score for the original 1982 film. “A Framework” had a slower tempo but a much more atmospheric and menacing sound to it, and it had some recognizable leitmotifs from the original score.
“The First Betrayal” brought back that Daft Punk-esque beat, along with a sick guitar riff like NIN’s usual work. The added synth instrumentation for the track’s melody had a very chiptune sound to it, while also, like “Godmode,” being surprisingly reminiscent of Carlos’ score for the 1982 film. Now, let’s move on to the remixes.
The remixes were the best part of the album. All the artists featured must have taken their opportunity just to add their own unique spin on the original tracks. Thus, the remixes don’t really follow one new style or sound. I can’t talk about all of them individually, so, again, I’ll go over my favorites: Chilly Gonzales’ remix of “100% Expendable,” Pixel Grip’s remix of “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” and The Dare’s remix of “Shadow Over Me.”
Chilly Gonzales’ remix of “100% Expendable” was the most unique track in the album, given that it has no electronic instrumentation. In fact, it’s only one instrument: a piano. The track is basically a piano cover of the original track. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s slower, or maybe it’s the instrument of choice, but it turns the original track from foreboding to more disturbing and unnerving. It’s a bold move, but it pays off.
Pixel Grip’s remix of “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” took what was originally the heaviest track in the soundtrack and gave it a more ’80s synth pop vibe. The classic NIN style is still there, but takes a backseat in this track. The Dare’s remix of “Shadow Over Me” was basically the remix for raves. It drastically speeds up the original, only keeping the main chorus from the song, and the rest of the track just goes absolutely ballistic on the beat and reverb.
Definitely don’t just check out the tracks I mentioned above; the whole album is absolutely incredible. Again, it also includes the original tracks after the new stuff, and I absolutely recommend listening to those too. Overall, it’s an amazing addition to the “TRON” soundtracks and NIN’s discography.
