Before I start getting into the details of this release, I think it’s best to mention The Thing is one of my favourite films of all time. I’ve seen it time & time again- mainly on the small screen( TV, video & DVD), but  also once on the big screen when it got reissued a few years back. So I’m  extremely familiar  with both the movie, and it’s soundtrack which I think rates at one of Morricone’s most chilling- so as a result I guess I’m going to be hyper critical  of any attempts at re-working of the films soundtrack.

I won’t going into detailing the movies plot, or its importance…as really I’d hope that most if not all M[m] readers will be aware of this horror classic. But if you are not aware of it, I’m sure a quick Google search could help.

First up we have a ten track CDR from Minneapolis based noise/ drone/ artists Cory Strand. Strand is a hugely prolific artists who has released a huge amount of work over the last few years, under his own name, as well as under solo projects such as Lethe, Fantome De Sang, Lindskold, & Necronom IV. He also runs the excellent Altar Of Waste label, which releases his own work a long with a whole host of creative underground fare.
 
Opening up Mr Strand’s disc is “Humanity, Part 1”, and for me it's one of the highlights of not only this disc, but of both discs. The just over 12 minute track is built around an harmonic loop of one the soundtracks key themes- to this Strand adds a repetitive buzzing & juddering noise texture, which from time to time obliterates the soundtracks loop.  This mix of Morricone’s stuck/ eerier theme, and Strands noise texture is so captivating in it’s mix of creepiness & searing noise repetition, and I truly could easily listen to this for an hour plus.

The other 11 tracks are mainly a mixture of loop or stretched soundtrack elements which are either merged with searing or slurred noise elements, or blurred & noisily hazed out(which of course nicely fits the films antarctic setting). It’s not really one of Strands most varied soundtrack reinterpretations, but for the most part each track is rewarding in it’s seared creepiness.

The second disc comes  from Indianan based Crown Of Bone- one of the projects of  Dustin Alan Redington (also of Tenebrious, ex- Demonologists & ex-Ensepulchred). This project has been in existence since mid 2012, and so far has amassed coming up  for 30 or so releases- these take in a lot of split CDR releases, a few stand alone releases, and a lot of  searing (mainly) horror movie soundtrack reinterpretations.

For his disc Redington offers up a single lengthy track that comes in at the mark forty nine minute mark.  It’s  built around seared & stretched layers of different soundtrack themes- these Redington blurs together with roasting & overloaded noise billows, drones & judders.  The track moves between you been able to make out soundtrack themes, and almost complete searing overloads of sound.  At times  the  track the can be quite effective in it’s mixes of dread & intensity, but at other it just feels a  bit too unfocused & you feel Redington is just going through the motions.  It’s certainly not the best thing this project has produced, but neither is it the worse.

So in summing up I came into this release with very high expectations, and I guess on the whole I came away a little disappointed….but as I pointed out at the start of the review I count both the film & it’s soundtrack as my all time favourites, so I guess anyone’s take on it is going to be disappointing to a certain extent.  Of the two discs I enjoyed the first one most, but as I've said the second one had its moments too. This is worth a look if you know & love the movie, and would like to see how these two artists creatively sear the soundtrack.