Knowing only the premise of Auto Assault (car combat in a post-apocalyptic wasteland a la Mad Max), I was not expecting much from this soundtrack. As it turns out, this industrial-rock-electronica-infused, orchestral soundtrack (with a dash of Middle-Eastern leanings) was a pleasant surprise.
The album was arranged with a burst of flavor canvassing the total style of the music on the first two tracks, before dropping to a slow, brooding crawl with tracks three through eight. These calm songs suggest exploration or long travel segues. I was reminded of similar themes from Freelancer, a spacefaring game with an adventuring feel not unlike Auto Assault‘s.
Chief among the exploration songs is track eight, “Tribal Doom.” With its soothing voice samples and smooth synth-rock vibe, this song would be right at home on Hans Zimmer’s Black Hawk Down score as it nods to Middle Eastern styles while still being firmly rooted in the popular electric-rock sound.
Things start picking up around track nine. These are primarily the “danger” or “combat” songs (with the exception of oddly-placed tracks eleven and thirteen, two more atmospheric songs) and a little more along the lines of what I was expecting the music to be. Leaning much heavier on the industrial side, these are all very aggressive songs, well crafted to accomplish their purpose: encouraging action. It was during these songs that the most striking resemblance to Eric Serra’s score for The Fifth Element is evident.
A couple of the songs just before the track 19 finale almost feel like filler. However, as this fairly eclectic mix of styles doesn’t come around very often in game soundtracks, the novelty carries them where otherwise they might have dragged the overall package down. Taken as a whole, this is a fine collection of interesting music fit for listening to while relaxing: or, if the occasion arises, road raging.
