Original songs by Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs. In Anne Rice's book QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, recurring vampire character Lestadt awakes from a lengthy hibernation and proceeds to remake himself into a rock star of global proportions who ends up attracting the unwanted attentions of head vampire Queen Akasha. Although the late Aaliyah plays the title role in the film, the accompanying soundtrack contains nary a stitch of hip-hop or R&B, instead cleaving to the hard and heavy sounds conjured up by Korn's Jonathan Davis and ex-Oingo Boingo keyboardist Richard Gibbs. Due to contractual obligations, Davis was prevented from singing these songs, therefore the quintet of cuts composed by this duo are sung by an impressive array of talent from the nu-metal world. Marilyn Manson slithers his way through the chilling "Redeemer," Orgy's Jay Gordon haunts the ominous "Slept So Long," and Linkin Park's Chester Bennington makes his solo debut with the eerie "System." Elsewhere, Static-X's namesake Wayne Static growls through the thumping "Not Meant For Me" and Disturbed's David Draiman pours himself into the sweeping "Forsaken," featuring the Middle Eastern-flavored contributions by violinist Shankar.

The cassette version only of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE on Geffen [2064 24719] was released on November 4, 1997. Producers: Matthias Gohl (tracks 1-18); Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses (track 19). Engineers: Steve McLaughlin, Joel Iwataki (tracks 1-18); Mike Clink, Jim Mitchell (track 19). Recorded at Manhattan Center Studios, New York and Rumbo Recorders, Canoga Park, California. All songs written by Elliot Goldenthal except "Sympathy For The Devil" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards). Elliot Goldenthal's original score for the movie INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE freely mixes religious iconography, gothic mood swings, Wagnerian flourishes and gypsy-like airs to create a saturnine romantic backdrop for the movie's lurid tale of decadence and decay. Like many of the great Hollywood score-composers, Goldenthal's writing is a pastiche of original ideas and notable effects drawn from the classics--such as the 20th century harmonies which enliven the first bars of "Escape To Paris," the Debussy-esque pastels of "Marche Funebre," the Bizet-styled dance steps of "Santiago's Waltz," and the "Rite Of Spring" imprint on "Plantation Pyre." All of this bombast is thematically augmented by Guns N' Roses' cover of "Sympathy For The Devil," the only pop-oriented track on the soundtrack. W. Axl Rose's demonic vocal eerily symbolizes the dark themes Anne Rice first touched upon in her novel, and further illustrates GN'R's ability to interpret classic material in their own lurid mold.

Packaged in a deluxe gold case, Interview with the Vampire, on Compact Disk.2 CDs / 3 hoursRead by F. Murray Abrahamalso avai...

The third novel in the Chronicles of the Vampires trilogy, The Queen of the Damned takes you back 6,000 years to the beginnings of vampirism and leads them across the vast, richly detailed tapestry of the violent and sensual world of vampiredom, finally bringing forth the 20th-century fate of the living dead. So turn off the lights and enter the world of Anne Rice's Vampires