Stream Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ Final Watchmen Score

Stream Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ Final Watchmen Score

This past Sunday, HBO aired the final episode of Watchmen, the Damon Lindelof TV show based on the iconic 1987 Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons comic book. Days later, the world still seems to be trying to process what just happened, to place it into its proper historical context. Was Lindelof’s show a bold new vision, a fearless way to take on a valuable property? Or was it an abomination, something that never should’ve existed because Alan Moore never sanctioned it and never would? Did the show wrap everything up beautifully, or did it feel messy and rushed and slapdash? What’s up with the way the whole Dr. Manhattan plot arc ended? Is there going to be another season? Should there be another season?

One thing, however, is pretty clear: The music slapped. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, now film-score veterans, did the show’s music, and they found a tense, pulsating, electro-edged variation on their old Nine Inch Nails sound that aided the show immensely. Over the past few months, Reznor and Ross have released two albums of their Watchmen score — one for every three episodes. Today, the third and final volume is out. And it’s still good!

The final Watchmen album ends with the show’s greatest singular musical moment: The eerie instrumental cover of “Life On Mars?,” the classic from Reznor’s old friend and collaborator David Bowie. There’s also a bit of the soundtrack for the fictional show within the show. The whole thing is full of fuzzed-out blares and tingly keyboard tics, and it’s worth hearing even if you didn’t watch the series. Check it out below.

All three volumes of the Watchmen score are out now on Reznor’s Null Corporation label.

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