Hellsing 1: Raid

If you liked the creepy atmospheric music Goblin did for the movie "Suspiria", rocked out to the industrial majesty of Manson's "Antichrist Superstar", and/or have grooved to the jazz and blues of "Cowboy Bebop" courtesy of Yoko Kanno and The Seatblets, chances are you'll dig the music that Yasushi Ishii wrote for the popular vampire anime series, Hellsing.

Sure the song titles are ridiculous, and some of the lyrics aren't much better, but the real champion here is the densely layered and eclectic music. Ishii draws from many influences and genres using jazzy pianos, firey guitars, shrieking electronics, Spanish acoustic guitars, moody keyboards, and world music beats. I normally am a bit more demanding when it comes to the quality of lyrics. However, as far as this sountrack is concerned, the music rocks so hard I simply don't care! Most of this album is instrumental anyway.

The only flaw in this album is that sometimes it's too much. There's something...Read more

I'll start off by saying that this isn't a CD for everyone. But then, if you're looking up this page it's probably because you've seen the anime and was hooked, like I was, by the poignant background music.

The sound produced for the Hellsing anime is unlike any I've ever heard before. It's a seamless mashing together of cool, dark blues and jazz that would seem out of place with its sometimes cheerful horn play but manages instead to seem mockingly sarcastic- a splash of musically morbid humor that allows the sound to fit in with the gritty atmosphere while also adding an element of playfulness that lightens the otherwise heavy ambience. Also accomplishing this affect is the addition of a few fun, upbeat grungy rock tracks such as 'When you start the War, fight with arrows spears and swords!'

Added to the mix are energetic rock'n'roll compositions such as 'Fool cross over Nirvana -Grudge Prohibited-' and the thick Gothic edge of Dracula-esque horror movie...Read more

I love it. Actually, I like Ruins better, but the main reason I want to post this at all is 'cause if some people are put off by it not including 'Shine' (the credits theme) know that you can legally download the full song from Mr Big's site ("http://www.mrbigsite.com/discography.html", it is on the left hand side). So if you like Hellsing, this is a great CD and you can still complete the soundtrack.