The 5.1 Surround Soundtrack to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory:

Comment: This album is "ear candy" from start to finish.

At first I was a little put off by the genre listings of " Dance & DJ/Drum & Bass, Dance & DJ/Trip-Hop, New Age/General, Soundtracks/General, Rap & Hip-Hop/General, Dance & DJ/General, Dance & DJ/Electronica, Pop/General" but, even though they were too short, the Amazon preview snippets were interesting. I'm glad I took the chance on this.

Think of it as trip-hop + soundtrack + jazz with sprinkles of drum 'n' bass. I'm not too versed in this genre so the only thing I can say it sounds like is the later Juno Reactor CDs, but not nearly as "heavy". Juno Reactor has so much going on that it fills up the soundscape. Anom Tobin is more on the minimal side. There are still maybe 10 things going on but they are coming in and out or shaping the background.

It's very good, never boring. It never sits still.

Comment: 3 1/2

Tobin's exquisite video-game offering might feel melodically fragmented even compared to his normally choppy electronic flair, but detached from any button-pushing the disc still works surprisingly well and holds up to the detailed and dense production he is known for.

Comment: I really enjoyed this soundtrack. It brought back a lot of memories of sneaking up behind people in the game, and is definitely one of my more played soundtracks. The sound is very distinctive, and the compositions are incredible; Amon Tobin's mastery of sound shows in every piece.

Comment: This CD is spine chillingly brilliant. Relighting memories of hiding in the shadows, and lurching out at your unsuspecting enemies. It's only once you have heard Amon Tobin's work, without being chased by an AK47, that you can really start to appreciate every aspect of this masterpiece. It makes you feel emotions that would never see the light of day in normal music. Simply outstanding! A must buy for a Splinter Cell fan, or for someone that has never played the game. You can't go wrong, in feeling something for this.

Comment: I love the title "Chaos Theory". Bit of a contradiction, innit?

Having had this album now for some time, since its release date anyway, I can confirm 2 things:

a) It's still mind bendingly different

and

b) It's absolutely brilliant.

This is quite a departure for Mr Tobin. Being a sound pincher a la DJ Shadow and other Ninja Tune stable mates, it must have been quite a challenge to make this album, considering that it is an album created by REAL musicians. Even more of a challenge considering that they all spoke completely different languages and the two brothers that worked on the record didn't get along (see sleeve notes and various internet reviews). And how did Amon get them to make the sounds he wanted if he himself is not a musician? Did he whistle them? Did he fart them? HOW? Thats what he leaves me wondering after every record. How?

This is the only score (not soundtrack) that I have repeatedly listened to ever, and that goes for films too. It's extraordinary how Tobin manages to bring together a group of instrumentalists to create the sound he has, which is where his studio engineering comes into play, I guess. Chances are we wont see a live show of this.

This is essentially a dark, broody, paranoid, schizophrenic sound murdering excercise that has probably been accentuated due to heavy bouts of weed smoking. A remarkable factor of this album are the things that you think you heard, but are not quite sure. Felt bass rather than heard bass has been an Amon trade mark for a while and he plays with this throughout. The arrangement and complexity of the beats are unprecedented for a pop band setup (anybody care to challenge this?) and I dare anybody to listen to it and NOT feel something. Be it panic, paranoia, power (end of El Cargo), you will feel something. Probably nauseous.

Amon's love of jazz really shines through on this record and I find it subtly blending bits of Permutation with Out from Out Where (Kokubo Sosho Stealth) a real treat to the ears.

Mr Tobin makes it clear that this is NOT a 6th album (incl. Cujo), so just enjoy it for what it is. It doesn't get five stars because it is missing the one essential ingredient that his best album (Permutation) has: a wickedly dark sense of humour that makes you want to chuckle and hide at the same time.

Look at that. An review about a game soundtrack without a mention of the game. Times are a changing. Will it be the case that some day a score for a film will totally outshine the film itself? Who knows, but Amon has finished the score to a film called Taxidermia. I don't have a clue what the film is about, but the score is good though...