Various Artists

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Chop Shop/Atlantic)

By Amanda Stovall
Published: June 30th, 2010 | 1:00pm

The soundtrack for the third movie adaptation of the novel Eclipse from the Twilight saga accomplishes something that none of the films thus far have yet to succeed at: it’s highly enjoyable for everyone. Muse’s “Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)” features a dramatic crescendo that raises heart rates and the urgency of a moment, mimicking the sensations of intense, threatened love. Those same feelings carry into the Bravery’s “Ours,” a fast-paced, heavily drummed song that loudly proclaims “This world is ours” and begs to defy time in the same manner that a good case of immortal vampirism allows lovers to do. The album’s tone shifts drastically with Florence and the Machine’s “Heavy in Your Arms,” which literally makes the album heavy with hard base drums landing like foot stomps. Sia’s wonderful ballad “My Love” features quietly powerful, eerie piano and strings, taking the heaviness in a different direction, while Black Keys throw in a seductive, dangerous element with the bluesy rock of “Chop and Change.”

The highlights of the soundtrack shine through in Fanfarlo’s beautiful and upbeat acoustic number “Atlas,” which uses vocal harmonies to sing about “lines drawn in the sand,” an unintentional but appropriate reference to the werewolves versus vampires line drawn in the novel. Cee Lo Green’s dancey “What Part of Forever” is a mix of whistling, guitars, and drum machines that states “Imagine eternity doesn’t seem that hard / They say nothing last forever / We’ll have to prove them wrong.” Beck and Bat for Lashes collaboration seems to actually take a cue from the novel’s characterizations of Bella and Edward, the twosome singing “Touch me I’m cold, unable to control / Touch me I’m golden and wild as the wind blows.”

While the majority of the record may be pressed to draw parallels between the music and the story beyond sound and tone, Metric’s Emily Haines actually wrote the film’s theme song, "Eclipse (All Yours)" from Bella’s point of view, crooning “Will they hate me for all the choices I’ve made? / Will they stop when they see me again? / I can’t stop now I know who I am / Now I’m all yours, I’m not afraid / And you're all mine, say what they may / And all your love I’ll take to the grave / And all my life starts now.”

The tracks on Eclipse combine to form an impressive mix that even those dragged to the film against their own volition will be able to enjoy.

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Check out Metric's brand new video for "Eclipse (All Yours)" here.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) official Web site

Chop Shop Records

Atlantic Records