The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Mute Records) has a soundtrack that takes no melodic prisoners. Trent Reznor, in collaboration with English composer and musician Atticus Ross, comes bearing a monolithic 39-track beast. Fresh from their  triumph at the Oscars (They won Best Original Score for The Social Network) they have hit the ground not running but barreling. Ross has collaborated with Reznor on past Nine Inch Nails albums and it’s a fusion of dark vision.

The staccato clattering machinations of “Oraculum” chime and skitter along at a frenetic pace that brings to mind OCD and the agitation brought on by any painful thought or situation you just can’t seem to escape. It’s a sonic distillation of discomfort and visceral ill-at-easeness. The cover of “The Immigrant Song,” the gem of the OST, unites Reznor and Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs taking Led Zeppelin to the factory and churning it back out as industrial puree. The effect is sharp, not overstated and free of the eardrum-popping overdoing that’s so tempting to give into when covering a powerhouse like Plant.

“The Sound of Forgetting”  manages to be both upsetting and catchy and memorable. “The Heretics” thump and clang and echo never relents. Reznor’s talents are a natural fit for the thriller adapted from the novel by the late Stieg Larsson. “She Reminds Me Of You” with its quirky vibrations is a soundscape of sadness and coming unraveled In all, it’s perfect music to pulse along to the story of someone who’s been brutally backhanded by fate like Lisbeth Salander, GWTDT’s main character.

As the force behind Nine Inch Nails Reznor, built a career on the hard-edged creative manifestation of suffering. Joined with Ross, the combination hits hard and hits home.

4 / 5 bars

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Dotcom (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) by Rabbits Black

Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover) Trent Reznor feat. Karen O by Musiquemag

Oraculum by Nach0x