Various Artists
Rainbow Six: Lockdown

December 2005
Released: 2005, Calvin Records
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Lord of the Wasteland

Not being a gamer myself, my knowledge of the RAINBOW SIX series is limited. Fortunately, I am reviewing the CD soundtrack not the game, though, so the sixteen tracks “taken from and inspired by” RAINBOW SIX: LOCKDOWN, a mixed bag if I have ever heard one, will be covered here. Featuring such big names as Strapping Young Lad, Soilwork, Trivium and Fear Factory (the soundtrack was produced by drummer Raymond Herrera), there are a few metal moments here but those fleeting moments are off-set by others of such unbelievable rap- and nu-metal drivel that it will scare off just about any headbanger who isn’t between the ages of 10-15. Being that this is the game’s target demographic, this collection does its job but will those same gamer kids convince Mom and Dad to shell out $15 for the CD at Best Buy, too?



The first half of the CD features largely throw-away modern rock and nu-metal third-stringers like Killing Zone, Kush and Not Forgotten. I know…“Who?!?!” Stuttered rap vocals and Offspring-worthy annoyances pepper these tracks which I made it through once…but not twice. The only saving grace is the previously unreleased “Lockdown” by Fear Factory. Entrenched firmly in the band’s sound circa 1998 on OBSOLETE, this track contains all the soaring choruses and harsh barks of vocalist Burton C. Bell over top of hook-filled guitar melodies and staccato drumming that we have come to expect from Fear Factory. After skipping ahead to track eight, Soilwork, Trivium, Mnemic, Strapping Young Lad, Chimaira and Devildriver (with rubbish like 36 Crazy Fists thrown in the middle) show up to kick things up a notch. Unfortunately, the tracks from these bands are all previously released on their own past or current albums so while they are all great songs, there is no incentive to pick up this CD for owners of said records. To make matters worse, Soilwork’s track (“Stabbing the Drama”) is edited for coarse language to get it on Wal-Mart shelves without the dreaded “PARENTAL ADVISORY” sticker slapped on the cover.



The promo CD I received was bare bones without a cover even being included but the press sheet announced that a bonus DVD, interviews, a comic and other goodies will be included with the consumer version to sweeten the deal. For people who do not own any of the releases by the “big” names found on the RAINBOW SIX: LOCKDOWN soundtrack, I suppose getting all this for around $15 is a good deal but for me, an unreleased Fear Factory song and a bunch of nu-metal crap will not have me opening up my wallet, nor can I recommend anyone else to, either.