Zanobard Reviews

Nine Inch Nails’ Tron: Ares is sadly the antithesis of Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy in lacking recognisable themes, being mostly dissonant and sometimes even borderline unlistenable in the harsh electronic noise it utilises – though it does have one saving grace with infrequent ’80s synth references to Wendy Carlos’ original Tron.

Given the absolutely incredible score that Daft Punk created for Tron: Legacy, to say that levels of anticipation have been high for the Nine Inch Nails-scored sequel Tron: Ares is likely putting it mildly, to say the least. From my side, I must admit I was a little disappointed that Daft Punk themselves didn’t return to score this next entry in the franchise (likely because they have now sadly disbanded) but that said I have also been rather intrigued to hear how Nine Inch Nails would tackle the intense electrical world of Tron (especially given that they are a rock band vs. the electronic duo that Daft Punk were), and now finally – here we are. The wait is over, and the soundtrack for Tron: Ares is out so without further ado, let’s dive in. The album opens with “Init”, and much like Daft Punk’s opening “Overture” for Legacy, this track sets the tone right off the bat. A sudden crash of loudly in-your-face electronics opens the piece, with an intense percussive beat cementing a new theme of sorts that then throbs emphatically along, establishing an energetic but also rather fierce mood as it does so, through the remainder of the cue’s two minute runtime. All-in it’s a curious start for the new Tron; it’s a wildly different, much more dramatic and indeed darker tone than Legacy‘s intro – certainly there’s no sign of any kind of grand heroism, but then that’s likely reflective of the new film’s tone – and it’s hard to deny the sheer atmosphere of it either.

“Forked Reality” then continues this darker, moodier tone with bursts of some rather deafening electronics, and I’ll be honest – these are kind of hard to enjoy. It’s the same kind of weirdly loud to the point of being almost distorted electronics that Benjamin Wallfisch sometimes utilises in the action-side of his horror scores, and they’re just… not nice to listen to. Thankfully “Echoes” afterwards is much more palatable, quieting the score significantly as a melancholic, almost regretful piano enters centre stage with eerie synth acting as a moody backdrop. The pace then picks up for “This Changes Everything”, with an enthusiastic beat playing alongside upbeat electronics, before “In The Image Of” then dials up the drama with loudly intense stabs of synth. The short “Permanence” then utilises rapidly repeating percussion against some rather wondrous-sounding background electronics before action piece “Infiltrator” dials up the intensity with an imposingly aggressive electronic beat that then cements a rather espionage-esque atmosphere as the track goes on. Wackily ethereal electric ambience is then the focus of “100% Expendable”, with some curiously out of tune synth notes leading an almost solemn, mournful mood through its nearly four minute runtime.

The regretful piano returns for “Still Remains”, with a gentle atmosphere echoing pensively throughout the track’s two minutes. A sudden crash of electronic thunder however then blasts dramatically into frame for the start of “Building Better Worlds” (Weyland Yutani, is that you?) with some rather Vangelis-sounding synth then playing almost optimistically throughout. The sound of this track in particular is interesting, I have to say – it’s heavily ’80s, and one can’t help but also draw comparisons back to Wendy Carlos’ similarly synthy and indeed upbeat score for the original 1982 Tron movie. “Target Identified” however then drags us back down into the land of murky, in-your-face electronics with some particularly deafening and high-pitched ones front and centre this time. An enthusiastically boppy backing beat softens this track somewhat, but overall it’s hard to ignore the sheer unpleasantness of its sound. The pace then slows for the quieter “Daemonize”, with moody electronics setting a rather unsettling tone for the first two minutes before backing percussion increases the intensity for a more action-oriented back half. “Emphatic Response” then simmers ominously in its opening seconds before the distorted electronics from earlier return for yet another dramatically deafening and resultingly borderline unlistenable play session.

An eerie sense of ominousness occupies the first thirty seconds or so of “What Have You Done?” before sudden blasts of in-your-face electronics then practically erupt, followed swiftly by an intense percussive beat that carries the now thunderous track to its end. The short “A Question Of Trust” then continues in a similarly deafening and atonal vein, this time at a more rapid pace, with “Ghost In The Machine” afterward thankfully returning to the more ambient, wondrous ’80s synth vibes from earlier – again harkening back to the original Tron score. Piano notes playing alongside gentle synth are then central for the similarly ethereal “No Going Back”, again evoking that rather retro feel, with the subsequent “Nemesis” however then starting to sink back down into the darker, moodier tone that plagued earlier cues. With the album now starting to draw to a close, “New Directive” kicks up the pace for one last intense action setpiece as a determined electronic beat and sweeping synth sets a grandly imposing tone for its first minute or so, before then harkening back to the opening track with the “main theme” reprising dramatically on grandiose electronics to finish. Final cue “Out In The World” then leans into the more wondrous ’80s synthy side one last time, ending the score on a more thoughtful note.

Overall, Nine Inch Nails’ score for Tron: Ares is… a bit unremarkable, sadly. It’s kind of the antithesis of Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy, being mostly thematically absent, dissonant, and at times – borderline unlistenable in its use of sheer, deafening, grating electronic noise. For the first point there, the only theme of note – and it only really plays twice – is the dramatic electronic beat from opening cue “Init” and its reprisal in penultimate piece “New Directive”, and while it is recognisable, I wouldn’t say it reaches anywhere near the same catchy highs as Daft Punk’s theme for Legacy did, nor is it or indeed any theme utilised enough to be fleshed out anyway. For the second point, a lot of the music is just kind of… wandering electric soundscapes, without direction of purpose, and even when the unpleasant electronics aren’t playing there’s still some odd choices, like the out-of-tune-sounding synth in “100% Expendable”. The one saving grace I will give the soundscapes though is when they harken back to a ’80s synth sound like Wendy Carlos’ original Tron score, in cues like “Building Better Worlds” and “Ghost In The Machine” – these are actually pretty cool, and I wish the score overall leaned into their wondrous style a bit more. But for the final point – much of this album is just loud, in-your-face, and genuinely unpleasant electronic noise. Maybe it’s just Nine Inch Nail’s style, but man is it hard to listen to at times – see “Forked Reality” or “Emphatic Response” for examples of this.

All-in perhaps it’s unfair to compare Ares to Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy, but when one entry in the franchise is an enthusiastically thematic and well-styled musical narrative, and the other is just well… a mostly distorted electronic mess – it’s hard to enjoy the latter. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too old for this.

Score: 4.5/10

Standout Cues: Ghost In The Machine, Building Better Worlds

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